D Gukesh becomes youngest world champion in chess history after Ding Liren's blunder

D Gukesh made history in Singapore on Thursday, defeating Ding Liren in Game 14 of the FIDE World Chess Championship to be crowned the youngest world champion in the history of the sport. The 18-year-old Chennai native ended up breaking the record previously held by the legendary Garry Kasparov, who had achieved the feat by defeating Anatoly Karpov in 1985 at the age of 22.

Gukesh thus became the 18th world champion in the history of the sport and only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand, who had won the marquee match five times starting with his victory over Alexei Shirov in 2000.

As It Happened | D Gukesh defeats Ding Liren in Game 14 of World Chess Championship

Gukesh achieved the feat by capitalising on a blunder by Ding in the 55th move of the final Classical game of the Championship after moving his rook to f2, with the Chinese Grandmaster raising the white flag in surrender just three moves later.

POV you just witnessed Gukesh D become the 18th World Champion! #DingGukesh 🇮🇳 🏆 ♟️ pic.twitter.com/gWaF8iJrvk

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 12, 2024

The game, which began with a ‘Reti Opening’ (Nf3) from Ding who was playing with whites, appeared headed for a stalemate after the two players opted for a knight exchange as early as the seventh move, and would lose their remaining knights along with a bishop each seven moves later.

Leela Zero, the neural chess engine that had been making win predictions throughout the World Championship in Singapore, would later heavily tilt towards a draw after Ding and Gukesh exchanged queens in Move 30.

All the while, Ding kept hinting at a draw by offering up some of his vital pieces to Gukesh, including one of his rooks, hoping to take the World Championship to the tie-breaks where he would have an advantage over the Indian in the faster Rapid and Blitz formats.

Youngest world champions in the history of chess:

D Gukesh 🇮🇳 18y-8m-14d

Garry Kasparov 🇷🇺 (in 1985) 22y-6m-27d

Magnus Carlsen 🇳🇴 (in 2013) 22y-11m-24d

Mikhail Tal 🇱🇻 (in 1960) 23y-5m-28d

Anatoly Karpov 🇷🇺 (in 1975) 23y-10m-11d#DingGukesh https://t.co/jWNAGQ5XWh pic.twitter.com/vrgBzqWFje

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) December 12, 2024

Gukesh, however, refused to give up just yet and dragged the game on past the 50th move, thanks mainly to the considerable time advantage he had over the Chinese Grandmaster, who had defeated Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana last year to be crowned world champion.

Ding had less than 10 minutes on the clock, compared to over an hour for Gukesh, when he blundered in his 55th move. Gukesh noticed the folly instantly, and the body language of the two Grandmasters changed dramatically.

Also Read | ‘Gukesh you legend’, wishes pour in after Indian GM clinches historic title in Singapore

The Indian GM quickly captured his rook on f2, with his own piece getting captured by the rival king. The two players would initiate a bishop exchange shortly after, at which point Gukesh had the advantage of an extra pawn over his opponent.

With Gukesh having clinched the world championship in Game 14, 13 December – the scheduled final day of the event – will witness the teenager getting crowned as the new world champion at 6 pm local time (3.30 pm IST).