All Hail King Gukesh! 18-Year-Old Becomes Youngest-Ever Undisputed Chess World Champion

image from inquirer.net

The 2024 World Chess Championship between Ding Liren and Gukesh D. was a historic event held in Singapore. It was the first time in 138 years that two Asian players competed for the title. Ding Liren, the reigning champion from China, faced India's Gukesh Dommaraju, the youngest-ever contender at just 18 years old.

Asia's first Grandmaster celebrating the historic match in an interview

The match was intense, with Ding Liren winning game one. Many including me was writing off Ding because of his poor form in tournaments but he clearly showed he still has what it takes especially in game 12 where he won on demand. In the end, Gukesh won the championship with a final score of 7.5–6.5, making him the youngest world champion in history at 18 years old. This victory further highlights India's growing prominence in the chess world. The event also featured significant partnerships, including Google as a title sponsor, reflecting the increasing mainstream appeal of chess globally.

image from fide.com

This match will forever be remembered by the last game. At one point Ding Liren had the advantage and putting pressure on Gukesh. However, he exchanged to a drawish endgame and seem to want to proceed to the tie-breaks. Gukesh played on probably wanting to and had a one pawn advantage in a drawish game. He probably wanted to tire Ding leading to the tie-breaks and played on until this blunder happened.

image from lichess.com

Even though Black had a one pawn advantage, Ra4 preserves the position and still drawish. The text move however, leads to a lost endgame.

Both players didn't see the blunder immediately. Gukesh admitted he almost avoided the trade of rooks with 55...Rb3?. Then it he saw that if he could exchange rooks, followed by bishops on d5, then the ensuing endgame would be won. "It was probably the best moment of my life!" he said later about knowing the match was over.

image from chess.com

On the other hand, Ding was shocked when he realized his mistake. "I was totally in shock when I made a blunder—his facial expression shows that he was very excited, happy." Ding said.

With this historic win, Gukesh, fulfills his dream of becoming the chess world champion. It's also an honor for India, an emerging Chess powerhouse to have another world champion since Vishy Anand 10 years ago.