India, Jan. 1 -- On December 12, 2024, the 18-year- old D Gukesh perched himself on top of the classical chess world by beating China's Ding Liren in the World Championship to become the youngest chess world champion ever, eclipsing the longstanding record set by the legendary Garry Kasparov (who had been 22 at the time of his first win). Accolades, felicitations and victory parades followed. Gukesh was tipped to take the baton from India's five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. But as he eased back into competition, his consistently high levels of play, dogged resistance and knack for winning under immense pressure seemed to be fading. His rating slipped from 2794 in October 2024 to 2777 today. Among those coming for his crown: India'...