New Delhi, India

India’s new chess sensation D Gukesh is full of admiration for legendary Viswanathan Anand after winning the World Chess Championship (WCC) on Thursday (Dec 12). In a marathon 14-game WCC showdown, Gukesh got the better of China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest champion at 18. After the win, Gukesh took to his X handle and recalled memories with Anand.

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Gukesh admires Anand’s role

"Thanks @vishy64theking! Inspiration from the start joined waca, helped with Gaju and learnt a lot discussing Chess etc," tweeted Gukesh.

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On Thursday, Gukesh won game 14 of the WCC to pocket the tournament with a score of 7.5-6.5. He became the second Indian after Anand in 2000 to win the WCC while also breaking Russian great Garry Kasparov’s record for the youngest champion.

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What happened in the final?

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Having ended game 13 in a draw after a marathon five-hour contest, Gukesh and Liren started defensively in the latest contest. Playing with the white pawns, Gukesh had a considerable time advantage at the start despite losing key pieces. By the 36th move of the game, the Indian had a 30-minute advantage while both were on the decadency of losing key pieces.

On the 37th move, Gukesh gave a check to Liren with his rook despite no chance of causing any terror. However, a swift response and some aggressive play by the Chinese star meant the game was heading into a draw.

However, the 18-year-old Indian had luck on his side when Liren decided to offer his rook up in his 55th move by placing it at f2, which turned out to be the Championship-deciding blunder. The move opened the gates for Gukesh to win his first World Championship on the 58th move.