Newly-crowned World chess champion D Gukesh returned home to an enthusiastic reception as hundreds of eager fans, and officials from the Tamil Nadu government and the national federation lined up to receive him at the airport in Chennai on Monday.
The 18-year-old Grandmaster from Chennai made history last week by defeating China's Ding Liren in Singapore, to become the youngest-ever World Chess Champion. Gukesh surpassed Garry Kasparov's long-standing record -- the legendary Russian had clinched the World title at 22 way back in 1985.
Gukesh also joins an elite club with the great Viswanathan Anand -- India's five-time World champion, becoming only the second Indian to claim the coveted global title.
Gukesh thanked the fans for their support.
"It's amazing. Your support gave me a lot of energy. It's a great feeling to win the world championship," said Gukesh as media and fans jostled to get a closer view of the youngster.