FIDE World Championship - At 18, Gukesh D becomes the 18th World Chess Champion

 

Day 14 Game 14 of the FIDE World Championship

At 18, Gukesh D becomes the 18th World Chess Champion, the youngest player to achieve the championship.

Congratulations to Gukesh Dommaraju, Indian Chess Grandmaster, & 18th World Chess Champion

An insight on the how the game 14 unfolds..

The final game features Ding Liren in white pieces, adopting a reverse Kings Indian type setup with a Knight on the chessboard while Gukesh makes a strategic move with the d5 pawn as the challenger and defender in black pieces.

A thoroughly balanced game with no discernible advantages for the players as Ding and Gukesh engaged in a lengthy battle.

Ding's pieces were all well developed, with the pawn islands showing a majority for Ding on the queen side and for Gukesh on the King side.

Gukesh demonstrated moves missed in previous games and applied techniques from lessons learned from recent matches with early c5, knight pursuit, dynamic bishops, and Rook exchange.

Both players in endgame with Rooks and white square bishops & pawns, Gukesh continued with excellent time on the clock, forcing Ding to make precise moves with his Rook, Bishop, and two pawns.

With players and spectators gearing up for Rapid play off, Ding made a critical blunder in move 55 by exchanging rooks, allowing Gukesh to capitalize on his positional advantage. Gukesh emerged victorious as Ding realized his mistake.

Gukesh, surprised, shocked, happy - filled with mixed emotions realised Ding's blunder and took his chances after controlling his emotions to play the last final accurate moves.

A tearful Gukesh achieved his dream to win the FIDE World Chess Championship title and becomes the 18th World Chess Champion at the age of 18 after defeating Ding Liren, the former World Chess Champion.

Some final words from Gukesh on his win and about his opponent.

Gukesh on Win

"'Was dreaming this moment for last 10 years"

Gukesh on Ding's Blunder

“When I realized it, it was probably the best moment of my life,”

Gukesh on Ding

“Firstly I would like to say a few words about my opponent, “We all know who Ding is. He has been one of the best players in history for several years. And to see him struggling and to see how much pressure he had to face, and the kind of fight he gave in this match, it shows what a true champion he is.”

“Champions always step up to the moment. Obviously the past two years he hasn’t been in great shape, but he came here. He was obviously struggling during some of games. He was probably not at his best physically. But he fought in all games. He fought like a true champion. I’m really sorry for Ding and his team. They put on a great, great show. I’d like to thank my opponent. This couldn’t have been the same without my opponent.”

Ding's final words

“I think I played my best tournament of the year.  I could be better, but considering yesterday’s lucky survival it’s a fair result to lose in the end. I have no regrets.I will continue to play.”