Gukesh dethrones Ding to become new World Chess Champion

At certain points in sporting history, some remarkable events could take place. So remarkable, they could defy belief.

Such an event took place on a humid Thursday evening at Equarius Hotel here in the island called Sentosa. D. Gukesh, at the age of 18, won the World Chess Championship.

That is, of course, a World record, which stayed with Garry Kasparov since 1985. He was 22 when he won the World championship after beating fellow Soviet Union player Anatoly Karpov in an epic, bitter battle that lasted over a year.

Now, the World Chess Championship is one of the hardest things to win in international sport. It is played over a long series of matches that tests the mental endurance to the maximum, not to mention the physical exertion.

The defending champion is seeded directly to the title match, while the challenger has to win the qualifying tournament called the Candidates. And to make it to the Candidates, a player has to come through a long, tough process.

When Gukesh won the Candidates, he became the youngest challenger. Now the question was if he could become the youngest champion.

The answer came on this unforgettable evening for Indian sport.

READ | Viswanathan Anand: If future of chess had a face, it would probably look a lot like Gukesh

After he made his 58th move with his king, in a hopeless position, Ding Liren, the 17th World champion and first from China, resigned, conceding defeat.

Gukesh wept.

He wept in joy. Much in contrast to what happened a day earlier, when he had to agree to draw, after squandering a winning chance.

It was indeed a great escape for Ding. And that wasn’t the first time he was doing it here.

Somehow, when he seemed on the brink, on the board, and on the clock, he would find the right move – even if it was the only move and any other would have doomed him. Like he did with his rook in Game 13.

But in Game 14, after he blundered with his rook – yes, the very piece – he had no chance. There was no scope for yet another Houdini act.

The game was heading towards a draw – and that meant the match could go to the tie-breaks on Friday – in an ending featuring rook-and-same-coloured bishops. Gukesh had an extra pawn, but that wasn’t going to be enough.

The only possibility of a decisive result was a big blunder.

That was what happened when Ding took his rook to the ‘f2’ square on the 55th move. He could have taken the rook to another square, or he could have played with his bishop, and he would have been safe.

Gukesh exchanged the rooks straight away and then the bishops too left the board. Now, he clearly had the winning position.

Ding’s king and lonely pawn were no match to Gukesh’s king and two connected pawns. A visibly shaken Ding realised that the crown was slipping away.

He was crowned last year after beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in a tie-breaker, and he must have been hoping that history would repeat itself. Not only was he more experienced than his younger opponent, he also has a distinctly better record in speed chess.

So it wasn’t surprising to see him play for a position that could give him a draw. But Gukesh has been playing uncompromising chess here.

He has refused virtual offers of draw, and has chosen to play on from drawish positions. And yes, he was lucky on this day.

But he has earned his luck. Surely.