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.
The FIDE World Chess Championship carries a $2.5m (£1.96m) prize fund.
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.
The 14-game World Championship competition had been 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.
He stayed focused on Thursday as his opponent, the defending champion Ding, appeared to buckle under the pressure.
Ding has faced questions over his form all year since winning the title in 2023 becoming China’s first chess world champion.
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.
BBC
