For the first time in nearly a century, a reigning world chess champion will take part in a competitive tournament on Czech soil.

Nineteen-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh is set to headline the 8th Prague International Chess Festival, bringing top-level chess back to the city in a way it has not seen since the interwar period.

The festival will run from February 24 to March 6. Gukesh will compete in the closed Masters section, where he is scheduled to play nine classical games against an elite field that includes Czech grandmasters David Navara and Thai Dai Van Nguyen.

For Czech chess, the appearance of the world champion marks a rare moment. “This is something our chess community has waited decades for,” said festival director Petr Boleslav. “Having the reigning champion here gives the event a weight it has not had in generations.” Alongside the Masters tournament, the festival will also host open competitions expected to draw around 400 players.

Navara, the country’s most accomplished active player, knows Gukesh well. The two have faced each other three times, with the Czech grandmaster holding two wins and one draw. Their most recent encounter came in Prague in 2024, before Gukesh claimed the world title.

Van Nguyen, the youngest grandmaster in Czech history, has also met the Indian prodigy, recording one draw and one defeat, both in recent seasons.

Gukesh’s rise has reshaped modern chess statistics. In 2024, he won the Candidates Tournament, becoming the youngest challenger for the world title.

Later that year, he defeated China’s Ding Liren in a tense championship match decided in the final game after a decisive endgame error by the defending champion. At just 18 years and six months, Gukesh claimed the crown, breaking a long-standing record previously held by Garry Kasparov.

His achievements had been building for years. At the age of twelve, he became one of the youngest grandmasters in history. He later crossed the 2700 rating mark earlier than almost anyone before him and became the youngest player ever to reach 2750.

Prague’s connection to world champions goes back to another era. The last time a reigning title holder played a serious tournament game in the city was in 1931, when Alexander Alekhine represented France at the Chess Olympiad held in the former Czechoslovakia. Since then, Prague has welcomed several legends, but only in exhibition formats.

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