Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju made history by becoming the youngest-ever world champion after defeating reigning champion Ding Liren in the decisive 14th game of the World Chess Championship match in Singapore on, 12 December. At just 18 years old, Gukesh also became the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to claim the classical chess world championship title.
D Gukesh Becomes Youngest Ever World Chess Champion
Why In News
- Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju made history by becoming the youngest-ever world champion after defeating reigning champion Ding Liren in the decisive 14th game of the World Chess Championship match in Singapore on, 12 December. At just 18 years old, Gukesh also became the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to claim the classical chess world championship title.
What All Happened
- Gukesh shattered the record previously held by Russian legend Garry Kasparov, who had become the youngest world chess champion at the age of 22 in 1985.
- He is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title. Anand, a five-time world champion, had last held the title in 2013 before going down to Magnus Carlsen.
- Gukesh and Ding headed into the final game of the match tied on 6.5 points each. The 14th game, in which Ding played with the white pieces, seemed destined for a draw until Ding made a crucial mistake on the 53rd move. Gukesh’s strategy of maintaining pressure on Ding, who was a pawn down, ultimately paid off, leading to an unforced error from last year’s world champion in the closing stages.
What D Gukesh Said
- “It’s the best day of my life,” Gukesh said, reflecting on his historic victory while applauding his opponent Ding for rallying against the odds and fighting hard over the last two weeks. Gukesh said the world championship victory was merely the beginning of what he envisions as a “very, very long and successful career.”
- “Obviously, becoming the world champion doesn’t mean that I am the best player in the world. Obviously, there’s Magnus. So, it’s also a motivating factor that there is someone at the very, very high level and something that will keep me doing the right things and try to reach the level of greatness that Magnus has achieved,” Gukesh said.
- Gukesh clinched the championship with a final score of 7.5-6.5, securing victory in the last classical game, which for much of the match had appeared headed for a draw.
- Gukesh will be head home with USD 1.3 million prize money following the historic victory. This triumph also made Gukesh the 18th world champion in the history of classical chess and the youngest-ever undisputed champion. While Ding aimed to take the match into tiebreakers, Gukesh’s precise play and a winning move in the final moments sealed his place in the history books.
- Gukesh was unable to control his emotions as he went over for a water break after knowing Ding had blundered.
- Gukesh had a smile on his face when he returned to the board, but tears of joy soon rolled down his cheeks. It did not take long for Ding to resign and hand over the world championship crown to the Indian teenager.
Chess Federation of Russia
- The president of the Chess Federation of Russia, Andrei Filatov, accused China’s Ding Liren of losing the World Chess Championship 2024 on purpose against India’s D.Gukesh. Russian news agency TASS quoted Filatov as saying that the result raises questions and that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) should open an investigation.
- “The result of the last game caused bewilderment among professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive segment are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE,” he said.
Conclusion
- For some time now, it has felt like the world of chess is bracing for an era of Indian prodigies — from the Candidates tournament earlier this year, which had an unprecedented number of Indian players qualifying, to the double gold medals for the Indian teams at the Budapest Chess Olympiad. Earlier, Kasparov called it an “Indian earthquake in chess”. With Gukesh’s coronation, the prophecies have come true. The Indian earthquake has just started.
