At 18, the 18th world champion is four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who was the youngest world champion since 1985, when he defeated Anatoly Karpov.

Gukesh won Thursday’s game with the black pieces after Ding weakened under pressure and made a mistake in what commentators considered a comfortable position, securing the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5.

As the final dragged into the fifth hour, Ding made a mistake that cost him the game, the match and the crown.

No comment. Sad. The end of chess as we know it

— Vladimir Kramnik (@VBkramnik) December 12, 2024

He called Ding’s mistake childish and wrote: “Nevet, but the world title was decided by a childish mistake in one move.”

Former world champion Kramnik had previously complained about the quality of the chess match between Gukesh and Liren.

“To be honest, I’m very disappointed with today’s game (Game 6). Even Game 5 wasn’t particularly high quality, but today it was really – for a professional – a really poor game from both players. “This is a very disappointing level,” he said after Game 6.

“It’s such a strange game. Both players made one mistake after another, strategic mistakes. As if they didn’t understand the situation.

“Maybe I’m old fashioned, but it’s pretty simple! Of course, they are both great players and great calculators. They do fantastic math.

“But I expect something more from a World Cup game, for example ideas! Human game, human concepts! If I just want to enjoy chess as a math game, I’d rather watch a World Chess Engine Championship!”