For the first time in nearly three weeks, De Gukesh behaved like an 18-year-old. Overcome by the weight of the moment, the Chennai teenager started crying on the chessboard.
It’s not every day you become a world champion. It is certainly not everyday that Gukesh becomes the youngest world champion in history after defeating Ding Liren in a 14-game World Chess Championship match in Singapore.
In fact, the line of succession of world chess champions – which began in 1886 and has seen 17 men ascend the throne – has never been seen by a teenager.
Before Gukesh, Garry Kasparov – 22 years, six months and 27 days – was the youngest world champion. Magnus Carlsen, who chose not to defend his title in 2023, was 22 years, 11 months and 24 days old when he won his first championship in 2013.
“It was probably the best moment of my life,” Gukesh said of his opponent’s blunder on the 55th move of game 14 on Thursday, which opened the door for his ascension. He said, ‘Since I started playing chess, I have been dreaming of this moment, I have been living this moment for more than 10 years.
Until that stage, the game seems to end in a draw. But a miscalculated push by Rook (55.Rf2) saw Ding’s last line of defense leave the board, and an inevitable checkmate. In short, one ill-timed move cost the game, the match and the crown.
At that time, both players struggled for more than four hours. With three pawns on the board compared to Ding’s two, Gukesh had a slight material advantage. He saved an hour more time than his opponent. But apart from hope, Gukesh didn’t have much to play for at that point. The 55th move changed that.
Gukesh’s impassive face smiled as he saw this move.
Since the start of the championship on November 25, Ding would sneak a glance at Gukesh’s face, as if to read his emotions. But Gukesh largely gave Ding nothing, certainly not an expression that betrayed his thoughts.
After he became the world champion, everything came out. Sympathy too.
“Before talking about anything else, I want to talk about my opponent. We all know who Ding Liren is. He has been one of the best players in history for many years, and the amount of pressure he faced, and the kind of fight he still gave at the World Championships, shows what a true champion he is. I’m really sorry for Ding and his team, and I want to thank him for putting on the show,” said Gukesh.
Ding has previously spoken about depression keeping him away from the board and not having much self-confidence on the board.
“No matter what anyone says about Ding, he is a real world champion,” Gukesh said, referring to predictions by former world champions such as Magnus Carlsen and top grandmasters such as Hikaru Nakamura that the board would be “massacred” by Indians. That Chinese GM will be crushed.
Ding didn’t crash, but he made three crucial errors on the board that led to three losses.
The reigning world champion was equally gracious in defeat. “Considering my lucky escape in yesterday’s match, it is only fair that I lost in the end. I have no regrets,” Ding said before leaving the press conference.
Gukesh stood up as Ding left and clapped his opponent through the door, taking his seat only after the Chinese left the room. In victory, he would certainly not forget his habit.
Almost half an hour later, right after his opponent had thrown in the towel, Gukesh was still waiting on the chessboard, torn apart but still rearranging the chessboard, as if it was his duty to put it all back in, even though Bhavna was tormented. Return the pieces to their categories.
Gukesh’s victory came on the back of his ability to keep the fight going. The other Grandmasters accepted the draw today and would battle it out tomorrow in a tie-breaker (where players play the fastest time controls).
But, at the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore for the third time, Gukesh was not willing to settle for a draw even though victory was nowhere on the horizon. In the previous two games, that strategy didn’t pay off. On Thursday, it made him world champion.
For some time now, it has felt that the chess world is bracing for an era of Indian talent – from the Candidates Tournament earlier this year, which saw an unprecedented number of Indian players qualify, to the double gold medal for the Indian team. Budapest Chess Olympiad. Earlier, Kasparov called it the “Indian earthquake in chess”.
With the coronation of Gukesh, the prophecies are fulfilled. There was an earthquake in India recently.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package