New Delhi: Indian prodigy D. Gukesh Thursday dethroned reigning champion Ding Liren of China to clinch the 2024 World Chess Championship title in Singapore. This monumental win catapults the 18-year-old into the record books as the youngest-ever world champion in classical chess, cementing his status as a pioneering talent.
In a nail-biting finale, Gukesh edged out Liren by a single point, securing the 7.5 points needed to claim the title. The decisive moment came in the 14th and final classical game, which Gukesh won to pip Liren, who finished with 6.5 points. The match seemed destined for a draw for much of the contest, making the end all the more dramatic.
In a rare display of emotion, the usually stoic Gukesh broke into a wide grin and raised his arms in triumph.
Liren, the 32-year-old Chinese sensation, made a slip-up in the final stages of the game—though Gukesh said later he didn’t recognise Liren’s blunder at first and it took a few seconds for him to realise that his opponent’s bishop was trapped.
“When I realised it, it was probably the best moment of my life,” he said.
He won the 14th game against Liren after 58 moves in four hours. If this game were also drawn, the winner was to be decided in shorter duration tie-breaks the next day. Gukesh earlier won rounds 3 and 11, while Liren took rounds 1 and 12, setting the stage for the finale.
“I was dreaming this moment for the last 10 years. I am happy that I realised the dream [and made it] into reality,” the Chennai boy said after his unprecedented win. “I got a bit emotional because I was not expecting to win. But then I got a chance to press on.”
Gukesh’s historic win shattered a record that had stood the test of time. The Indian teenager eclipsed chess legend Garry Kasparov, who held the record for being the youngest world chess champion since 1985. Kasparov won the title at 22, ending Anatoly Karpov’s reign.
“Every chess player wants to live this dream. I am living my dream,” said Gukesh at a post-match press conference.
Gukesh’s achievement marks a new era for Indian chess also because he is the first Indian to claim the prestigious title since Viswanathan Anand’s reign ended in 2012.
Chennai boy scripts history
Born on 29 May, 2006, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Gukesh’s story started like that of many chess legends: humble beginnings and an unshakable passion for the game. In 2018, at the tender age of 12, he became the third-youngest grandmaster in chess history.
In 2024, he won the prestigious Candidates Tournament, becoming the youngest player ever to qualify for the World Chess Championship. With a staggering FIDE rating of 2783 and a global ranking of 5, he has solidified his position as one of the world’s top chess players. As a title winner, he will get a major share of the $ 2.5 million prize.
At just 12, Gukesh had already set his sights on the ultimate goal. “I want to become the world champion,” he declared in January 2019, shortly after becoming the second-youngest grandmaster in history.
Gukesh, who started playing chess at the age of 7 at Velammal Vidyalaya just as an extracurricular activity, also made headlines by defeating then-world champion Magnus Carlsen at the Aimchess Rapid tournament in 2022—the youngest player to achieve this feat. He carried this momentum forward, qualifying for the 2024 Candidates Tournament in December 2023. At just 17, Gukesh became the third-youngest player, after chess legends Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen, to compete in the prestigious tournament.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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