D Gukesh was in tears after he became the youngest world chess champion. Gukesh, who is also the first teenager to win the title, broke the record of Garry Kasparov, who became the champion at the age of 22 after beating Anatoly Karpov way back in 1985. On Thursday, December 12, the 18-year-old Gukesh defeated China’s Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 title match, thereby becoming the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to the landmark.
After he secured the win, Gukesh, who played with black, was overwhelmed as tears rolled down his cheeks. He could not believe his luck after he came up trumps. Just when it seemed that the grand finale was heading for a tie-breaker scheduled for December 13, Gukesh had the rub of the green going his way after Ding, who was also the defending champion, made a huge blunder.
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How D Gukesh took down Ding Liren
Gukesh and Ding entered the final game of their match on Thursday tied at 6.5 points each. In the 14th game, with Ding playing white, the match seemed headed for a draw until Ding made a blunder on the 53rd move. Gukesh, a pawn up, continued to apply pressure, which eventually led to another blunder from Ding, allowing Gukesh to seize victory.
Gukesh started the World Chess Championship match on a tough note, losing the first game to Ding with white. However, he bounced back in Game 3 with a win. The two played seven consecutive draws before Gukesh delivered a stunning victory in Game 11. Ding responded with a nearly flawless performance in Game 12 while playing white.
In Game 13, Ding held off Gukesh’s pressure to secure a draw, sending the match into its final classical game, which ultimately ended in a triumph for the Indian Grandmaster.
