Stalin felicitates Gukesh, hands over cheque for INR 75 lakh

CHENNAI — Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday felicitated D. Gukesh, the teenage chess prodigy from the state who has become the young winner of the FIDE Candidates tournament, handing him a cheque for INR 75 lakh, a citation, and a shawl.

The presentation in which Gukesh’s parents – father, Dr Rajinikanth, an ENT specialist, and mother Dr Padmavathy, a microbiologist, and state Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and others were also present, was held at the CM’s camp office here, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.

The Tamil Nadu government had presented INR 15 lakh to Gukesh before he went to the tournament in Canada.

The young chess sensation will be contesting against defending champion, China’s Ding Liren, in the World Championship.

The venue and time of the tournament are yet to be finalised but it is slated to be held in the last quarter of this year. All India Chess Federation Secretary Dev Patel has already said that India would bid for the World Chess Championship.