18-year-old Gukesh Domaraj wins World Chess Championship, becoming the youngest ever world champion



At

the World Chess Championship held in Singapore from November to December 2024, Indian chess player Gukesh Domaraj , just 18 years old, won the championship. This made Gukesh the youngest ever world chess champion, surpassing the record held by Garry Kasparov , who became world champion at the age of 22 in 1985.

WCC 2024 Round 14: Gukesh Becomes the Youngest World Champion in History • lichess.org
https://lichess.org/@/Lichess/blog/wcc-2024-round-14-gukesh-becomes-the-youngest-world-champion-in-history/cDggdNZw



Gukesh Dommaraju: 18-year-old Indian becomes the youngest chess world champion ever | CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/12/sport/gukesh-dommaraju-youngest-chess-world-champion-spt/index.html

Gukesh Dommaraju becomes youngest world chess champion after horrific Ding Liren blunder | World Chess Championship 2024 | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/dec/12/gukesh-dommaraju-india-wins-world-chess-championship-youngest-champion-ding-liren

At the 2024 World Chess Championship held in Singapore, the 17th world champion, Chinese player Ding Liren, faced off against challenger Gukesh. The World Chess Championship is a system in which a maximum of 14 games are played and the winner is the one with the most wins, and if the game is still undecided, a tiebreaker will be played.

Ding is the first Chinese world champion, having defeated Russian Yang Nipomnis at the 2023 World Chess Championship. However, he took a nine-month break due to mental health issues, including depression, and his performance has been poor for a long time since then. Before this World Chess Championship, he had not won 28 games in long-lasting classical games, and his world ranking had dropped to 23rd place. The odds were overwhelmingly favored by Gukesh.

However, Ding won the first game, breaking his long streak of never winning a classical game at the World Chess Championship, and the two players went head-to-head in the final on Thursday, December 12th, with the score tied.

The final game was a close one, and it looked likely that the match would end in a draw and go into a tiebreak the next day, but in the final stages, Ding made a crucial error that tipped the scales in Gukesh's favor, and he resigned.

On the left is Mr. Ding, and on the right is Mr. Gukesh.



'When I realized that I had made this mistake, it was probably the best moment of my life,' Gukesh said of his feelings at the time.

Ding said: 'When I realised I had made a mistake I was completely shocked. Gukesh looked very happy and excited. It took me a while to realise it.'

The two shake hands immediately after the match



With this victory, the 18-year-old Gukes became the youngest world champion in history, surpassing the record held by Kasparov, who was 22 when he became world champion in 1985.



In his post-match comments, Ding said, 'I think this was my best tournament of the year. I could have done better, but considering my lucky survival yesterday (in the 13th match), I thought it was fair to lose in the end. I have no regrets and I'll keep playing.'

After the match, Gukesh praised Ding's fight, saying, 'Ding has not been in good condition for the past two years, but he came here. He was clearly struggling during the match and was probably not at his best physically. But he fought every match like a true champion.' 'First of all, I would like to thank my opponent,' he said.

'My journey began when I started playing chess at the age of 6 1/2 or 7. I've been dreaming of this moment for over 10 years. Every chess player wants to experience this moment, but very few get the chance. To be one of them... it's like a dream,' Gukesh said.

Gukesh's achievement was also recognised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wrote in a post on X, 'Historic and exemplary! Congratulations to Gukesh on his incredible achievement, which is a result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination.'



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