Indian teenager Gukesh Domaraju became the youngest world chess champion after defeating defending champion Ding Liran of China in a dramatic turnaround on Thursday.

Dommaraju, 18, is four years younger than Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, the former record holder who was 22 when he won the title in 1985.

The Chennai prodigy, who became a chess grandmaster at the age of 12, was a superstar in the chess world for a long time.

But he is considered an outside challenger to reach the finals of this year’s FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore.

Playing on the black, Dommaraju won the match after Dinge, who was in a strong position, made a fatally stupid move that dropped his last powerful piece.

His offense gave the 18-year-old, who was ranked fifth in the world and second in his own country, the win.

The 14-match World Championship has been the focus of chess lovers across the world for the past fortnight.

Heading into Thursday’s final, Domaraju and Ding were tied with eight points and two wins each.

Players get one point for a win and half a point for a draw. Dommaraju claimed the title on Thursday with a final score of 7.5 to 6.5 to become the 18th world chess champion.

The teenager hails from Chennai, known as the chess capital of India, which has produced many national champions.

But there were no elite chess players in his family – his father, a surgeon, and his mother, a medical professor, wanted to keep him somewhere, so he attended chess sessions after school.

There, his talent was noticed by coaches, who encouraged his family to invest in his training. In high school in 2019, he was crowned Grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months – the third-youngest in history.

The teenager has previously spoken about how yoga and mindfulness helped him deal with the pressures of his chess game.

He was in the spotlight on Thursday as his opponent, defending champion Ding, appeared to buckle under pressure.

Since becoming China’s first world chess champion in 2023, Ding has faced questions about his form throughout the years since winning the title.

He had been on hiatus from chess for most of the year, talking about his struggles with depression and mental health.

But his impressive win over Dommaraju in last month’s championship opener and Round 12 win had suggested momentum.

At the age of 18, he is the second Indian player to win the World Chess Championship, after five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who last won in 2012.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first celebrities to pay tribute.

“Historic and exemplary!” He wrote in X. “Congratulations to Gukesh D on his great achievement. This is the result of his unmatched talent, hard work and unwavering determination.”

The FIDE World Chess Championship carries a prize fund of $2.5 million (£1.96m).