India's Gukesh beats China's Ding to become youngest world champion

Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday in a dramatic turn of events in the last game of a 14-game match in Singapore.

The 18th world champion is at age 18 four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who had been the youngest world champion since 1985 when he beat Anatoly Karpov.

Gukesh won Thursday's game with the black pieces after Ding wilted under pressure and blundered in what commentators considered to be a comfortable position, snatching the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5.

Ding, whose form has plummeted since he beat Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi to claim the crown in 2023, had not won a long-time format "classical" game since January and largely avoided top events in a bid to improve.

But the Chinese player regained confidence after a surprise win in the opening round of the match and, following two wins for Gukesh and eight draws, had evened the score in round 12 with a victory which was acclaimed by several commentators.

The match was a 14-round long-time "classical" event with a prize fund of $2.5 million (P144 million).

Gukesh had qualified in April by winning the Candidates tournament.

World number one Magnus Carlsen, who had been world champion since 2013, relinquished his title in 2022, citing a lack of motivation. (REUTERS)