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As part of the tradition at the Tirumala Temple, world champion D Gukesh opted to shave his head during the visit.
D Gukesh shaved his head after a visit to the Tirumala temple (Picture credit: Screengrab from X)
On Wednesday, world chess champion D Gukesh shaved his head as an offering at the Tirumala Temple in Andhra Pradesh, saying that he had always wanted to pay a visit to the revered spiritual site after his World Championship triumph.
Gukesh, who has taken huge strides in his career and has made a name for himself, sought blessings at the Tirumala temple, which is known for its holy importance.
In 2024, Gukesh bagged the headlines after becoming the youngest to win the world chess championship. Watch the video here:
The youngest World Chess Champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, visits Tirumala Temple with his family. With a big year ahead, he stays focused on his game:“I have to keep working hard. In 2025 there are a lot of important tournaments, so I’m focusing on that. I want to improve in all… pic.twitter.com/lnC4pkjdmf
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) March 12, 2025
“I have to keep working hard. In 2025, there are a lot of important tournaments, so I’m focusing on that. I want to improve in all formats and hopefully, at some point with God’s grace, good things will happen,” Gukesh said while speaking to the media at the temple.
Gukesh had recently mentioned that his parents did not want him to endure the hardships they faced for his career.
“I’m really glad that I could do this for my parents. More than the financial aspect, because throughout my career, I think they did not allow me to realise the struggles that they were going through, but they did go through a lot of financial struggles and I remember like when it was around 2018, 2019, we were playing tournaments,” Gukesh said while speaking at the India Today Conclave last week.
“My parents’ friends were sponsoring me to play tournaments abroad and it was quite difficult at that time and we had a lot of help from very nice people and very selfless people who came forward to help,” Gukesh added.
Unfazed by the evolving chess landscape, the world champion is open to competing in all formats but said during the conclave that while freestyle chess brings fun, classical chess, with its rich history, will always be the most important.
