Singapore, Dec 13: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh on Thursday became the youngest world chess champion at 18 years after beating title-holder Ding Liren of China in the 14th and last game of a thrilling showdown here.Gukesh secured the requisite 7.5 points as against 6.5 of Liren after winning the last classical time control game of the 14-game match that seemed headed for a draw for most part.
Before Gukesh’s feat on Thursday, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world chess champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
Gukesh had entered the match as the youngest ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
He is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title. Anand, a five-time world champion, had last won the crown in 2013.
Gukesh admitted he didn’t initially recognize Ding’s rook move (55 Rf2??) as a blunder, saying it took a few seconds to spot that his opponent’s bishop was trapped. He could barely conceal his excitement upon the discovery, while a devastated Ding could only bury his head in his hands.
“When I realized it, it was probably the best moment of my life,” said Gukesh, who brings home the $1.35m (£1.06m) winner’s share of the $2.5m prize fund along with the sport’s most prestigious title.
Ding, playing with the favored white pieces, was slightly better out of the opening but Gukesh was able to unlock his pieces and stabilize in the middlegame. The draw appeared inevitable when material starting coming off the board in bunches starting with move 19.
But a game that appeared bound for a peaceful result suddenly became complicated when Ding sacrificed a pawn in exchange for a simpler position. That left Gukesh with no choice but to fight on and he was more than happy to punish his foe in a grueling endgame under mounting time pressure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate Gukesh after he became only the second world champion from India along with Viswanathan Anand, who held the crown from 2007 through 2013.
“Historic and exemplary!” Modi wrote on X. “Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination.”
After Ding resigned, the tears flowed as Gukesh sat at the board overcome by emotion while hundreds of his supporters set off scenes of jubilation in the spectators’ area.
“I probably got so emotional because I did not really expect to win from that position,” Gukesh said. “I was going to press it for as long as it as I could possibly press, but I thought, ‘It’s OK. We are going to play for five, six hours. It’s going to end in a draw, and let’s focus on the tiebreaks.’
“But then suddenly after Rf2, I saw [the game] was actually done. I was already preparing myself to go through that huge tiebreak fight and suddenly it was all over and I had achieved my dream. I’m not someone who shows a lot of emotions, but I think this one can be forgiven.”
