Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand has congratulated 18-year-old grandmaster D. Gukesh on his historic World Chess Championship win. Anand described Gukesh's achievement as a "proud moment" for India.
Gukesh made history on Thursday in Singapore by beating Ding Liren of China in a thrilling Game 14. With this victory, Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion. Anand, a five-time World Chess Champion, expressed his personal pride in Gukesh's success.
"Congratulations! It is a proud moment for chess. It is a proud moment for India. It is a proud moment for WACA. And it is a very personal moment of pride for me," Anand wrote. "Ding played a very exciting match and showed the champion he is."
Gukesh secured the title with 7.5 points against Ding’s 6.5 points after the final classical time control game. The match seemed likely to end in a draw for most of its duration but was ultimately decided after 58 moves over four hours.
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As the new World Chess Champion, Gukesh will receive a prize of USD 1.3 million (approximately Rs 11.03 crore) from the USD 2.5 million prize pool.
"I was dreaming of this moment for the last 10 years. I am happy that I made the dream come true," Gukesh said after the victory. "I got a bit emotional because I did not expect to win. But then I got a chance to push forward."
Gukesh is only the second Indian to win the World Chess Championship title after Anand. Before Gukesh’s victory, Garry Kasparov held the record as the youngest world champion. Kasparov won the title at 22 by beating Anatoly Karpov in 1985.
Gukesh earned his place in the championship after winning this year’s Candidates Tournament. With his victory over Ding Liren, he became the 18th world chess champion in history.
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