Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju achieved a remarkable feat by defeating China's Ding Liren to become the youngest-ever world chess champion on Thursday in Singapore. The 18-year-old from Chennai secured the decisive victory in the final game of their best-of-14-games match, which seemed destined for a draw until Ding made a critical mistake in the closing stages.
The 32-year-old Ding resigned shortly after, marking the end of a game that lasted just over four hours. Gukesh admitted he initially failed to recognize Ding's blunder, only realizing after a few moments that his opponent's bishop was trapped. "When I realized it, it was probably the best moment of my life," he said.
Ding, playing with the white pieces, had the upper hand in the opening, but Gukesh managed to stabilize his position in the middlegame. The match appeared to be heading for a draw as material was exchanged from move 19 onwards. However, Ding's decision to sacrifice a pawn for a straightforward endgame complicated matters, forcing Gukesh to continue fighting. Under intense time pressure, Gukesh capitalized on Ding's error in the endgame.
Ding later expressed his shock at the blunder, saying, "I was totally in shock when I realized I made a blunder. His facial expression showed that he was very happy and excited, and I realized I made a mistake. It took some time to realize it."
Ding entered the title match at the Equarius Hotel in Singapore on a poor run of form, having gone 28 classical games without a win. This slump saw him drop to 23rd in the world rankings, making him a 3-1 underdog in the match. However, he surprised everyone by winning Game 1 as black, ending his 10-month winless streak.
Game 2 ended in a draw, but Gukesh bounced back with a win in Game 3. The following games from four to ten were all draws. Gukesh secured another victory in Game 11, but Ding retaliated in Game 12. The 13th game on Wednesday concluded peacefully.
Despite being considered the underdog due to his recent form, Ding would have been favored if the match had been decided in rapid or blitz games. A full report will follow.
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