India’s D Gukesh created history on Thursday as he became the youngest world chess champion. Gukesh edged past the defending champion Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 by winning the 14th and last classical game of their World Championship tie in Singapore. Gukesh is now the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to clinch this coveted title. The 18-year-old Gukesh also dethroned Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who earlier held the record of being the youngest world champion, at the age of 22.
What is Gukesh’s prize money for winning the World Chess Championship 2024?
Talking about the prize money, victory in each game of the World Chess Championship was worth $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.69 crore).
Gukesh bagged three games and took home a whopping total of $600,000 (approx Rs 5.07 crore). On the other hand, Liren, who won two games, got $400,000 (approx Rs 3.38 crore).
The remaining $1.5 million in prize money will be split equally between the two opponents.
With this, Gukesh’s total prize money will be $1.35 million (approx Rs 11.45 crore) while Liren will take home $1.15 million (approx Rs 9.75 crore).
Earlier, Viswanathan Anand admitted that he didn’t expect Gukesh to take the title home on Thursday, thinking the game would be decided in a tie-breaker on Friday.
“It’s a little bit historic and a little bit of a surprise. Historic because he is the youngest world champion in history. Surprise because 20 minutes before the end, it didn’t look like it (the championship title) is going to be decided today. We thought there would be a tiebreaker. A very very pleasant surprise,” Viswanathan Anand said in an exclusive interview with NDTV.
When asked about Gukesh’s biggest strength, Anand said that he has a little bit of everything.
“You have to do well in everything. You, as a person, grow and overcome all the challenges. He managed to do that. He was very focused and dedicated. He was rewarded for that today,” the chess icon asserted.
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