‘Mate, you did it!’

India Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay fell short of adjectives to describe teenager D Gukesh beating reigning champion Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship in Singapore on Thursday Gukesh thus became the youngest ever world champion at just 18 yearsldquoItrsquos an absolutely incredible achievement Unbelievable even If you have to draw a sporting analogy to this wonderful achievement by an 18yearold itrsquos like a 100 metre sprinter breaking the eightsecond or better still the sevenandahalf second barrier to emerge champion The 100m sprint record stands at around nine seconds 958 seconds and shaving off a second is next to impossible itrsquos exactly that to win a chess world championship at the age of 18rdquo Kharresident Thispsay 65 told midday on ThursdayPravin ThipsayInterestingly Thipsay won Indiarsquos first international medal in chessmdasha bronze at the 1977 Asian Junior Chess Championship in Baguio City Philippinesmdashat the age of 18Also Read Gukesh has arrived and howTen years later Viswanathan Anand won the world junior chess title at the same venue ldquoAt 18 I was an India junior champion and not even thinking about the world title because back then we were told that a chess player peaks nearer to the age of 40 So I felt I had a lot of time But now seeing Gukesh I regret not trying harderrdquo said Thipsay who was also impressed when Garry Kasparov became the youngest world champion at 22 beating Anatoly Karpov in Moscow in 1985 D Gukesh right is congratulated by Ding Liren after winning the World Chess Championship in SingaporeIn the 14game final Liren won Rd 1 and drew the second before Gukesh won Rd 3 The next seven games were draws before Gukesh won Rd 11 and Liren took Rd 12 while Rd 13 was a drawGukesh must have nerves of steel to battle a senior pro like Liren 32 across such a tense final felt Thipsay ldquoThis world championship has been an incredible seesaw battle separated by the finest of margins with Gukesh winning at 75 points to Dingrsquos 65 For Gukesh to keep his calm throughout the 14 rounds mdash from November 29 till December 13 mdash shows his extremely high level of maturity Hersquos a once in a generation player and the most deserving Million Dollar Baby the prize money for the world championship is USD 25 million approximately Rs 21 croresrdquo Thipsay signed offHow Gukesh won itAfter 13 rounds across three weeks Ding Liren was probably looking forward to the rapid and blitz tiebreakers against D Gukesh But Liren made a blunder by moving his rook getting it trapped and Gukesh who had an extra pawn supported by a rook and a bishop earned his victoryIndia congratulates GukeshHistoric and exemplary Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment This is the result of his unparalleled talent hard work and unwavering determinationPM ModiCongratulations Gukesh The best in the world and the youngest to ever do it India is proudNeeraj ChopraIn a game of 64 squares yoursquove opened a world of endless possibilities Congratulations DGukesh on becoming the 18th World Champion at just 18Sachin TendulkarHeartiest congratulations to Gukesh He has done India immensely proud His victory stamps the authority of India as a chess powerhouse President Droupadi MurmuCongratulations Gukesh Your brilliance determination and grace under pressure have made the entire nation proud Yoursquove not just won a title but inspired a generation to dream bigAbhinav BindraTo become the world champion at the age of 18 is no small feat It was a great sight to see him celebrating after the win This will inspire a lot of aspiring playersViswanathan AnandList of world chess champions1Wilhelm Steinitz 1886 1889 1890 18922Emanuel Lasker 1894 1896 1907 1908 1910 19103Jose Raul Capablanca 19214Alexander Alekhine 1927 1929 1934 19375Max Euwe 19356Mikhail Botvinnik 1948 1951 1954 1958 19617Vasily Smyslov 19578Mikhail Tal 19609Tigran Petrosian 1963 196610Boris Spassky 196911Bobby Fischer 197212Anatoly Karpov 1975 1978 1981 198413Garry Kasparov 1985 1986 1987 1990 1993 199514Vladimir Kramnik 2000 2004 200615Viswanathan Anand 2007 2008 2010 201216Magnus Carlsen 2013 2014 2016 2018 202117Ding Liren 202318Gukesh Dommaraju 2024