Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju scripted history on Thursday as he defeated China’s Ding Liren in the decisive Game 14 of the World Chess Championship, in Singapore. Gukesh became the 18th world champion, and the youngest-ever in history at the tender age of 18. Game 14 was a closely fought affair and for the majority of it, it looked like it was headed for a tie-breaker, something which Liren pushed hard for. But a massive blunder by Liren in the 55th move of the end game saw the defending champion resign, leaving Gukesh extremely emotional and in tears.

Gukesh had black pieces in the decider and had a nervy start. Liren was in a comfortable position throughout the game, but a huge blunder saw him losing 6.5-7.5. After his win, Gukesh was seen sharing an emotional moment with his father, and then he fell on the arms of mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and was seen wailing.

Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand took to X to congratulate Gukesh, and wrote, “Congratulations! It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for WACA, and for me, a very personal moment of pride. Ding played a very exciting match and showed the champion he is.”

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also joined the party and lauded Gukesh for scripting history. Taking to X, Gukesh wrote, “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.”

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Gukesh had earlier won the Candidates tournament, which saw him qualify for a title challenge with Liren. Gukesh also has been backed by a strong chess team consisting of Grzegorz Gajewski, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Pentala Harikrishna, Vincent Keymer, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Jan Klimkowski. He also received help from mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who was there with his father in Singapore. Even, Anand provided him with help.