The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: In a dramatic and historic moment, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest World Chess Champion, defeating reigning champion Ding Liren in a nail-biting final match in Singapore on Thursday, December 12.
The decisive moment came at move 55, when Ding, under immense time pressure, made a critical blunder by moving his rook to f2. Gukesh immediately recognised the error, steadied himself and seized the opportunity to claim victory with a final score of 7.5-6.5.
Overwhelmed with tears of joy, the young prodigy arranged his pieces, looked to the heavens and raised his arms in celebration.
Ding, who fought valiantly throughout the match, displayed moments of brilliance, but his crucial misstep in the endgame proved fatal. The same rook that had helped him clinch the championship title a year earlier against Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi ironically became the reason for his loss.
Also read: Chess: India’s Rising Star Gukesh Takes World Championship Lead
The match, which appeared to be heading for a draw, took a dramatic turn as Ding’s time disadvantage – just 10 minutes remaining compared to Gukesh’s hour – added to the mounting pressure. Gukesh capitalised on the situation and converted his advantage by the 58th move, forcing Ding to resign.
With this victory, Gukesh surpasses Garry Kasparov’s record to become the youngest World Chess Champion. His win also marks India’s second world chess championship title, following the legendary Viswanathan Anand.
Indian chess is in safe hands with Gukesh leading the charge along with Arjun Erigaisi, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi besides Anand himself.