- By Namrata Vijay
- Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:06 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
World Chess Championship 2024: India's Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh showed grit and resilience when he scripted history as he became the youngest world chess champion at just 18 years old. He achieved this milestone by defeating champion Ding Laren in a thrilling nail-biting summit clash of the 2024 World Chess championship.
Gukesh was seen getting emotional after beating Ding Liren as he became the youngest world chess champion at just 18 years of age. The youngster began crying after he acknowledged the importance of this milestone as his 10-year-old dream was finally achieved.
Gukesh pays tribute to Vishwanathan Anand
Gukesh's historic victory also acted as a tribute to legendary Indian chess player Vishwanathan Anand, who is the only Indian to have won the title before him.
The five-time world champion Anand lost to Magnus Carlsen in 2013. Talking about his legacy, Gukesh revealed that he watched that important match and how it encouraged him. “11 years ago, the title was taken away from India. When I was watching the match in 2013, I was inside the stands and I thought that it would be so cool to be inside the box", Gukesh said after the match.
Gukesh has become just the second Indian to have won the World Championship title and is behind Vishwanathan Anand.
Chess.com posted a video in which Gukesh was seen struggling to control his emotions as he rearranged the pieces as someone from the background comforted him and said, "Don't cry, it's ok".
Also Read: Josh Hazlewood back in Australia's playing XI for 3rd Test against India
The Indian fans started celebrating outside the room as Gukesh too joined in.
Watch the video here:
The emotional moment that 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the 18th world chess champion 🥲🏆 pic.twitter.com/jRIZrYeyCF
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024
Gukesh vs Ding: A nail-biting finale
The summit clash ended with an intense Game 14, where both he and Ding made a few intense moves. As the match went by, at one point it looked like it would end in a tie and that would have ended in tie-breaks. But, Ding committed an unforeseeable error during the 55th move and that led Gukesh to take advantage and win the match with a score of 7.5 as compared to Ding's 6.5.
D Gukesh's decade of dreaming
Post his triumph, D Gukesh was ecstatic and also stunned after achieving his career's milestone. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment for 10 years!” he said.
He reckoned that he wasn't expecting to win but took advantage after Ding committed that error. “I got a bit emotional because I was not expecting to win. But then I got a chance to press on", he added.
D Gukesh breaking records
After this win, Gukesh just didn't became the youngest champion but also broke Garry Kasparov's record of clinching the title at just 22 years of age. He has become just the second Indian to have won the elusive title after Anand, who is a five-time World champion.
D Gukesh: A young prodigy's rise
His road to this historic triumph started this year after he won the Candidates tournament and thus became the youngest challenger to have won this title. He was touted as the favorite to win due to his brilliant preparation but did face stiff competition from Ding, who did put up a brilliant fight in this series.
