'Boy who would be King’: Viswanathan Anand shares throwback photo of D Gukesh after historic win

D Gukesh with Viswanathan Anand (Pic: @vishy64theking/X/PTI)

Former five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand took to social media to share a nostalgic photograph with a young D Gukesh, celebrating the latter's historic achievement of becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion.

Gukesh triumphed over Ding Liren in a thrilling Game 14 on Thursday evening, securing the prestigious title and becoming only the second Indian to do so after Anand himself.

Anand, who had first met Gukesh as a child, affectionately referred to him as the 'boy who would be king' in his post, recognising the immense potential the young prodigy had demonstrated even at that early age.

Gukesh, at just 18, shattered a 38-year-old record held by Russian legend Garry Kasparov, who became World Champion at 22 in 1985. With his victory, Gukesh has now permanently etched his name into the annals of chess history.

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Gukesh secured the requisite 7.5 points as against 6.5 of his Chinese rival after winning the 14th and last classical time control game of the match that seemed headed for a draw for most part. As winner, he will walk away with a whopping USD 1.3 million (approx Rs 11.03 crore) from the 2.5 million prize purse.

"I was dreaming this moment for the last 10 years. I am happy that I realised the dream (and made it) into reality," the soft-spoken Chennai-lad told reporters after the historic triumph.

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"I got a bit emotional because I was not expecting to win. But then I got a chance to press on," he added.

The triumph was expectedly hailed across India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing it as "historic and exemplary".

"This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination," Modi posted on X.

The reticent teenager grinned widely and raised his arms in celebration after the victory, a stark contrast from the poker face he usually sports while playing.

Even on Thursday, when the analysts had proclaimed that the match, in all likelihood, would go into a tie-breaker, Gukesh's face hardly gave anything away as he gained the upper-hand.

It was a momentary lapse of concentration by Liren in what seemed a drawn endgame and as it happened, the entire chess world was left in a state of shock.

The players were just left with a rook and a bishop and Gukesh had two pawns against one trying to make a foray without much success.

However, the ability to keep pushing for more gave Gukesh a distinct advantage over the Chinese and the latter simply collapsed to give the title to Gukesh.

Before Gukesh's feat on Thursday, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Gukesh had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.

(With agency inputs)