However, one might wonder if D Gukesh holds that title. Technically, he does not. How can that be? To clarify, D Gukesh is the youngest undisputed FIDE world champion, with "undisputed" being the crucial term. But what implications does this have? To summarize, from 1993 to 2006, the chess community recognized two world champions: one was the undisputed classical world champion, while the other was determined through a separate knockout tournament organized by FIDE.

Gary Kasparov, the former world champion who held the title from 1993 to 2000, distanced himself from FIDE following a disagreement and established the Professional Chess Association, as reported by The Indian Express. “Since 1993, there have been two titles: the illegitimate one managed by FIDE and the legitimate one organized independently,” IM David Levy noted in a 2004 article for ChessBase.

“While Kasparov defended his title against the strongest competitors of his time, FIDE continued to host its own 'World Championship.' However, the purpose of FIDE's event was not to determine the strongest chess player globally at that moment; rather, it was merely a tournament where the winner would be declared 'World Champion' by FIDE,” he elaborated.

The knockout tournament, commonly referred to as the world championship, organized by FIDE, has not consistently included the top chess players globally. In 2002, Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov emerged victorious in one of these tournaments, earning the title of FIDE world champion. This achievement marked Ponomariov as the youngest FIDE World Champion at just a few months past his 18th birthday. It is important to note that during this period, the world title was divided, and thus the reigning classical world champion, GM Vladimir Kramnik, along with the former champion, Garry Kasparov, did not participate in this championship event, as reported by chess.com.

In contrast, Gukesh claimed the world champion title at the age of 18 years and six months. Ponomariov, who previously set the record as the youngest Grand Master at the age of 14, was younger than Gukesh when he triumphed in a knockout format involving 128 players, which included two-game matches in the initial five rounds, four-game matches in the semifinals, and eight-game matches in the finals. However, this victory was not recognized by the elite chess community.

What has become of Ponomariov? He has continued to develop a remarkable chess career, maintaining a position among the world’s top-20 ranked players until the early 2010s. Currently, he remains active in the chess scene by participating in high-level competitions and regularly streaming, according to chess.com.

The division within the chess community was ultimately resolved in 2006 when Classical World Chess Champion Kramnik and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov were united to establish a single, undisputed World Champion.

The critical question remains—Is Gukesh the youngest world champion? The answer is affirmative; he is officially recognized as such, as Ponomariov's title is not considered undisputed.

Read Also: From Defeat to Motivation: D. Gukesh on Anand's 2013 Championship Experience

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