New Delhi: Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand and Russian world champion Garry Kasparov have showered praise on youngster D Gukesh after his recent heroics at the World Chess Championship in Singapore. On Thursday, Gukesh was crowned as the 18th World Champion after defeating Ding Liren in the Game 14 of the classical format.
It was a blunder by the Chinese after moving his rook from f4 to f2, which resulted in a pawn-down moment after both rooks and bishops were traded in exchanges. After the completion of the 58th move, Liren resigned from the game and shook hands with Gukesh – the youngest world champion at the age of 18 years, eight months and 14 days.
Not many would have expected Gukesh to outrightly beat Liren in the final round with the popular notion being a draw as the likeliest outcome and Liren could later outsmart the younger Indian player in the faster time control format.
Gukesh broke Kasparov’s 39-year-old record of becoming the youngest world chess champion. The Russian Grandmaster attained the milestone at the age of 22 years, six months, and 27 days in 1985. The 61-year-old Kasparov was effusive in his praise for the dynamic Indian player and said the future of Indian chess is more than bright.
“Gukesh was well-prepared and the player who played the best won the match. His victory caps a phenomenal year for India. Combined with Olympiad dominance, chess has returned to its cradle and the era of “Vishy’s children” is truly upon us!” Kasparov wrote on X.
“India is a nation with an unlimited pool of human talent, combined with the freedom to explore and develop it. The future is bright not only in chess. The summit has been reached and now the goal must be to raise it even higher for the next ascent. Congratulations again. Upward!” he added.
Anand surprised by Gukesh’s win in Game 14
Gukesh has been a protege of Indian chess stalwart Viswanathan Anand when he was at the age of 14. The youngster trained at the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy in Madurai. Anand has seen him grow from a prodigious talent to a world champion.
“His win in the 14th round caught me by surprise — mostly because of its suddenness. I think everyone was expecting the final round to end in a draw. The position was not yet lost, and then suddenly, Ding Liren blundered, and boom — the match was over,” Anand wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“It all unfolded unexpectedly, but Gukesh was rewarded for his perseverance, for his decision to keep trying and chess rewarded him for that,” he added.
D Gukesh, at just 18 years old, has become the youngest World Chess Champion, defeating Ding Liren in a surprising win. His victory has earned praise from chess legends Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov, who lauded Gukesh’s skill and preparation. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
