The greatest stage that the chess world has to offer, has been conquered by an 18 year old Indian boy making him the youngest to do so. Gukesh Dommaraju has been officially crowned the 18th World Chess Champion, a title that has been previously held by the great behemoths like Carlsen, Anand, Kasparov, Fisher and many more.
This ruthless battle of wits went on for 18 days, playing a total of 14 nerve-ending matches that kept everyone on their toes till the very last game, until it didn’t. Game 1 started with 1.e4 by the Indian Superpower and saw an unexpected French Defense by Ding Liren, the Reigning World Champion. The self-proclaimed underdog, managed to take down the Indian Grandmaster with an opening that was considered to be ineffective at the highest level. Losing with the white pieces to someone who was rumoured to be an easy opponent must have been a huge blow to the young challenger.
A sense of uncertainty loomed over the chess world as the two superpowers went into Game 2. Ding came prepared with the Italian opening but Gukesh managed to hold him to a draw with the black pieces. It was a sigh of relief for the Indian fans as the young contender safely navigated his way through the psychological pressure of losing the first game.
Game 3 signified the calculative prowess of the Indian grandmaster when an unfortunate Chinese bishop managed to get itself stuck behind enemy lines and unable to retreat. Correctly timed 19.e4 with his calculative playing style ended any hopes for the Chinese Champion to come back in the game, whereas his time struggle managed to make the score 1.5-1.5 with a comeback for Gukesh. The first part of the 18th World Chess Championship saw chess fans gasping for breath as the three fold result invoked every emotion from the spectators.
Game 4 to Game 6 saw openings from the French Defense to the London System. In Game 6, Ding tried to create havoc with the infamous French Defense hoping for a second victory with his unconventional yet deadly weapon. However, a beautiful pawn sacrifice and precise defense by Gukesh along with a misplaced black bishop resulted in a completely drawn position.
After the second rest day, the spectators were surprised, inspired and some even confused by the Chennai born Indian Grandmaster Gukesh D’s persistence and absolutely stunning preparation like 7.Rb1 in Game 7 and 7. .. f6 in Game 8. He continued to put pressure on Ding throughout Game 7 to Game 9 and even managed to reach favourable positions. However, the Chinese Superpower managed to show his mettle by defending those positions like a machine. Ding showed everyone why he was the World Champion as he thrived under time pressure, drawing out resources after resources against the attacks of the relentless Indian Grandmaster.
Game 10 carried forward the draw(y) trend. But Game 11 was a straight brilliancy by Gukesh, pushing forward the central pawn in the Reti opening. Ding, continuing the usual trend, spent almost 40 minutes on his 4th move. Gukesh being as competitive as he is, surprised everyone by spending more than an hour on his 11th move. The Indian grandmaster played a brilliant game forcing Ding to play positions with multiple options to choose from, which sadly he failed to do so. The evaluation bar steadily continued shifting towards the Indian side and finally a blunder by the Chinese player decided the game in Gukesh’s favour. The fans cheering for the Indian youngster were elated. Their claps could be heard through the chess world and their smile could be seen miles away. Everyone thought that it was over, rightly so. Winning a game this late in the Championship is considered a very likely win for the one who’s leading. However, Ding had been underestimated for too long.
It was Game 12, score was 5-6 in favour of the Challenger. No one expected Ding to make a comeback. But the World Champion, exceeding all expectations, defeated the young Indian in a way that could only be considered a perfect positional play. Ding showed the world how his positional understanding over the board greatly exceeded that of his counterpart. All the hopes of the Indian fans were shattered. Almost all, because there was still one last white game remaining for Gukesh. Sadly, Game 13 ended in a draw. It looked like it was going to the tie-breaks where Ding was considered to be the favourite. The tides had turned. The Champion, for the first time during this entire championship, was now the favourite to retain the title.
Through-out the 13 Games, Gukesh had played every game to the very end. He had pushed even when the evaluation bar showed the situation to be slight unfavourable to him. Nobody could understand what this 18 year old Indian was thinking. Some lauded his will to not give up until the end while others criticised him by calling him too arrogant or someone who greatly overestimated his positions. However, sadly as it may be, his persistence did nothing but tire his opponent out a little, if it even did that much.
It was the 18th Day, the last day of the classical format. Gukesh had to win this game, otherwise he’d have to battle it out in the tie-breakers which was considered to be disadvantageous for him. Ding’s performance in time scrambles during this championship supported the same. It was Game 14 and the chessboard showed an unorthodox reverse Grunfeld. Ding managed to get an advantage in the opening with the white pieces. But his tendency or strategy, whichever it was, had always been to draw games and take them to tie-breaks led him to enter a defensive position where due to the massive trade in the middle of the board, he was left on the back foot without any advantage remaining. Adding insult to the injury, he decided to sacrifice a pawn and enter an endgame. Although this endgame was considered to be theoretically drawn, it was very hard to justify by making all the right moves with so less time on the clock. As always, instead of going for a draw, Gukesh decided to battle it out till the very last move. The rooks and the same coloured bishops were placed on the proper files and diagonals respectively. Everyone thought it was going to end up in a draw, even Gukesh. Then, out of the blue, Ding manoeuvred his rook from a4 to f4 and then f2 asking for an exchange of rooks. A trade of rooks or a trade of bishops only benefited the Chinese grandmaster in this position. However, a trade of both at the same time was a fatal mistake for Ding. Gukesh couldn’t believe what had happened. The white bishop was trapped in the corner. His eyes opened as if he was trying to see if it was real. He looked at the position once again to make sure and then drank water to calm down his nerves. He knew he had time and he didn’t need to rush. He traded the rooks and then put his bishop on d5 forcing the trapped Chinese bishop to take. This king and pawn ending where opposition was with the black pieces was completely winning for the relentless Indian challenger. He stood up from his seat as he was unable to contain his happiness. His lips stretched and his face was covered with a huge smile. The disbelief had finally turned into excitement. His will to fight till the end had been rewarded. Ding moved his king, but then raised his hand towards Gukesh in order to resign. The two brilliant chess players and amazing human beings shook hands, signalling the end of this long drawn battle. The score was 7.5 – 6.5 in favour of the challenger. Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju was the Undisputed Youngest World Chess Champion. He sat in his chair and covered his face with his hands. He was crying. His smile had changed into tears of joy as he tried to arrange all the pieces on the chess board. This marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. One where the youngest challenger and now the undisputed youngest world champion held the crown.
This Championship has been a testament to the spirit of never giving up. It has been a fairy tale where a young child who dreamt of being the youngest world champion was able to tackle all the odds and achieve his dream. Although, this championship has been criticised as not being up to the standard of previous world championships. These people should not forget Fisher’s blunder against Boris Spassky where he got his bishop trapped or Mikhail Chigorin where he allowed a mate in two. Blunders, mistakes and inaccuracies are a part of the game which are bound to happen when players play under such high pressure for the highest title. This was a situation that was created by the New World Chess Champion, Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju, by putting continuous pressure on Ding Liren throughout all the 14 games. This was a miracle that was created through his relentless pursuit of his dreams and his will to never give up.
“Fortune always favors the bold. GM Gukesh Dommaraju is a living testament to it.”