18-year-old Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju is the world champion after the defending title holder GM Ding Liren (32) from China collapsed in game 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship. Gukesh won 7.5-6.5, taking $1.35 million, after a game where Ding seemed to have a risk-free chance to press for a win but instead liquidated into a pawn-down endgame. It was objectively drawn, but Gukesh kept pushing and Ding blundered as the pressure grew. Gukesh called it "probably the best moment of my life" when he realized he'd fulfilled a childhood dream. He is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title. Also, Gukesh is only the third Asian to win the World Championship, after Anand, who is now a mentor for Gukesh, was the first, and Ding the second.
GM Gukesh Dommaraju is the youngest Challenger in chess history. The Indian prodigy qualified to play in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament through the FIDE Circuit. Considered an underdog by many, Gukesh had a stunning performance, winning five games and losing only one to win the Candidates by a half-point margin.
Gukesh is also only the 18th World champion in history, which dates back to 1886. That there have been only 17 undisputed World champions before him puts into perspective the enormity of the achievement.
The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz won, making him the first world champion.
From 1886 to 1946, the champion set the terms, requiring any challenger to raise a sizable stake and defeat the champion in a match in order to become the new world champion. Following the death of reigning world champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) took over administration of the World Championship, beginning with the 1948 tournament. From 1948 to 1993, FIDE organized a set of tournaments and matches to choose a new challenger for the world championship match, which was held every three years.
History of Chess Championship: Early champions (pre-1886)
Before 1851: A depiction of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amant, on 16 December 1843.
The game of chess in its modern form emerged in Spain in the 15th century, though rule variations persisted until the late 19th century. Before Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort in the late 19th century, no chess player seriously claimed to be champion of the world.
From 1851 to 1886 : Adolf Anderssen, who won three strong international tournaments and is often considered the world's leading player around the mid-nineteenth century. Paul Morphy, who dominated all of his opposition during his brief chess career before retiring from chess at the age of 21 in 1859. An important milestone was the London 1851 chess tournament, which was the first international chess tournament, organized by Staunton. It was played as a series of matches, and was won convincingly by the German Adolf Anderssen, including a 4–1 semi-final win over Staunton.
Reign of Wilhelm Steinitz (1886–1894) :Wilhelm Steinitz dominated chess from 1866 to 1894. Some commentators date his time as World Champion from 1866; others from 1886.
Following the Steinitz–Zukertort match, a tradition continued of the world championship being decided by a match between the reigning champion, and a challenger: if a player thought he was strong enough, he (or his friends) would find financial backing for a match purse and challenge the reigning world champion. If he won, he would become the new champion.
Emanuel Lasker (1894–1921) : Emanuel Lasker was the World Champion for 27 years consecutively from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of a World Champion. During that period, he played seven World Championship matches. Lasker held the title from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign (27 years) of any champion. He won a return match against Steinitz in 1897, and then did not defend his title for ten years, before playing four title defences in four years. He comfortably defeated Frank Marshall in 1907 and Siegbert Tarrasch in 1908. In 1910, he almost lost his title in a short tied match against Carl Schlechter, although the exact conditions of this match are a mystery. He then defeated Dawid Janowski in the most one-sided title match in history later in 1910.
Capablanca, Alekhine and Euwe (1921–1946) : José Raúl Capablanca reigned as World Champion from 1921 to 1927, and proposed the short-lived "London Rules" for future Championship matches.
Alexander Alekhine was the World Champion from 1927 to 1935 and again from 1937 to his death in 1946. He is the only World Champion to die while holding the title. After the breakdown of his first attempt to negotiate a title match against Lasker (1911), Capablanca drafted rules for the conduct of future challenges, which were agreed to by the other top players at the 1914 Saint Petersburg tournament, including Lasker, and approved at the Mannheim Congress later that year.
FIDE title (1948–1993) :FIDE, Euwe and AVRO : Max Euwe became the World Champion by defeating Alexander Alekhine in 1935 but lost a rematch in 1937. Attempts to form an international chess federation were made at the time of the 1914 St. Petersburg, 1914 Mannheim and 1920 Gothenburg Tournaments.On 20 July 1924 the participants at the Paris tournament founded FIDE as a kind of players' union.
Split title (1993–2006) : In 1993, Nigel Short broke the domination of Kasparov and Karpov by defeating Karpov in the candidates semi-finals followed by Jan Timman in the finals, thereby earning the right to challenge Kasparov for the title. However, before the match took place, both Kasparov and Short complained of FIDE's mishandling of the prize pool in organizing the match, corruption in the leadership, and FIDE's failure to abide by their own rules, and split from FIDE to set up the Professional Chess Association (PCA), under whose auspices they held their match.
Reunified title (since 2006) : Kramnik (2006–2007) : Further information: World Chess Championship 2006 : The World Chess Championship 2006 reunification match between Topalov and Kramnik was held in late 2006. After much controversy, it was won by Kramnik. Kramnik thus became the first unified and undisputed World Chess Champion since Kasparov split from FIDE to form the PCA in 1993. This match, and all subsequent championships, have been administered by FIDE.
Anand (2007–2013) :Further information: World Chess Championship 2007, World Chess Championship 2009, and World Chess Championship 2011
Vladimir Kramnik defeated Kasparov in 2000, and became the undisputed world champion by beating Topalov in 2006.
Viswanathan Anand, who held the FIDE title from 2000 to 2002, won the unified title in 2007 after defeating Kramnik and was the undisputed Champion till 2013. Kramnik played to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico. This was an 8-player double round robin tournament, the same format as was used for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. This tournament was won by Viswanathan Anand, thus making him the World Chess Champion.
Carlsen (2013–2023):Further information: World Chess Championship 2013, World Chess Championship 2014, World Chess Championship 2016, World Chess Championship 2018, and World Chess Championship 2021. Magnus Carlsen, became the World Champion after defeating Anand in 2013. He defended his title in four tournaments and was the Champion until 2023.
Ding Liren became the World Champion in 2023 after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi as Carlsen refused to defend his title. He was the reigning champion until 2024. Since 2013, the Candidates Tournament has been an eight-player double round robin tournament, with the winner playing a match against the champion for the title. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen won the 2013 Candidates and then convincingly defeated Anand in the World Chess Championship 2013.
Ding (2023–2024) :Further information: World Chess Championship 2023 :Soon after the 2021 match, Carlsen indicated that he would not defend the title again.This was confirmed in an announcement by FIDE on 20 July 2022. As a consequence, the top two finishers of the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, played in the 2023 championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 7 April to 30 April 2023.Ding won in rapid tiebreaks, making him the first World Chess Champion from China.
Gukesh (2024–present): Further information: World Chess Championship 2024 : Gukesh Dommaraju became the World Champion in 2024 after defeating Ding Liren. The next world championship was held in 2024, from 25 November to 12 December in Singapore. Ding Liren lost his title to Indian player Gukesh Dommaraju, by 7½ to 6½. The match saw five wins (three by Gukesh and two by Ding) and nine draws in its 14 games; the players were tied going into the final game. At 18 years old, Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion.
In a historic conclusion to the World Chess Championship in Singapore, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju defeated reigning champion Ding Liren in the final game, becoming the youngest undisputed world chess champion in history. With this monumental victory, the title returns to India for the first time since Viswanathan Anand lost it in 2013. Gukesh's triumph, sealed after Ding blundered in a technical endgame, cements his place among chess legends. The victory also highlights India's rise as a global chess powerhouse.
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