In the final Game 14 of the global Chess Championships, 18-year-old Indian GM D Gukesh defeated Chinese GM Ding Liren to become the sport’s youngest-ever global champion. With his monumental win, Gukesh becomes the 18th GM and just the second Indian GM, after the legendary Viswanthan Anand, to win the world championship title.
After 13 intense games, both players were on equal footing going into the last match. They had each earned 6.5 points, and they needed one more point—that is, a victory—to secure the title of world champion. Playing with the white pieces, Ding made a brave move by forgoing his tried-and-true London opening and choosing a reverse Grunfield, demonstrating the undefeated champion’s determination to never accept an easy draw.
However, Gukesh did not recoil; instead, he emerged determined to construct his pieces by opening his files. With the Masters’ database unable to recall any previous games as such, the initial rush of movements ended quickly, and an asymmetrical pawn structure was determined, indicating the potential for both sides to engage in a long and difficult war in yet another unique match. Both players applied increasing pressure to one another during the middlegame, with Ding using a few traps to lure the new Challenger. To keep Ding at bay, Gukesh maintained his poise by assessing every move and maintaining strength in the middle of the board.
A fierce game of exchanges followed, but as it appeared that there were fewer and fewer possibilities and opportunities, Ding decided to play 20.Nf4 and ask the Challenger the question in order to make his initial desire for a draw clear. Gukesh, however, chose to prolong the conflict rather than react with enthusiasm. However, both sides chose to move into the endgame after thirty moves, accelerating the tempo with a rook-queen swap.
