Indian Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh on December 12 became the youngest chess champion in the world.
Key points
- Gukesh made history as he clinched 18th World Chess Championship defeating Ding Liren of China in the 14th and the final match of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore.
- With the endgame dragging out into the fifth hour, Ding made a blunder in the 55th move which cost him the match and the crown.
- With this historical victory, Gukesh also took home a hefty prize money of whopping USD 1.3 million (approx ₹11.03 crore) from the 2.5 million prize purse
- The 18-year-old from Chennai broke the record held by the Russian Garry Kasparov for nearly four decades.
- Gukesh capped his meteoric rise scoring 7.5 points while defending champion Ding got 6.5 points in the championship.
- In total 14 matches, Gukesh won three while Ding succeeded in two, rest nine matches were drawn.
- Gukesh is the second world champion from India after Viswanathan Anand, who won the title four times.
- Gukesh became the challenger to the world championship in April 2024 by winning the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament with a score of 9/14, which also made him the youngest-ever Candidates Tournament winner.
Process of World Chess Championship
- The first step to becoming the world champion is to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. Top grandmasters from around the world competes in the Candidates Tournament.
- The winner of Candidates Tournament get the right to challenge the current world champion.
- The winner of the Candidates plays a best-of-14 games match against the reigning world champion.
- The winner of that match becomes the next world champion.
