SINGAPORE: Indian teen prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest undisputed world chess champion on Thursday after beating China’s Ding Liren in the final match of their series in Singapore.

The 18-year-old became “the YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION in history”, said the International Chess Federation in a post on social media platform X, after Ding resigned in a thrilling endgame that had been expected to end in a draw.

The 32-year-old slumped on the table after he realised he had made an endgame blunder that gave his opponent an opportunity to pounce, while Gukesh burst into tears, burying his face in both hands.

Cheers from jubilant fans, many of them Indians who had flown in to watch the match and Singaporeans of Indian descent, erupted at the viewing rooms near the playing arena.

Fans were chanting Gukesh’s name as he walked in for the after-match press conference.

The game was going for a draw but with a one-pawn advantage — supported by a rook and a bishop — a tenacious Gukesh pressed on and was richly rewarded for it.

“My whole strategy for this match was to push as much as possible in every single game,” Gukesh told reporters. “It just takes one game for the strategy to pay off.”

His victory in game 14 gave him a score of 7.5 against Ding’s 6.5, cementing his remarkable rise to stardom after becoming the youngest ever challenger for the world championship.

At his age, Gukesh surpassed the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who won the title at age 22.

He also became the second Indian after five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand to hold the title.

Magnanimous in victory, Gukesh praised Ding, saying he “fought like a true champion”.

He had won in the Candidates Tournament held in Toronto, Canada, in April this year, earning him the right to challenge Ding.

The Singapore match kicked off on Nov 25 at the Resorts World Sentosa, stretching on as the two players had more draws than decisive games.

The Chinese grandmaster won the opening game, but Gukesh levelled the score with a victory in game three.

Seven consecutive draws followed, broken only when Gukesh beat his opponent in game 11.

But Ding emphatically won an equaliser with white in game 12 and salvaged a draw with the black pieces in the 13th, bringing the game to the homestretch.

Born to a doctor father and microbiologist mother, Gukesh started playing chess when he was seven, and became India’s youngest grandmaster aged 12 years, seven months and 17 days.

In 2022, Gukesh beat US number one Fabiano Caruana at the Chess Olympiad and later that year triumphed over Magnus Carlsen, a five-time world champion.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024