The newly crowned world chess champion D.Gukesh received the appreciation of Superstar Rajinikanth recently.

The ‘Vettaiyan’ actor honored Gukesh with a shawl and presented him a copy of ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda. Actor Sivakarthikeyan also met Gukesh separately and extended his wishes on this historic feat.

Gukesh defeated China's Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore earlier this month to become the youngest ever world champion (at just the age of 18), and ended legendary chess player Garry Kasparov’s record that was set in 1985 when he was 22 years old.

Tamil Nadu Government organized a grand felicitation ceremony to congratulate Gukesh. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin presented him a cheque for Rs. 5 crore to support his future endeavors. 

Appreciating Gukesh, President of Tamil Nadu State Chess Association (TNSCA), Manickam said that his victory is a well-deserved one.

“Gukesh is a very humble and hardworking boy. We all at TNSCA expected him to emerge as the victor. He deserves this win for his dedication, discipline and hardwork,” Manickam told Covai Chronicle.

When asked how Gukesh’s victory could have a positive impact on Tamil Nadu’s Chess community, the TNSCA President said that Tamil Nadu already has the highest number of Grand Masters in the country, and TNSCA is working in all districts to support various talents in Chess. All the districts in Tamil Nadu are active in Chess and lot of new talents are coming up. Gukesh’s victory will be a huge boost for thousands of children aspiring to make their mark in the game.

All the players in Tamil Nadu will take this achievement of Gukesh as a motivation and believe that if he can become a world champ at 18 through hardwork and skill, then they too can aspire to become District champ, a State champ and gradually move ahead in the world of Chess.