Only hours after 18-year-old Gukesh D became the youngest world chess champion, a tug-of-war broke out between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with the chief ministers of each state claiming him as one of their own.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin set the ball rolling with his tweet at 7.25 pm on Thursday, where the DMK leader said Gukesh's "remarkable achievement... helps Chennai reaffirm its place as the global Chess Capital by producing yet another champion. Tamil Nadu is proud of you," sharing a photograph of himself placing a gold medal around the young champion's neck.
Two minutes later came the tweet from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. "Hearty congratulations to our very own Telugu boy. The entire nation celebrates your incredible achievement. Wishing you many more triumphs and accolades in the decades to come," said the TDP boss.
Netizens were divided on the rival claims over Gukesh, who is of Telugu heritage but was born and brought up in Chennai, sparking a larger debate on ethnicity and language.
Many pointed out the Tamil Nadu has provided significant financial support for the chess star; one X user noted that the Tamil Nadu government had gifted him ₹ 75 lakh last April.
On the other hand, the strongest defence of Gukesh as a Telugu came from an X handle that calls itself 'The Telugu Collective, which said, "Tamilian is an ethnicity: it's something one must be born into... If your parents are not Tamil but you live in Tamil Nadu, you are a Tamil Naduite... Gukesh is a Telugu by ethnicity, born to Telugu parents. He is not a Tamilian. However, as a resident of Tamil Nadu, he is a Tamil Nadu domicile Telugu."
Meanwhile, another X user said, "Gukesh is a Telugu or Tamil guy... isse farak padta hai (what difference does this make) ... He won a medal for India..."