'This is a big day for Indian chess.'
Dommaraju Gukesh created history as he registered a stunning last-gasp victory against China's Ding Liren to become the youngest ever World Chess champion in Singapore on Thursday.
Gukesh, 18, surpassed the legendary Garry Kasparov who was crowned the youngest World champion when he won the title at age 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
He is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title.
Liren blundered right at the very end as Gukesh clinched a thrilling 7.5-6.5 victory after winning the last classical time control game of the 14-game match that seemed headed for a draw for most part.
Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte, who represented India at four Chess Olympiads and won seven medals at the Asian Team Chess Championship, hailed Gukesh for his phenomenal achievement.
"Gukesh deserves all the praise. He remained calm under pressure and was able to exert the pressure on Liren in all the games," Kunte, who captained the women's Olympiad gold medal winning team in Budapest in September, tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
How big is Gukesh's triumph for Indian chess?
This victory is huge for India.
It was an equal game till the very end, Ding Liren just crashed and made a very big blunder. Vishy Anand had won in a similar fashion against Veselin Topalov (in 2010). He won the last round with black pieces to win the World Chess Championship, so the maestro has taught his disciple very well.
At 18, Gukesh is the youngest World Champion. He showed remarkable poise to stretch Ding Liren till the very end before the Chinese player blundered at the very end. The way he handled everything so calmly in such a big game was just unbelievable. Isn't it?
Towards the end, it became very interesting. All the games were very closely fought. It was expected that the match would end sooner but anyways what has happened has happened.
Gukesh deserves all the praise. He remained calm under pressure and was able to exert the pressure on Liren in all the games.
I think only in one game (Game 12) he suffered but in such a big match that will happen where in one game you won't be up the mark.
If you see the opening, it was clear that Liren was not ready for a full-fledged fight. He wanted to equalise and get to the tie-breaker and I think that was not the best strategy.
Would say Ding Liren, despite his experienced, was unable to handle the pressure against a 18-year-old rival?
That blunder proved to be decisive. Liren had no chance of coming back after that mistake.
It was expected that Liren would crumble under pressure but I think he played very well to remain in the race in Game 13. It could have happened in Game 8 and Game 9 but he survived but he lost in Game 11 in which he made a big blunder.
He was always falling, making mistakes but was somehow managing to stay afloat but his luck run out at the end.
2024 has proved a dream year for Indian chess. The India men's and women's teams won the gold medals at the Chess Olympiad earlier this year, Divya Deshmukh emerged the 2024 FIDE World Under-20 Girls Chess Champion and now Gukesh has conquered the world.
2024 has been very good for Indian chess.
As you said, Divya won the World Under-20 Girls Chess Champion, we won both the gold medals at the Chess OIympiad and now Gukesh becoming World Champion. Arjun Erigaisi becoming World No 3 (in October) was also another big moment for India.
This is a big day for Indian chess. I would say Christmas has come early for India.
What qualities of Gukesh stood out in this title clash because he never gave up till the end?
This was his first match experience but he showed a lot of commitment towards his game.
When he was playing with White, he was putting all the pressure on his opponent. Despite losing in the first game, he made sure he keeps on pressurising his opponents.
He could have converted Game 8 and Game 9 where he had a good opportunity. He suffered a defeat in Game 12 but in the next game the way in which he played he made sure he remained positive.
He was focused on playing 14 good moves in every game and that is what was important because he was not looking for a quick draws or he was not looking for a safe approach. He was just going out to play a fighting game and that was very important.
How big a boost is this victory for the growth of chess in India?
It is a big boost because a 18 year old becoming a World Chess Champion is not a small feat. It is a big lift for chess in India.
We have other top chess players like Arjun Erigaisi and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Next year could we see any of the Indians winning the Candidates and playing against Gukesh in an all-India World Chess Championship final next year?
We are hoping that one of either Arjun or Pragg can become a challenger.
