New Delhi: The 2025 World Chess Championship is set to be one of the most exciting tournaments, with Indian star D. Gukesh, an 18-year-old, pitted against the current champion of China, Ding Liren, in Singapore. It’s a big moment for Gukesh and Indian chess, he will become the youngest ever world champion if he wins.
Gukesh’s journey has been terrific. He is the youngest ever challenger in the world championship, and the youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament, which he recently claimed. He is the first Indian challenger of the world title in ten years, since Viswanathan Anand played his final match back in 2014.
The championship will take three weeks with 14 games, during which there will be four rest days. The games begin on November 25, and in case of tie-breakers, the matches can extend to December 13. Matches start at 2:30 PM IST every day.
Gukesh is the favourite, as he has been in phenomenal form lately. He did terrifically in the Chess Olympiad too, and his individual gold medal wasn’t enough to win such a high rating performance. His opponent, Ding Liren, hasn’t been at his best lately as he remains winless in classical chess for more than 300 days.
While Ding has been among the world’s best for many years, and that experience will count, it would be tough trying to adjust to Gukesh’s attacking style. In three classical games against him, Ding managed to win two games and drew one, according to Gukesh’s coach: “He is very strong at calculation. Even when he loses, when things are bad and he needs a long calculation, he is very calm”.
The prize pool is huge: $2.5 million. Each championship win takes home $200,000 or about ₹1.68 crore. If tie-breaks decide the winner, a champion will take home $1.3 million or around ₹10.9 crore, and the runner-up will take $1.2 million or around ₹10.1 crore.
This event is historic itself as the World Chess Championship is coming to Southeast Asia for only the second time. With Magnus Carlsen, former champion of the title, leaving the title match, up-and-coming heroes like Gukesh and Ding Liren now have the opportunity to claim the crown.
As Gukesh steps up to the board to play the opening game at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, the hopes of India ride with him. His mentor, Viswanathan Anand, has handed over some key advice: “Be confident, but cautious.” And he’ll need a mix of both, as history would be rewritten with him emerging as the youngest undisputed world champion ever.
