King at 17, Chennai lad Gukesh sets his sights on chess World Championship

The Toronto win makes D Gukesh the youngest World Championship contender in chess history

Chennai’s roaring love affair with the game of chess blossomed at the height of the Cold War in the 1970s, when it opened doors to the sprawling Russian Cultural Centre in the bustling Nungambakkam area.

It was in this vicinity that the city’s first chess club, named after Mikhail Tal, the Soviet-Latvian creative genius, took shape. Over time, it would turn into a hub that would churn out Grandmasters on an assembly line.

The Russian Cultural Centre was where a certain Viswanathan Anand would spend hours devouring reams of chess literature and perfecting his moves on the 64