TEARS SPEAK VOLUMES

Gukesh, 18, aims to stay on top of chess world; Ding proud of effort despite error

- Melvyn Teoh

Moments after winning the Fide World Championship on Dec 12, Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju called his mother on the phone.

But, for a while, there were no words. Instead, tears flowed freely on both sides of the call, with the 18-year-old having just made history by dethroning defending champion Ding Liren of China at Resorts World Sentosa.

His triumph in Game 14 not only gave him a 7.5-6.5 winning margin, but it also made him the youngest world champion, rewriting a record held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he beat fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov in their 1985 rematch in Moscow.

Gukesh will pocket US$1.35 million (S$1.82 million), with Ding taking home US$1.15 million.

The teenager, who was beaming at the press conference, said of the phone call: "First we were not saying anything; we were both crying, then it was congratulations."

The final game of the best-of-14 match had looked headed for a draw, but Gukesh and Ding pushed for a victory and after more than four hours, the 32-year-old made a blunder in move 55 and resigned three moves later, handing Gukesh the title.