Eighteen-year-old Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju defeated China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest world chess champion in the game’s history. Gukesh surpassed Russian great Garry Kasparov, who won the crown in 1958 at 22.
Gukesh is the second grandmaster from his country to hold the world title. Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand was the undisputed world champion for six years starting in 2007.
Gukesh dethroned China’s Ding Liren on his way to the historic triumph, sealing it in the 14th and last game of a see-saw battle.
Here’s the list of young world chess champions
1. D Gukesh (India)
Age – 18
Gukesh on Thursday secured the requisite 7.5 points as against 6.5 of Liren after winning the last classical time control game of the 14-game match that seemed headed for a draw for most part.
2. Garry Kasparov (Russia, then USSR)
Age – 22 years 210 days
Gary Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov in 1985 to become the youngest world check champion, a record he held on till Gukesh’s triumph over Ding Liren.
3. Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
Age – 22 years, 357 days
Magnus Carlsen has defeated the reigning champion Viswanathan Anand in a dominant 5-3 victory in Chennai, India in 2013 to become the world champion. Carlsen remained World number one till 2022, before he relinquished his title, citing a lack of motivation.
4. Mikhail Tal (Latvia, then USSR)
Age – 23 years and 32 days
Mikhail Tal, who is also known as the “Magician from Riga” became the 8th World Chess Champion in 1960.
5. Anatoly Karpov (Russia, then USSR)
Age – 23 years, 10 months, and 8 day
Anatoly Karpov became World Champion in 1975 after Bobby Fischer declined to defend his title under chess governing body FIDE’s conditions.
6. Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
Age – 25 years, 8 months, and 4 days
Vladimir Kramnik ended Garry Kasparov’s two-decade dominance to become the World Champion in 2000.
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