Mumbai: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh wrote a golden chapter in the history of Indian sport as he was crowned the youngest-ever winner in the World Chess championship in Singapore on Thursday.
The 18-year-old prodigy from Chennai defeated defending champion Ding Liren in the 14th and final game to triumph 7.5-6.5.
Gukesh thus broke the record of Russian genius Garry Kasparov, who won the world championship at the age of 22, dethroning fellow-Russian Anatoly Karpov.
Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks after sealing victory. “It’s the best day of my life,” Gukesh said after the historic win.
Watch the historic moment in a video clip posted by chess.com:
The emotional moment that 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the 18th world chess champion 🥲🏆 pic.twitter.com/jRIZrYeyCF
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024
Gukesh became the second Indian after fellow-Chennai Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand to win the World Chess championship. Five-time world champion Anand was the path-breaker, becoming India’s first GM in 1988 and claiming his maiden world championship in 2000.
Ding, who drew level in Game 12 immediately after Gukesh had won the 11th game, had the advantage on Thursday as he was playing with white pieces. The marathon game looked to be heading towards a draw, which would have taken the match into a tie-breaker.
Pundits, including Anand, predicted a draw when the endgame began. However, Gukesh played on in an effort to apply pressure on Ding, who was a pawn down. The strategy worked wonders as Ding was forced to make a blunder on the 53rd move.
Having noticed the Chinese Grandmaster commit a game-changing mistake, Gukesh was unable to control his emotions as he went over for a water break. The Indian teen had a smile on his face when he returned to the board. The 32-year-old Ding resigned soon after, and the world championship changed hands.
