An extraordinary paradigm change is taking place in the chess world as a new generation of younger players emerge, startling and impressing the globe at the same time. Players like Abhimanyu Mishra, Volodar Murzin, Pranav V, Erdogmus Yagiz Kaan, and Fautino Oro are in the forefront of this movement.
Ediz Gurel, a 16-year-old Turkish prodigy who is already well-known on the tour, is also among them. He defeated D Gukesh, the current World Champion, at the recently concluded FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand to record one of his greatest triumphs to date. The two players, who are only three years apart in age, met in an exciting seventh-round match. The outcome saw Gukesh suffer his third straight loss at the tournament.
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When Gurel returned home following the tournament, he was given a rousing reception at his school, Emine Örnek Eğitim Kurumları. In a video doing rounds on social media, hundreds of his schoolmates can be seen cheering and and waving Turkish flags as Gurel made his way to the school. He was greeted with drum beats and presented a bouquet of flowers.
“It was a crazy tough game,” he told FIDE after his win over Gukesh.
The match saw Gurel making a mistake on move 27 and the Queens were switched on move 29, allowing Gukesh to maintain the advantage. However, the Indian made a mistake that tilted the scales on move 40, which was after he almost crossed the time control threshold. Gukesh lost a Bishop two moves later in return for two Pawns, ultimately proving too much to overcome.
