World at his feet
Indian Grandmaster Gukesh D was crowned the 18th world chess champion in Singapore today amidst a distasteful controversy involving the president of the Russian chess federation, who alleged that Ding Liren deliberately lost the final game.
Besides the World Championship trophy, Gukesh won a cash award of Rs 11.45 crore and an additional Rs 5 crore announced by the Tamil Nadu government. Ding, despite losing the world title, received about Rs 9.75 crore. To encourage thrilling games, FIDE — the world chess body — had announced about Rs 1.69 crore for each game won. Gukesh won three games, while Ding scored two victories. In addition, the players split the $1.3 million prize.
FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich presented the trophy to Gukesh amidst loud cheering from the audience.
Continuing with his grace and humility, Gukesh made an emotional speech after receiving the award. “I mean this moment, it feels like I have lived it a million times. Every morning when I woke up, this moment was the reason I woke up. To hold this trophy and this reality means more than anything else in my life,” he said.
He also praised his opponent Ding, calling him a “true champion” and thanking him for the amazing fight. Gukesh acknowledged the support of his parents, his team, and the fans who had been with him throughout his journey. “This journey has been nothing short of a dream. There have been many ups and downs, many challenges, but I wouldn’t change a single thing that has happened and it has been beautiful because of the kind of people I have had with me,” he said.
However, grace was found wanting from former champions Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, and Andrei Filatov, the president of the Chess Federation of Russia. Filatov, in a shocking statement, accused Ding of deliberately losing the final game to Gukesh. He expressed doubts about the result, describing Ding’s performance in the decisive moments as “extremely suspicious” and calling for an investigation by FIDE.
No evidence has been put forward by him, and there has been no reaction from Ding or the Chinese chess federation so far regarding the allegation.
Kramnik also criticised Ding’s critical blunder, calling it “childish” and describing the game as a “disappointment”. He went as far as to say that it was the “end of chess as we know it.”
Carlsen, whom Gukesh holds in high esteem, also ruffled some feathers among Indian fans when he did not acknowledge Gukesh as the top player in the world. In his analysis on the TakeTakeTake app stream, Carlsen declined a showdown match with Gukesh, as desired by the Indian Grandmaster.
“I am not part of this circus anymore,” he said, reflecting his disapproval for the World Championship format. Carlsen lauded Gukesh’s performance but said he was probably second best as of now, with an indirect reference to himself being No. 1.
“It’s a really good thing for him, he has the title now for two years. Winning this championship is extremely motivating, so there is a very good chance that he is going to go for a great run of results now and probably become the No. 2 player now and maybe No. 1 in the not so distant future,” said Carlsen, who had lost to Gukesh in a rapid match earlier this year.
