Indian teen prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest undisputed world chess champion on Thursday after beating China’s Ding Liren in the final match of their series in Singapore.
The 18-year-old Gukesh burst into tears, burying his face in both hands after Ding resigned in a thrilling endgame that had been expected to end in a draw.
Gukesh later stood up and raised both hands triumphantly, smiling wide.
Under a distribution formula of the $2.5 million prize money drawn up by the International Chess Federation, each player will receive $200,000 for every game they won, with the remainder divided equally between them.
That means Gukesh will receive $1.35 million in total, and Ding will take home $1.15 million.
The game had been going for a draw but with a one-pawn advantage — supported by a rook and a bishop — a tenacious Gukesh pressed on and was richly rewarded for it.
The dethroned Chinese champion Ding, 32, slumped on the table after he realized he had made an endgame blunder that allowed his opponent to pounce.
