The youngest world chess champion, India's prodigy, 18-year-old D Gukesh landed at the Chennai airport to a fanfare as hundreds of enthusiastic fans and officials lined up to receive him on Monday.
The teen grand master overpowered China's Ding Liren 7.5 - 6.5 in Singapore last week to clinch the world title at just 18.
Overwhelmed by the grand welcome, Gukesh thanked everyone for the support.� "It's amazing. Your support gave me a lot of energy. It's a great feeling to win the world championship," he Gukesh.
"It means a lot to bring back trophy to India. Thank you for this reception. I hope we will have a great time in the next few days celebrating together," he added.
Once he touched base at the Kamaraj airport, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu and his school Velammal Vidayala staff greeted him with a bouquet before draping a shawl around him at the airport lounge.
After greeting the fans, he left for his home in a car decorated with flowers, and his photo.
Meanwhile, Gukesh became only the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to claim the world title.�
The 18-year-old world champion bagged a whopping cash prize of USD 1.3 million (approx Rs 11.03 crore) after his win at the tournament.