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 Thursday.
Dommaraju, at age 18, is four years younger than Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov was when he won the title in 1985 at age 22.
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 challenger going into the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship match held in Singapore this year.
Playing on black, Dommaraju won the game after an under-pressure Ding made a rare mistake while in a solid position, game commentators observed.
The 18-year-old clinched the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5 – bringing to an end a fortnight where the pair’s games had been closely followed by chess fans worldwide.
Ding had faced pressure over his form all year, ever since winning the 2023 title.
The Chinese player had not won a long-format “classical” game since January and was seen to be avoiding other top-level competitions.
But he had put in a strong opening game and won the second-last match against Dommaraju, suggesting momentum.
Both players had two victories apiece and eight draws going into the final game on Thursday.
Credit: bbc.com
