Gukesh wins World Chess Championship, creates history

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh scripted history on Thursday (December 12) as he won the World Chess Championship by defeating title holder Ding Liren of China in Singapore. He is the youngest world chess champion.

Also read: Who said what on Gukesh's win

Gukesh won the 14th and final game in the classical time control format to seal the title with a 7.5-6.5 score. A player needs to secure 7.5 points to win the championship.

Also read: TN CM Stalin honours Gukesh, hands over Rs 75 lakh cheque

The 18-year-old Gukesh is only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to be crowned the world chess champion.

Rs 11.03 crore prize money for Gukesh

As the winner, he will walk away with a whopping USD 1.3 million (approx Rs 11.03 crore) from the 2.5 million prize purse.

Also read: Gukesh triumphs: Velammal Vidyalaya gets ready to welcome its most famous student

It was a momentary lapse of concentration by Liren in what seemed a drawn endgame and as it happened, the entire chess world was left in a state of shock.

The players were just left with a rook and a bishop and Gukesh had two pawns against one trying to make a foray without much success.

However, the ability to keep pushing for more gave Gukesh a distinct advantage over the Chinese and the latter simply collapsed to give the title to Gukesh.

Gukesh, who won the 14th game against Liren after 58 moves in four hours, is the 18th world chess champion overall.

If Thursday's game was also drawn, winner was to be decided in shorter duration tie-breaks on Friday.

Gukesh had won the third and 11th rounds before Thursday's decisive game, while the 32-year-old Liren emerged victorious in the opening and 12th games.

All other games were drawn in the match.

What Gukesh said

"I have been dreaming of this moment for the last 10 years. Happy I realised this dream," Gukesh said after the win.

Anand has won five world chess titles in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012.

Before Gukesh's feat on Thursday, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world chess champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Gukesh had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.

Also watch: World Chess Championship 2024: ‘If Gukesh wins, it will be bigger than Anand's achievement'

Speaking after the match, Ding said, "I was totally in shock when I realised I made a blunder."

"I think I played my best tournament of the year. It could be better, but considering yesterday's lucky survive it's a fair result to lose in the end. I have no regrets," he added.

Reactions to Gukesh's win

"Congratulations! It's a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for WACA, and for me, a very personal moment of pride. Ding played a very exciting match and showed the champion he is," Anand said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Gukesh's win as "historic and exemplary".

"Historic and exemplary! Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination. His triumph has not only etched his name in the annals of chess history but has also inspired millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence. My best wishes for his future endeavours," Modi posted on X.

The moves

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4 e6 5.0–0 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nge7 7.c4 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qd1 d4 10.e3 Bc5 11.exd4 Bxd4 12.Nc3 0–0 13.Nb5 Bb6 14.b3 a6 15.Nc3 Bd4 16.Bb2 e5 17.Qd2 Be6 18.Nd5 b5 19.cxb5 axb5 20.Nf4 exf4 21.Bxc6 Bxb2 22.Qxb2 Rb8 23.Rfd1 Qb6 24.Bf3 fxg3 25.hxg3 b4 26.a4 bxa3 27.Rxa3 g6 28.Qd4 Qb5 29.b4 Qxb4 30.Qxb4 Rxb4 31.Ra8 Rxa8 32.Bxa8 g5 33.Bd5 Bf5 34.Rc1 Kg7 35.Rc7 Bg6 36.Rc4 Rb1+ 37.Kg2 Re1 38.Rb4 h5 39.Ra4 Re5 40.Bf3 Kh6 41.Kg1 Re6 42.Rc4 g4 43.Bd5 Rd6 44.Bb7 Kg5 45.f3 f5 46.fxg4 hxg4 47.Rb4 Bf7 48.Kf2 Rd2+ 49.Kg1 Kf6 50.Rb6+ Kg5 51.Rb4 Be6 52.Ra4 Rb2 53.Ba8 Kf6 54.Rf4 Ke5 55.Rf2 Rxf2 56.Kxf2 Bd5 57.Bxd5 Kxd5 58.Ke3 Ke5 white resigned.

(With agency inputs)