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On Thursday, December 12, in the Game 14 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match, Indian GM Dommaraju Gukesh defeated Chinese GM Ding Liren, to become the youngest world chess champion with a 7.5-6.5 scoreline. The 18-year-old, who had made it to his first World Chess Championship match after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year, also became the 18th world chess champion in the illustrious history of the game.
In the Game 14 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match, Ding Liren, who had the white pieces, made 1.Nf3 move, which led to the game evolving into the Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld. Following that, Dommaraju Gukesh opted for few different moves, which were considered a novelty at the top level of chess, and it forced the world champion into a deep thought, but ultimately, he managed to get out of a predicament in style.
Dommaraju Gukesh's persistance to push Ding Liren to his absolute limit paid off in a big way
The queens were traded off the board by Dommaraju Gukesh and Ding Liren on move 30, and the Game 14 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match seemed like heading to a draw. But, Gukesh made Ding fight to earn a draw, and after the 40-move time control was reached, the challenger had a pawn advantage in a rook-bishop endgame, and ultimately, it was a blunder from the Chinese, which led to him relinquishing his world title after 58 moves on the board.
Dommaraju Gukesh went through several emotions when he realised that Ding Liren had blundered before celebrating his World Chess Championship 2024 victory in style. After becoming the second Indian world champion in chess, following in the footsteps of legendary Vishwanathan Anand, he said, as per the Times of India, “When I realised (Ding Liren's blunder), it was the best moment of my life.”
“We all know who Ding is. He has been one of the best players in history. We have seen how much pressure he has faced and it shows who the true champion is. For me, he is a real world champion,” Gukesh further added.
