The quiet triumph of D. Gukesh

The 18-year-old prodigy becomes the youngest world chess champion, defeating China's Ding Liren to make a big statement

- Arun Janardhan

There exists a stereotype of a chess player, said grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi once, of a serious person, "someone with glasses, who does not speak much". Dommaraju Gukesh does not exactly fit that stereotype—there are no spectacles to speak of, and he speaks thoughtfully and generously.

But Gukesh is a serious person, one who has dedicated his life to chess, is proud of how he has kept all distractions away—even as a teenager—and focused on achieving this dream of becoming a world champion.

On Thursday, the 18-year-old became the youngest ever world chess champion, beating China's Ding Liren in Singapore for the title. The Indian broke another stereotype, one that previously applied to him as well, showing that poker-faced chess players could get emotional too, though with much more restraint than most other sportspersons.

In the final moments of the 14-round contest, when it became clear that he is in a winning position, Gukesh left his seat and distanced himself from the board, unable to sit down due to the building excitement. When Ding offered his hand in resignation, Gukesh shook it and broke into a smile as he sat down.

After a moment, the tears began to flow. He put his head down on the table, lifted it to mouth a quick prayer, smiled and again struggled to hold back tears. As Ding walked away, Gukesh broke down into tears again, composed himself again and started to set the chess board.

After he's done, pausing occasionally to acknowledge myriad congratulations, he checked his belongings on the table, put on his badge and got up to raise his arms, with a wide smile, to cheers from the audience outside of the glass cabin in which the contestants sit. He meticulously pushed his chair back in place before walking out, seeming almost reluctant to leave the stage that he had anxiously stepped on to three weeks ago and was now exiting triumphantly.