D. Gukesh checkmated China's Ding Liren to become the 18th World Chess Champion at just 18 years old, breaking Garry Kasparov's record as the youngest ever champion, previously set at 22 years in 1985. Gukesh is also the second Indian to claim the title, following Viswanathan Anand. As the game headed toward a draw, the defending champion faltered, allowing Gukesh to seize victory.

With this triumph, the World Chess Championship crown, which Magnus Carlsen took from Viswanathan Anand in Chennai in 2013, returns to India, the birthplace of chess. Gukesh’s victory makes him the youngest World Chess Champion in history, marking a new era for the sport.

When Ding Liren blundered in a seemingly equal and drawable position in the 14th and last game of the World Chess Championship in Singapore, Gukesh, the challenger, realized he would be the new monarch of the 64-square game.

The World No. 5 could not hide his excitement and emotions. He smiled, covered his face and uncorked a winning move. Three moves later, Ding resigned to hand over the crown he held after beating Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi via tiebreaks in Astana, Kazakhstan, last year.
"I knew I could play on this game for 5-6 hours, but I was mentally prepared for tomorrow's tiebreaks", said Gukesh.

Indeed, Ding was not expected to crack in this position - rook and light-squared bishop each with Gukesh having an extra pawn (2 vs 1). But the stage and time-pressure got to him as he played the only move on the 55th turn - without much provocation - which would end in a loss. Hence, it was no surprise that Gukesh first thanked the almighty after his moment of triumph.

Ding had told chess24 on the eve of the final game that he was ready for a prolonged battle. However, despite having the white pieces and securing a solid position from the opening, he was enticed into playing for a draw after Gukesh's 18th move (pawn to b5), driven by unnecessary fear of a worse outcome.

'Gukesh's face told me I had just made a blunder'
Being the champion does not mean I am the best player in the world", said Gukesh. "It's motivating that someone (Magnus Carlsen) is at a very, very high level. That will help me to continue working hard".

Carlsen withdrew from the World Championship cycle, which had allowed Ding to enter the competition last year. The five-time world champion cited a lack of motivation with classical time control and an imbalanced 'effort vs reward ratio' as the reasons for his decision.

Thursday's game was moving toward a draw, with the match likely heading to rapid tiebreaks. Given Ding's experience and higher rating in shorter time controls, he was considered the favorite in that phase.

Finally, that was thrown out of the window much to the relief of the players as Gukesh won with a scoreline of 7.5-6.5 points. Gukesh won in 58 moves of Reti Opening, Kings Indian Attack variation from black pieces.
Despite the path-breaking achievement, Gukesh did not lose his bearings. When Ding left the playing arena, Gukesh wept tears of joy but did not forget to rearrange his pieces and that of his opponent. He also bowed in front of the chess board before leaving the stage. In a show of great appreciation for his rival, Gukesh stood up when Ding was set to leave after finishing his part of the press conference and shook his hand. Till Ding left the hall, Gukesh was clapping for the Chinese.

Ding said after the loss, "Gukesh's face told me that I had just made the blunder. I was totally shocked. It was already not easy to draw the game. Maybe I just needed to wait (show patience). No game tomorrow. This tournament was my best performance of the year." It underlined his overall struggle and how he raised his game in Singapore with wins in the first and 12th games after losing the third and 11th games. "Considering yesterday's lucky escape (a draw in the 13th game), it's a fair result. I have no regrets".