Indian teen Gukesh Dommaraju made history after beating defending world chess champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday in a 14-game match in Singapore.
Youngest champion
The 18-year-old was dubbed “youngest world champion in history” by the International Chess Federation in a post on social media platform X.
“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,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a congratulatory tweet.
Dommaraju, the 18th world champion, surpassed the long-standing record held by Garry Kasparov, who became the youngest champion in 1985 at age 22 after defeating Anatoly Karpov.
The match had a prize fund of $2.5 million, according to a Reuters report.
Emotional reaction
The Chennai teen became emotional, bursting into tears, after beating Liren in the final game, expected to end in a draw, with a score of 7.5-6.5.
At the after-match press conference, Dommaraju said he probably got so emotional because he “did not really expect to win that position.”
Playing with the black pieces, Dommaraju capitalized on a critical blunder from the Chinese former world champion, who faltered under pressure despite being in a relatively comfortable position earlier in the game where he won in the opening round of the match and had evened the score in round 12 following two wins from the Indian teen.
Liren, who became the world chess champion in 2023 by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi, has struggled to maintain his form since his historic win. The Chinese player’s performance in classical formats has notably declined and has not secured a victory in a long-format classical game since January.
His absence from major tournaments in recent months, reportedly aimed at improving his preparation, seems to have been insufficient against the rising talent of Dommaraju Gukesh.
Key background
Dommaraju secured his spot in the World Chess Championship, held this year at Singapore’s Equarius Hotel in Resorts World Sentosa, by winning the Candidates Tournament in April, a prestigious eight-player, double round-robin event. This tournament featured top contenders, including fellow Indian grandmasters Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.
