Gukesh’s championship win is a triumph for Indian chess

Eighteen-year old Gukesh Dommaraju, from India, has become the youngest ever world chess champion – after defeating defending champion, China’s Ding Liren, in Singapore yesterday.

There is an adorable clip online in which an 11-year old Gukesh, smiling shyly, states his ambition to become the youngest world champion. Bold as that goal was, at the age of 18 he has accomplished it with time to spare, since Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen were both 22 years old when they won the title. 

The fourteenth and final game of the match saw an extraordinary turn of events. Up until that point, the scores were tied, with two wins apiece and nine draws. After four hours of play, Gukesh held an advantage, but most commentators anticipated that Ding would hold the line and secure a draw. That would have steered the match into a rapid tiebreak, in which Ding’s greater experience was expected to give him the edge.