Defending World Chess Champion Ding Liren found himself regretting a critical mistake during the 14th and final game of the FIDE World Chess Championship on Thursday, which eventually handed India`s D Gukesh the title of the youngest-ever world chess champion.
Liren`s blunder proved costly, allowing the 18-year-old Gukesh to seize the opportunity and make history. While the chess community has largely celebrated Gukesh`s remarkable achievement, Russian Chess Federation president Andrei Filatov has cast doubt on the legitimacy of Liren`s loss, accusing the Chinese grandmaster of deliberately throwing the game.
The President of the Chess Federation of Russia🇷🇺, FIDE honorary member Andrei Filatov, accuses Ding Liren🇨🇳 of losing on purpose, and asks @FIDE_chess to start an investigation:@FIDE_chess @tassagency_en https://t.co/mPpSjwj2xK pic.twitter.com/SANqHdhVEI
— Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess) December 12, 2024
In comments to Russian news agency TASS, Filatov called on the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to investigate the outcome of the final game. “The result of the last game caused bewilderment among professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive segment are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE,” he said.
The emotional moment that 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the 18th world chess champion 🥲🏆 pic.twitter.com/jRIZrYeyCF
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024
Filatov further expressed disbelief at Liren`s performance, arguing that losing from such a position was almost unthinkable for a player of his caliber. “Losing the position in which Ding Liren was is difficult even for a first-class player. The defeat of the Chinese chess player in today`s game raises a lot of questions and looks like a deliberate one,” he remarked.
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Gukesh secured the requisite 7.5 points as against 6.5 of his Chinese rival after winning the 14th and last classical time control game of the match that seemed headed for a draw for most part. As winner, he will walk away with a whopping USD 1.3 million (approx Rs 11.03 crore) from the 2.5 million prize purse.
“I was dreaming this moment for the last 10 years. I am happy that I realised the dream (and made it) into reality,” the soft-spoken Chennai-lad told reporters after the historic triumph.
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“I got a bit emotional because I was not expecting to win. But then I got a chance to press on,” he added.
The triumph was expectedly hailed across India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing it as “historic and exemplary”. “This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination,” Modi posted on X.
The reticent teenager grinned widely and raised his arms in celebration after the victory, a stark contrast from the poker face he usually sports while playing. Even on Thursday, when the analysts had proclaimed that the match, in all likelihood, would go into a tie-breaker, Gukesh`s face hardly gave anything away as he gained the upper-hand.
It was a momentary lapse of concentration by Liren in what seemed a drawn endgame and as it happened, the entire chess world was left in a state of shock. The players were just left with a rook and a bishop and Gukesh had two pawns against one trying to make a foray without much success. However, the ability to keep pushing for more gave Gukesh a distinct advantage over the Chinese and the latter simply collapsed to give the title to Gukesh.
Before Gukesh`s feat on Thursday, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
Gukesh had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
(With inputs from PTI)
