Dec 12–Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday in a dramatic turn of events in the last game of a 14-game match in Singapore.

The 18th world champion is, at age 18, four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who had been the youngest world champion since 1985 when he beat Anatoly Karpov.

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Gukesh won Thursday’s game with the black pieces after Ding wilted under pressure and blundered in what commentators considered to be a comfortable position, snatching the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5.

“I probably got so emotional because I did not really expect to win that position”, Gukesh told reporters.

Ding, whose form has plummeted since he beat Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi to claim the crown in 2023, had not won a long-time format “classical” game since January and largely avoided top events in a bid to improve.

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A fan takes a selfie with India’s grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (C) after his win against China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren in game 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on December 12, 2024.  (Photo by Simon Lim / AFP)

But the Chinese player regained confidence after a surprise win in the opening round of the match and, following two wins for Gukesh and eight draws, had evened the score in round 12 with a victory which was acclaimed by several commentators.

“We all know who Ding is, he has been one of the best players in history for several years”, Gukesh added.

The match was a 14-round long-time “classical” event with a prize fund of $2.5 million.

Gukesh had qualified in April by winning the Candidates tournament, an eight-player, double round robin eventfeaturing fellow Indians Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.

They and their teammates from India won gold in the open and women’s sections of the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September, which many professionals attributed to the efforts of former world champion Viswanathan Anand to promote chess in the country.

World number one Magnus Carlsen, who had been world champion since 2013, relinquished his title in 2022, citing a lack of motivation.

“Becoming the world champion doesn’t mean that I’m the best player in the world, obviously there’s Magnus, so it’s also a motivating factor”, Gukesh said.