Youngest Chess World Champion (male)

The youngest chess world champion (male) is Gukesh Dommaraju (India, b. 29 May 2006), who was aged 18 years 197 days when he claimed the title from defending champion, Ding Liren, at the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on 12 December 2024.

Dommaraju surpassed the long-standing previous mark of 22 years 210 days, set by Garry Kasparov (Russia) on 9 November 1985.

The chess prodigy first set his eyes on this goal in 2013, aged just seven years old, after attending a title match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.

By the age of 12, Dommaraju had earned grandmaster-status, and now, he has made history as the 18th chess world champion. Wilhelm Steinitz won the first title match in 1886.

Dommaraju secured victory after a close 14-game match against Ding Liren. After 13 games, they were tied with two wins, and it seemed the 14th game would result in a draw. However, Liren made a mistake on move 55 and Dommaraju seized the opportunity to take the title.

The youngest female chess world champion is Hou Yifan (China, b. 27 February 1994), who was aged 16 years 300 days when she defeated her compatriot Ruan Lufei on 24 December 2010.