Indian teen credits Magnus Carlsen as he becomes youngest ever world chess champion

Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju has credited Magnus Carlsen for the victory that crowned him the World Chess Champion this week.

Dommaraju, 18, defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in Singapore on Thursday to become the 18th undisputed world champion in history.

He also becomes the youngest ever champion, taking that title from Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won in 1985.

Dommaraju burst into tears after Liren offered his hand in resignation and walked away shaking his head in disappointment.

Speaking after his victory, Dommaraju said his journey had “just started” and his “goal was to play in the top level for the longest time possible”.

“I’ve been dreaming about this moment for 10 years!”

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“Becoming the world champion doesn’t mean I am the best player in the world. Obviously, there is Magnus Carlsen and he will always be a motivating factor for me,” he said on Thursday.

As a seven-year-old, Dommaraju watched Carlsen end Indian chess wizard Viswanathan Anand’s reign as the world champion.

The 2013 match was held in his hometown in Chennai and Dommaraju was in the audience.

“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,” he said. “And when Magnus won, I thought I really wanted 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.”

Dommaraju would go on to become a chess grandmaster at 12.

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It was a mistake by the Chinese contender that confirmed Dommaraju’s victory with a final score of 7.5 to 6.5 after a five-hour match.

The error put the Indian in a decisive position where he could promote a pawn to the queen and deliver checkmate to the king.

“I was totally in shock when I realised that I made a blunder,” Liren said after the game.

“His facial expression showed that he was very happy and excited and I realized I made a blunder. It took some time to realize it.”

Dommaraju said it took him a moment to realise the error.

“At first, I didn’t see that I was winning. When I realised that I was winning it was the best moment of my life,” he said.

The victory made him only the second Indian to take the title after Anand.

“It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India,” Mr Anand, a mentor to the teenager, posted on X, “and for me, a very personal moment of pride.”

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dommaraju on his win. “Historic and exemplary!” the Indian prime minister said on X. “Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination.”

Dommaraju was born in the southern metropolis of Chennai, the chess capital of India. He did not come from a family of chess players, however. His father is a surgeon and his mother a medical professor.

It was only after he was enrolled in chess classes at school that his talent was apparent and his coaches urged his family to put him in professional training.

He was in high school in 2019 when he became a chess grandmaster, the third-youngest in history.

His world championship victory earns him $2.5m (£1.96m) in prize money.