D Gukesh Viral Video: A heartwarming video of an 11-year-old D Gukesh declaring his dream of becoming the youngest World Chess Champion has taken the internet by storm.
Seven years later, that childhood ambition turned into reality. On Thursday (December 12) in Singapore, the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster triumphed over reigning champion Ding Liren in a closely contested battle. Gukesh clinched a 7.5-6.5 victory, sealing Game 14 with the black pieces, and etched his name in history as the youngest World Chess Champion.
Watch viral video of 11-year-old D Gukesh setting sights on Chess glory
D Gukesh reacts to criticism over standard of his match against Ding Liren
New World Chess Champion D Gukesh has faced sharp criticism from former World Champions Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen regarding the quality of play during the World Championship. Carlsen, a global icon in chess, compared Gukesh vs. Liren final to an early-round match in an open tournament. Meanwhile, Kramnik went a step further, describing the event as the "end of chess as we know it."
In response to the criticism, Gukesh told BBC:
"I get that maybe in some of the games, the quality was not high but I think the world championship matches are decided not purely by chess but by who has the better character and who has the better willpower. And I think those qualities, I did show quite well." Gukesh, though, conceded that he would have liked to compete at a better level.
"And the pure chess part, it was not at a very high level as I would have liked it to be because it's a new experience for me. So the workload was different, the pressure was different.
"It's understandable that I was a bit off but I managed to strike at the critical moments, which I am happy about," said Gukesh.