D Gukesh who on Thursday became the youngest world chess champion after defeating defending champ Ding Liren, was overcome with emotions after winning the whole thing after 14 grueling games.
A sense of awe was written on the face of the teenager as he could not hold back his tears and started rearranging the pieces on the chess board. “Don’t cry, it’s ok,” said a voice in a video shared by chess.com which prompted the new champion to look up and smile with tears in his eyes.
He would then fidget around with his stuff on the table before a loud cheer echoed from outside the room as he acknowledged them with both hands raised in the air with a beaming smile.
🥹🎉 @photochess pic.twitter.com/BOnIsfKtIw
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024
In the match, Gukesh 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.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment for 10 years!” he said after his win.
Before Gukesh’s feat on Thursday, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world chess champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
Gukesh had entered the match as the youngest ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
He is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title. Anand, a five-time world champion, had last won the crown in 2013.
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