Chinese chess grandmaster Ding Liren (left) and Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (right) face off during the 14th match of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore, December 12, 2024. (Photo by Simon Lim /AFP)
December 12 – Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world chess champion by defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday in a dramatic turn of events in the final game of a 14-way match matches in Singapore.
The 18th world champion is, at 18, four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who was the youngest world champion since 1985, when he beat Anatoly Karpov.
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Gukesh won Thursday’s match with the black pieces after Ding succumbed to pressure and made a mistake in what commentators considered a comfortable position, snatching the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5.
“I probably got very emotional because I didn’t really expect to win this job,” Gukesh told reporters.
Ding, whose form has dipped since beating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi to win the 2023 crown, had not won a long-running match in the “classic” format since January and has largely avoided big events in the goal of improving.
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A fan takes a selfie with Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (center) after his victory against Chinese chess grandmaster Ding Liren in the 14th match of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore, December 12, 2024. (Photo by Simon Lim / AFP)
But the Chinese player regained confidence after a surprise victory in the first round of the match and, after two victories for Gukesh and eight draws, he evened the score in the 12th round with a victory praised by several commentators.
“We all know who Ding is, he has been one of the best players in history for several years,” added Gukesh.
The match was a long-running 14-round “classic” event with a prize pool of $2.5 million.
Gukesh qualified in April by winning the Candidates tournament, an eight-player double-round tournament featuring fellow Indians Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.
They and their Indian teammates won gold in the open and women’s sections of the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September, which many professionals attributed to former world champion Viswanathan Anand’s efforts to promote chess in the country.
World number one Magnus Carlsen, world champion since 2013, gave up his title in 2022, citing a lack of motivation.
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“Becoming world champion doesn’t mean I’m the best player in the world, obviously there’s Magnus, so that’s also a motivating factor,” Gukesh said.
