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Dommaraju Gukesh's journey to becoming India's youngest grandmaster

The first thing Gukesh does on waking up is check on the games and the results of ongoing tournaments

Dommaraju Gukesh
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Dommaraju Gukesh

Devangshu Datta
Dommaraju Gukesh is a quiet, soft-spoken boy. He considers every question addressed to him carefully before whispering out the answer from under the little wisp of his moustache. You have to strain to hear him over the background noise at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Delhi.  “No, I wasn’t nervous before the game. But I did get nervous while playing,” he confesses.
 
The Class VII student of Velammal Vidyalaya, Chennai, is referring to his ninth round game at the Delhi Open. He knew before he sat down that a victory against International Master Dinesh Sharma would be enough to