Dommaraju Gukesh18, won the last long game of the tournament on Thursday world chess championship against the defending Chinese champion Ding Lirenand became the youngest player to win the title.
The two men entered the 14th game evenly, which seemed to be heading towards a draw, but the Indian took advantage of an error by his opponent on the 55th move to take a decisive advantage and force the abandonment.
The duel in Singapore was indecisive until the end, but the mistakes of Ding, 32, ended up costing him the title he won for the first time in April 2023. Since that crown he had played much less and seemed to lose quality in his game.
“When I realized his mistake, it was the best moment of my life,” Gukesh said at a press conference. With black pieces the Indian put pressure on a balanced game and especially took advantage of Ding’s lack of time to reflect, who was playing at a slower pace.
At the time of his mistake, Ding only had 10 minutes left on the clock, an hour less than Gukesh.
“My strategy in the game was to push as hard as possible,” explained the new world champion.
Gukesh has not missed the opportunity to continue his extraordinary rise. His designation as a rival thanks to his victory during the Candidates Tournament in April 2024 was already surprising, but he continued to gain weight with a great performance in the Chess Olympiad in September, won by India.
He is the fifth player in the world ranking and the youngest among the top 50, becoming the second Indian to obtain this title, after Viswanathan Anand, champion between 2007 and 2013.
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Carlsen’s shadow
“When I watched the game in 2013” in which Anand lost his title in India against the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, “I told myself that it would be great to be in his place. I wanted to be the one to bring the title to India. That dream has been the most important thing in my life until now,” explained Gukesh, very excited, after having paid tribute to his opponent.
“He has been one of the best players in history for years. He is an incredible fighter. Seeing how he continued fighting despite all the pressure he was under shows how much of a champion he is,” he declared about his Chinese rival.
Before, Ding had valued “having played (his) best tournament of the year. It could have been better but I was already lucky to survive yesterday (Wednesday)”, during the 13th game, which was close to losing.
“I have nothing to regret,” he concluded, promising to continue playing chess.
Gukesh started as the favorite in the duel. Despite a false start with a loss in the first game, he equalized the contest by winning the third game.
After the 11th game he took the lead, but the next day he was surprised by Ding.
This world championship will not resolve questions about the format for obtaining the title managed by the international federation. World number 1, Magnus Carlsen, who won the title five consecutive times in 2013 and 2021, decided not to defend his crown due to lack of motivation.
The Norwegian’s level seems far below that proposed throughout the current world championship. In this edition, Carlsen has acted as a commentator for his chess application, while still trying to create new formats that attract public attention and money to chess.
🇮🇳 Gukesh D 🥹
Ladies and gentlemen, the 18th WORLD CHAMPION! #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/CgzYBgeTfq— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 12, 2024
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