Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest global chess champion on Thursday, defeating the defending champion, Ding Liren (of China). It was a dramatic affair in Singapore's pivotal 14th game when a miscalculation by Liren in the final game saw Gukesh win.
Gukesh entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
Gukesh also became the 18th global chess champion at the age of 18, four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who had previously been the youngest world champion since 1985, when he defeated Anatoly Karpov.
Gukesh won the decider with black pieces, while Liren folded under siege. Although Liren was in a good position to force a tiebreaker, he crashed at the end and lost 6.5-7.5.
The match was a 14-round "classical" event with a prize fund of $2.5 million. Gukesh qualified in April by winning the Candidates Tournament.
"I've been dreaming about this moment for 10 years! Every chess player wants to experience this. I am living my dreams. Thanks to God first of all. I got emotional because I wasn't expecting to win from that position. I was going to press. But I was like let's focus on tie-breaks. But when I saw the blunder, I came to realize that I had achieved my dream,” Gukesh said after the win.
Magnus Carlsen, the world champion since 2013, resigned in 2022, citing a lack of desire.
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 becoming the youngest chess world champion was celebrated by the entire India and even the Indian cricket fraternity took to X to congratulate the young champion.
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