Frances Mao (BBC News)
London, December 14, 2024
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest-ever world Chess champion after beating defending champion China’s Ding Liren in a dramatic turn on December 12, 2024.
Dommaraju (18) is four years younger than the former record-holder, Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won the title in 1985.
The Chennai prodigy has long been a Superstar in the Chess world, having attained the status of Chess Grandmaster at the age of 12. But he was seen as the outside challenger going into the final round of the FIDE World Chess Championship, held in Singapore this year.
Playing on black, Dommaraju won the game after Ding, who had been in a solid position, made a fatal foolish move that gave up his last powerful piece. His blunder delivered victory to the 18-year-old, who until now had been ranked fifth in the world and second in his own country.
Global interest for the Championship
The 14-game World Championship competition was closely watched by Chess fans around the world this past fortnight. Going into the final game on Thursday, Dommaraju and Ding had eight draws and two wins apiece.
Players receive one point for a win and half a point each for a draw. Dommaraju claimed the title on Thursday with a final score of 7.5 to 6.5, becoming just the 18th World Chess Champion.
The teenager comes from Chennai, a city known as India’s Chess Capital for having produced so many national champions. But there were no elite Chess players in his family; he was enrolled in Chess sessions after school because his father, a surgeon, and his mother, a medical professor, needed somewhere to put him.
His talent was spotted there by coaches, who encouraged his family to invest in his training. In high school in 2019, he was crowned a Grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months, the third-youngest in history.
The teenager has spoken before about how yoga and mindful thinking have helped him deal with the pressures of his Chess career. He stayed focused on Thursday as his opponent, the defending champion Ding, appeared to buckle under the pressure.
Lost momentum
Ding has faced questions over his form all year since winning the title in 2023 becoming China’s first Chess world champion. For most of the year, he had taken a break from Chess, having spoken about his struggles with depression and mental health.
But his stylish win over Dommaraju in the opening game of the championship last month, and a victory in Round 12, had suggested momentum. Thursday’s game saw several hours of tight play, with commentators suggesting it was heading to a draw. But on the 55th move, Ding committed a fatal blunder – moving his rook into a position to be taken.
Immediately recognising his mistake, he slumped on the table.
“Ding seemed to have a risk-free chance to push for a win, but instead liquidated into a pawn-down endgame,” Chess.com wrote in its post-game summary. “It should have been drawn, but Ding blundered as the pressure grew.” He resigned three moves later. Dommaraju promptly burst into tears as the room erupted with cheers.
“I probably got so emotional because I did not really expect to win that position,” he said.
At age 18, he is only the second Indian player to become a World Chess Champion, after five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand who last won in 2012.
A proud moment
“It is a proud moment for Chess, a proud moment for India… and for me, a very personal moment of pride.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi was also among the first public figures showering praise. “Historic and exemplary!” he wrote on X. “Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination.”
The FIDE World Chess Championship carries a US$ 2.5 million prize fund.
The above Report and pictures have been published under a special agreement with BBC News.
The following is from Wikipedia
The World Chess Championship 2024, officially known as the World Chess Championship 2024 presented by Google, was a Chess match between the reigning World Champion Ding Liren and the Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju to determine the World Chess Champion. The match took place between 25 November and 12 December 2024 in Singapore. It was played to a best of 14 games, with tiebreaks if required. The match was won by Gukesh 7½–6½ after 14 games. The win made Gukesh the 18th undisputed World Champion and, at age 18, the youngest of them.
Ding Liren won the 2023 World Chess Championship by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi, after reigning champion Magnus Carlsen declined to defend his title. Gukesh won the eight-player Candidates Tournament held in April 2024 to win the right to challenge Ding for the World Championship. Before the start of the match, Gukesh was ranked fifth in the FIDE rankings with an Elo rating of 2783 while Ding was ranked 23rd with an Elo rating of 2728.
Ding won two games and Gukesh won three. The 14th and final game ended with Gukesh winning the game and match with the black pieces after Ding resigned following a blunder that allowed Gukesh to simplify the position to a king and pawn versus king endgame.
Ding Liren became World Chess Champion in April 2023, after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 Championship match.
Ding had finished second to Nepomniachtchi in the Candidates Tournament 2022, but when reigning Champion Magnus Carlsen chose not to defend his title, Ding replaced Carlsen in the 2023 match. After acquiring the title, Ding did not appear in professional tournaments for months, an absence which Ding later revealed in interviews to be due to fatigue and depression. Ding withdrew from tournaments including the 2023 Asian Games and did not enter the first four events of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. He returned to classical Chess in January 2024 at the 2024 Tata Steel Chess Tournament and announced that he still intended to defend his world champion title.
A rough stretch
Ding’s return to Chess introduced a rough stretch of form, with a set of poor performances at the 2024 Tata Steel Masters, Norway Chess, and the Grenke Chess Classic. Ding’s rating fell from 2788 (at the time of the World Chess Championship 2023) to 2728, while his world ranking fell from world number 3 to world number 23. His poor results led several Chess Grandmasters to express concern about Ding’s overall ability to defend his world championship title, notably Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. However, while acknowledging Ding’s weakened physical condition during the 2024 Sinquefield Cup, Anish Giri highlighted Ding’s improved Chess level during the first half of the tournament. Ding’s opponent in the 2023 match, Ian Nepomniachtchi, also remarked on Caruana’s podcast that Ding would be a clear favourite if he were in prime form.
Reflecting on his poor form in an interview during the 45th Chess Olympiad, Ding admitted that Gukesh is “playing extremely well in this tournament. Maybe he is a favourite in the World Championship Match. He also has a higher rating than me.” Ding also remarked, “I have dropped a lot since last year, but I will fight my best to try to overcome the rating difference.”
The Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju, qualified by winning the Candidates Tournament 2024 in Toronto, Canada, which was an eight-player double Round-Robin Tournament.
It took place from April 3 to April 22, 2024. Fabiano Caruana won the 2023 FIDE Circuit but had already qualified for the Candidates through the Chess World Cup 2023. Hence, Gukesh qualified for the Candidates via the FIDE Circuit, after overtaking Anish Giri with a win at the Chennai Grand Masters tournament.
