World Chess Championship 2024 Closing Ceremony Highlights: Gukesh crowned champion, receives winner’s trophy

No 13: Garry Kasparov, Russia, 1985-2000

Considered one of the greatest chess minds of all time, Kasparov was the youngest undisputed world champion, when he triumphed in 1985 at the age 22 before Gukesh broke the record this time. Kasparov was involved in the breakaway from FIDE in 1993, and held the classical world title till 2000. 

No 14: Vladimir Kramnik, Russia, 2000–2007

Now a controversial figure in the chess world, Kramnik ended Garry Kasparov's 15-year reign. The 2000 title clash in London was the first time Kasparov lost a World Championship match.

No 15: Viswanathan Anand, India, 2007–2013

India's original history-maker in chess, Anand is the first Grandmaster from the country. In 2007, he became the undisputed world champion, also the first from India. In 2000, he had won the FIDE championship when there was a split in the chess world.

No 16: Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2013–2023 

Vishy's grip on the World Champion title was taken away at his home ground by Carlsen. Then 22, Carlsen went on to win the title 5 times before relinquishing the format. Holds a peak rating of 2882, which is the highest ever achieved in chess. 

No 17: Ding Liren, China, 2023–2024

Only the 2nd Asian to hold the title (after Vishy Anand), Ding got the chance to compete for the title with Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021after Carlsen decided to not defend his title because he lost motivation. Ding won the title in tiebreaks. 

The last 5 World Champions: 

No 14: Vladimir Kramnik, Russia, 2000-2006 and then 2006–2007
15: Viswanathan Anand, India, 2007–2013 (FIVE TITLES) 
16: Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2013–2023 (FIVE TITLES) 
17: Ding Liren, China, 2023–2024
18: Gukesh Dommaraju, India  2024

18th @ 18! pic.twitter.com/krXbIfewo0

— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) December 13, 2024

Gukesh again showered praises on opponent Ding, calling him a ‘true champion’ and said that he admired him. "This journey has been beautiful because of the people around me. I would also love to thank my opponent, Ding Liren. He is in my eyes a true champion and we saw that despite a lot of pressure on him, he was able to put on a huge fight and this match has been just the show it is because of his fighting spirit. I really admire you,” Gukesh said.

The legend wrote: "The boy who would be King" with this lovely photo.

The 18th World Champion, ?? Gukesh D, with a never-ending line of fans waiting for his autograph. ???#DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/4Bpi1FlLvG

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 13, 2024

There is a now-viral video of Dommaraju Gukesh as an 11-year-old. In it, the boy who is yet to become a Grand Master is asked by IM Sagar Shah of ChessBase India what his ambition is. “I want to become the youngest chess champion in the world,” declares the boy in his thin boyish voice with the hint of a grin on a face that is yet to have even the shadow of a moustache. About seven years after that proclamation, Gukesh has become the youngest chess champion in the world at 18, defeating Chinese Ding Liren in a battle of wills that lasted three weeks and tested both players psychologically and physically. He surpassed Garry Kasparov as the youngest undisputed.

“This was probably the best moment in my life,” Gukesh said about his opponent making a blunder in the 55th move of Game 14 on Thursday, which opened the door to his ascension. “From the time I started playing chess, I have been dreaming about this moment, have been living this moment for more than 10 years,” he said.

Till that stage, it looked like the game would end in a draw. But one miscalculated push of the rook (55.Rf2) saw Ding’s last line of defence leave the board, and an unavoidable checkmate. In short, one mis-timed move cost Ding the game, the match and the crown.

The emotional moment that 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the 18th world chess champion ?? pic.twitter.com/jRIZrYeyCF

— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand turned 55 on Wednesday and his protege D Gukesh had the chance to give a befitting present to the legend while getting within touching distance of becoming the youngest-ever occupier of the throne. Having lost Game 12 to Ding Liren on Monday immediately after taking the lead, Gukesh ideally needed to make the most of his last game with white pieces if he wanted to settle the contest before the tie-breaks. As it turned out, the Indian’s efforts to squeeze water out of stone only resulted in a stalemate after 68 moves. The Chinese champion now had white pieces in the final game of classical chess.

Read more here.

As D Gukesh hunkered down over the chessboard, head in hands trying to find his way out of the complication in the miniature battlefield in front of him, Ding Liren took a moment to stretch his arms behind his chair. Then, despite everything — the match situation, the tension of the game, the attacking ability of his opponent — the Chinese world champion yawned. The teenager across the table was scrambling at that point, both on the clock and on the board, needing to make 24 moves in 34 minutes. The evaluation bar was snaking upwards, indicating that Ding had a chokehold on Game 12. Gukesh’s pieces had no good squares to jump on. When Ding had made his 17th move (17.Qd2), Gukesh had almost an hour on the clock. By the time he responded, he had just 33 minutes left. Even after spending all that time, it was not the kind of move that unlocked a door for escape. In fact, Leela Zero, a neural network chess model, raised Ding’s chances of winning the match from 38.2 percent to 51.9 percent immediately after Gukesh’s 17th move (17…Bg6). Barely an hour later, Gukesh threw in the towel. For the fourth time in two years, Ding had pulled a rabbit out of the hat just when he needed to: winning a game at the world championship when he was trailing after a defeat.

Read more here.

After seven successive draws, Indian challenger D Gukesh got the better of China’s Ding Liren in Game 11 to edge ahead. With three games remaining in the match, the 18-year-old managed to force a resignation from the world champion to take the lead for the first time. Winning any game in the world championship is sweet, but Gukesh achieved it by getting the better of the world champion in a massive time scramble that both players were destined for from the opening phase itself. Ding is known to be a much better player in faster time controls like rapid and blitz. But on Sunday, he cracked. What also made the win special was the way Gukesh achieved victory.

Read more here.

pic.twitter.com/yZZ2wxD8Ya

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 13, 2024

Ding Liren, incumbent crown-wearer and D Gukesh, audacious teenage challenger, are involved in a much more dangerous activity. The jenga tower of the World Chess Championship is getting increasingly unstable each time one more game ends in a draw and both players find themselves level on points. And with it, the players are getting more cautious, gingerly playing to avoid defeat.

Unsurprisingly then, for the seventh straight game at the 2024 World Chess Championship, Gukesh and Ding Liren agreed to a draw.

After the 36-move draw on Saturday, the prospect of tie-breaks appeared increasingly likely. 

Read more here.

Drama was in short supply on the board as Game 9 of the world chess championship ended in a 54-move draw between challenger D Gukesh and holder Ding Liren. Unlike the past few games, there were no jaw-dropping twists and turns on Thursday. The evaluation bar could have taken a four-hour nap and woken up to watch the game end in a draw with just two lonely kings left standing on the board. “Very precise game from both of us. Maybe, I had some edge at some point,” said Gukesh at the post-game press conference. “When both players play correctly, sometimes it ends in a draw.”

Ding Liren had walked off the board into his private lounge. A few minutes later, he returned to the chessboard only to check whether his opponent had played the most obvious move. He hadn’t. D Gukesh was still thinking, after earning additional time on his clock for crossing move 40. Ding walked back into his lounge. He must have felt relaxed at that stage, thinking he had sufficiently arm-twisted Gukesh into accepting a draw.

It wasn't to be. (Once more a peek into Gukesh's finale push).

Read more here.

Mother with the Trophy ?♥?

Edit: @ram_abhyudaya#chess #gukesh #chessbaseindia pic.twitter.com/fpKzXfAQet

— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) December 13, 2024

WE HAVE A NEW WORLD CHAMPION! ?? ? ?
Congratulations Gukesh D ??! ? ?#DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/W4w2dE0C36

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 12, 2024

For about five hours on Tuesday, world champion Ding Liren was scrambling. He ducked threats on the board. He evaded time trouble. He walked on the edge of traps that would have led to uncomfortable pins. For five hours — to reference the popular meme — Ding was not chilling. But eventually, Ding managed to salvage a draw out of a precarious situation in Game 7 after a 72-move defensive masterclass at the World Chess Championship to keep the contest at a level pegging.

Read more here.

For about 25 minutes in Game 6 on Sunday – which eventually resulted in a draw after 46 moves – Ding Liren spent his time on the board with feet dipped in the warm pool of false hope. The two queens had spent the last few moves waltzing in the middle of the board, their gaze locked at each other. Ding’s queen shuffled backwards and forwards on d5 and d6 squares, batting its eyelashes at its counterpart. D Gukesh’s queen seemed to be following its lead, moving between e7 and g5 squares. Then, when one more step on the g5 square would have solemnised a draw by threefold repetition – which would have seen both players head into the second rest day of the 2024 World Chess Championship at three points each – the Indian’s queen opted to swipe left. 

Instead of heading to the e7 square, Gukesh’s queen went to h4, rejecting the advances of Ding’s queen. The 18-year-old from Chennai had chosen to spurn his world champion opponent’s very evident draw offer.

(And we saw how that panned out in Game 14) 

Read more here.

Right after Gukesh had played the 23rd move of game 5 and his opponent Ding Liren had responded in a flash, the Indian teenager realised that he had blundered. It was the sort of error that could decide the fate of a game. And the World Championship as a consequence. That Gukesh managed to wriggle out of the tight corner and salvage a draw to keep the contest level could turn out to be significant in the end. (Update: It did!)

With Ding Liren’s dark-squared bishop killing off Gukesh’s knight on e5, ths latter had a choice to recapture the square: he could capture it with his rook, sitting idly on the back rank, or he could capture it with his pawn that was sitting on d4. If he opted for the rook capture, it would lead to a rook exchange that would see neither player having any rooks left on the board.

Read more here.

The fourth installment of the World Chess Championship battle between Gukesh and Ding Liren ended in a 42-move draw on Friday. After most of the pieces had left the board, the game wrapped up after a little dance between Gukesh’s rook and Ding Liren’s king, who shuffled one step forwards another step backwards a few times till a three-fold repetition was achieved.

Read more here.

World champion Ding Liren lost the third game of the World Chess Championship against Gukesh on time, a rare occurrence in classical chess. Ding, who has a history of incredible games in the faster time controls as well, fell three moves short of getting additional time on his clock. The game had unravelled slowly through the middle game in favour of Gukesh ever since Ding made a reckless blood-rush-to-the-head move where he pushed his light-squared bishop to the c2 square to try and gobble up an unprotected pawn of Gukesh on b3. But as soon as he made the move, Ding’s marauder of the light-squared diagonals was trapped. Like a greedy mouse that walks into a trap to nibble at a block of cheese only to find the metal grills snapping shut, the black bishop was stuck on b2.

Read more here.

By the 12th move, Gukesh was down by 30 minutes. He eventually opted for a queen exchange. The evaluation bar gave a slight advantage to Ding at this point. “For me at least, it’s hard to get away from the feeling that Ding Liren won the opening battle (in Game 2). This is a dream advantage in the World Chess Championship. It’s not much, but it’s all Ding’s. Gukesh is not playing for much, yet. You really need some mistake on Ding’s part for black to play for something. Whereas for black it can get unpleasant quite easily,” said Viswanathan Anand on the official broadcast. But, such is the calculating nous of the 18-year-old that by the 20th move, Gukesh had managed to defend stoutly and bring calm to the chaos. Both players started to hop their knights around to get a draw by threefold repetition.

Read more here. 

D Gukesh planted his face in his palms, unable to come to terms with how quickly the momentum had shifted in the first game of the World Chess Championship against Ding Liren. The 18-year-old had swaggered into the playing arena — nicknamed the fishtank, a sound-proof room with mirrored glass that prevented the players from looking outside or hearing noises from outside — exuding the confidence of youth. In the first few moves, he established himself in control. But the day ended with a desperate dash to evade losing on time and then a resignation with white pieces in 42 moves.

Read more here.

Sachin's message on X (one of the handful of the congratulatory messages that Gukesh replied to early): "In a game of 64 squares, you've opened a world of endless possibilities. Congratulations, @DGukesh , on becoming the 18th World Champion at just 18! Following in Vishy’s footsteps, you're now guiding the next wave of Indian chess prodigies"

GUKESH'S CROWNING MOMENT! 

Let's recap all 14 matches one by one, shall we? 

The new World Champion… Gukesh D! ?????#DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/Y6tbl0CwPh

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 13, 2024

"This moment in reality holding the trophy means more than anything else. Very few people get the opportunity to live this and I'm glad to be one of them. This journey has been nothing short of a dream, many ups and downs and challenges. Many beautiful moments and setbacks. I wouldn't change any of it. This journey has been beautiful because of the people around me. I would also love to thank my opponent, Ding Liren. He is in my eyes a true champion and we saw that despite a lot of pressure on him, he was able to put on a huge fight and this match has been just the show it is because of his fighting spirit. I really admire you (o Ding). A lot of people have worked super hard for this. I would like to start with my parents. This win means more to them than to me. Both my parents have been the biggest supporters of my career and my life. I want to thank my team. Gajewski is here and all the others. I want to thank Paddy (Upton) as well who is here. 

"I want to also thank my school (Velammal) in Chennai. It all began with a summer camp in my school and they have supported me all the way," Gukesh says before raising his arms aloft in joy once again. 

Gukesh's crowning moment is here. FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich presents him with the champion's trophy.  'It feels like I have live this moment a million times in my head,' he says. 

Ding Liren is handed his runners-up medal. Read Amit Kamath's piece on why the Chinese ex-world champion needs appreciation for his grace and courage under fire

Gukesh and Ding Liren have arrived. The organisers play a montage review of the tournament as they take their seats in the hall of the ceremony. Such coalesce of emotions and sportsmanship all around!

All in readiness for the closing ceremony in Singapore. After three weeks of intense action, here we are to draw a close to an exhilarating edition that went down to the wire, testing both the champion and his conqueror to the hilt.

“Gukesh impressively surmounted every obstacle and opponent in his path, especially considering his age, and nothing more can be asked. My thoughts on the historical world championship lineage with Magnus outside are known, but that is not the story today," wrote chess legend Garry Kasparov as he lauded Gukesh on X. (READ MORE)

Chess legend Judit Polgar has hailed Ding Liren and Gukesh D for showing after the end of World Chess Championship on Thursday in Singapore. “What an incredible tension, stress level, and mix of thoughts were in the minds of the World Champion, the youngest ever Challenger but the whole world kept their breath what will happen today, will it be the day with a new world chess champion?,” she wrote on X.

Having captured his entire nation in ecstasy since last evening, Gukesh's long-cherished dream will be a reality this afternoon in Singapore as he will be officially crowned champion during the closing ceremony of a momentous World Chess Championship edition. 

D Gukesh’s favourite actor is Vijay Sethupathi, the most methodical non-method actor in the Tamil film industry. In his finest sequences, he lets the emotions rip, without resorting to excessive theatrics. Gukesh’s celebrations were akin to his favourite actor’s on-screen demeanour. An outpouring of raw, unrehearsed flow of emotions, powerful yet not undramatic, heart-stirring yet not indelicate. When glory arrived, that indefinable moment will float forever in his subconscious, his head dropping to the board, the hands folded like Gukesh was offering a prayer. He lifted his head, covered his face with his long digits, as though the light of greatness was too heavy on his eyes. A drop of tear trickled to the edge of his eyes, he wiped it with his index finger. Passers-by flooded him with wishes. He might have registered little, living the most indescribable feeling in his life. Nothing would surpass it--not the second or the third or the zillionth. He placed his right hand on the chest, lifted it to the lip, kissed the right thumb, and whispered a silent prayer. A nod to the Gods that might have helped him—he is known to be intensely god-fearing and often visits the Tirupathi Temple before big tournaments.

Read more here.

When Ding Liren blundered in Game 14 that ensured D Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion, the capacity crowd of 200 watching the live screening at an intimate stand-up comedy venue in Khar jumped up, and kept on jumping, till the 18-year-old forced a resignation from the Chinese grandmaster. There were tears when Gukesh himself broke down at the table; party crackers kept popping after the win; along with a lot of hugging and impromptu celebratory dancing. It was going to be a long night of partying – unheard of to celebrate a win in chess, supposed to be a most serious sport. Though the match was over at 6.30 pm, the crowd stayed at the venue till after 9 pm. And they were treated to a surreal virtual visit from none other than Gukesh. The newly-crowned champion, who was enjoying dinner with his team, was handed over the phone to say hi and he was awestruck looking at the crowd cheering him on, promising to “talk properly soon”.

FACT SHEET, Game 14, FIDE World Championship:

White: Ding Liren
Black: Gukesh D
Result: 0-1 for Black
Game length: 58 moves
Opening: Zukertort Opening
Variation: Reversed Grunfeld
Match score: 7.5–6.5 (for Gukesh D)

Such has been the rise in chess' popularity in India over the last few years that tickets for the live screening event of this world championship were sold out for all the games. In fact, in anticipation that the match would go into tie-breaks on Friday, tickets went live on Thursday afternoon and were sold out in just seven minutes!

Anil Dias reports.

Wonderful words from Gukesh on his opponent. "What I learned for Ding is what an incredible fighter he is - true champions fight until the very end. When I took the lead, he played an amazing game to fight back. Losing Game 12 was disappointing for me, but to be honest, I soon realised... I was getting inspired by my opponent."

"Ding Liren is the real inspiration to me." "What I learned for Ding is what an incredible fighter he is - true champions fight until the very end." - ?? Gukesh D about ?? Ding Liren #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/hbBgaEJipI

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 12, 2024

♥? Gukesh's dad after he realized that his son had won the World Championship ?#GukeshDing #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/0WCwRbmzmd

— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) December 12, 2024

In the press conference, there was an even more specific question thrown at him: who would he want his next challenger to be -- his teammates with who he dominated the Chess Olympiad this year or the great Carlsen? For context, Carlsen had said that he won't be defending his World Championships title in 2022 as he was not interested in playing the match anymore having won it five times, even though it might be historically significant. "I don’t rule out participation in the future, but I also wouldn’t count on it," Carlsen was quoted as saying by Chess.com back in July 2022. 

"Obviously playing against Magnus in a world championship would be amazing, it would be the toughest challenge there is in chess. I mean, it is up to Magnus, but I would love to test myself against the best player in the world," Gukesh said. 

Speaking about taking on his Indian teammates potentially, Gukesh added: "Arjun, Pragg, Nihal, Vidit... - a lot of these guys are doing a lot for chess and Indian chess. We won the Olympiad which was a beautiful experience for me and the team. I'm sure we are going to have very long careers and I hope all of us will keep fighting against each other, keep pushing, keep motivating each other, and also in the team tournaments we will play together and win a lot more. I would also love to play against the Indian opponent in the World Championship."

"I was totally in shock when I realized I made a blunder,” Ding said about 55.Rf2??.

“At the first moment, I didn’t see that I was winning. When I realized that I was winning it was the best moment of my life," Gukesh said. 

Congratulations @DGukesh ???

— Arjun Erigaisi (@ArjunErigaisi) December 12, 2024

Gukesh, even in his moment of crowning glory, didn't lose perspective. "My goal is to play in the top level for longest time possible. I have just started my journey. I want to have a very long career and to stay at the very top," he said, before quickly adding: "Becoming the world champion does not mean I am the best player, obviously that is Magnus." 

Gukesh said that it will be a motivating factor for him in the years to come, knowing that there is someone out there at such a superior level. "That will help me keep doing the right things, working hard, and trying to reach the level of greatness that Magnus has achieved." 

Gukesh recalls a pivotal point in his life:

"When I was watching the match in 2013 (Vishy vs Carlsen in Chennai), I was in the stands and I was looking inside the glass box and I thought it'd be so cool to be inside one day (playing). And then when when Magnus won I thought I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India and this dream that I had like more than 10 years ago has been the single most important thing in my life so far," Gukesh said. 

"So yeah... no game, tomorrow!" said Ding Liren as he assessed the match, still in a bit of shock.

R Praggnanandhaa on X: "A historic moment for the Indian chess ?? Congrats Gukesh! Stepping the game up in high pressure moments! @DGukesh Truly Inspiring! Huge respect to Ding Liren for giving it all" <Salute emoji> 

Wrote this 2 years ago. Didn't know it would age so well!https://t.co/hrwgk0HJet

— Anil Dias (@aniljdias) December 12, 2024

Peter Heine Nielsen, former coach of both Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen, posts on X: "The President of the Chess Federation of Russia, FIDE honorary member Andrei Filatov, accuses Ding Liren of losing on purpose, and asks @FIDE_chess to start an investigation"

?? Gukesh D ?
Ladies and gentlemen, the 18th WORLD CHAMPION! #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/CgzYBgeTfq

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 12, 2024

Vidit on X: As a human, my heart goes out for Ding. A chess player can understand how bad it feels to make a trivial blunder when there are such high stakes… Poor thing!

Congratulations @DGukesh !!

Youngest World champion ever! Amazing achievement ??? pic.twitter.com/9YDH4RasV6

— Vidit Gujrathi (@viditchess) December 12, 2024

Anish Giri on X (something Gukesh pointed out to as well when he mentioned a series of miracles brought him to this point): Remarkable that in the Candidates too, like in this match, Gukesh was at a brink of having to play the rapid tie break, but the fate was decided in classical chess!

There's a team photo from Spain. Vincent Keymer, Rados?aw Wojtaszek, Pentala Harikrishna -- all part of Gukesh's team -- were in Malaga, Spain, evidently so they could work while Gukesh slept.

Read more about his team here.

Sooo Happy to be part of the team #Gukesh ? pic.twitter.com/VWHAAxDQeI

— Harikrishna (@HariChess) December 12, 2024

Gukesh got the moves off the board too. This was a recent video of him dancing to Manasilayo from Rajinikanth movie Vettaiyan.

Fun fact: Dr Rajini Kanth's son won the World Chess Championship on Superstar Rajinikanth's birthday.

Manasilayo...with my family friends!
Idhu epdi irukku ? pic.twitter.com/r2hkDWYiJE

— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) September 29, 2024