Bengaluru: As early as transfer 13 of Recreation 3, Ding Liren fell behind an hour on the clock, shifting in his chair, visibly uncomfortable on the place in entrance of him. Gukesh on the different finish was an image of calm, resting again in his chair with eyes closed. Ultimately, for Ding it ended up being a pricey payback for the time he had frittered away. He was quickly staring on the heart-stopping process of enjoying 9 strikes in two minutes. It was then all the way down to a clutch of seconds for 3 strikes.
India’s D Gukesh at a press convention after his match in opposition to Ding Liren of China on the FIDE World Championship 2024 in Singapore. (PTI)
The reigning world champion misplaced Recreation 3 in a wild time scramble in a tough place as Gukesh levelled scores 1.5-1.5 within the World Championship in Singapore on Wednesday, heading into the primary relaxation day of the match. That is additionally Gukesh’s first-ever classical win over Ding.
“It feels great,” Gukesh stated, within the press convention that adopted. “I just managed to outplay my opponent which is always very nice.”
Ding will rue how he botched issues up for himself given how he was positioned after surviving the opening. The 18-year-old Indian switched openings, going from 1.e4 in Recreation 1 to a 1.d4 shock in Recreation 3. He trotted out the uncommon 7.h3 with the concept of maybe taking the sport to unfamiliar terrain for his opponent. It was performed by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik twice in 2023.
The Queens got here off the board by transfer 9 and Ding made the horrible mistake of pushing his light-squared bishop to c2, hitting White’s b3 pawn and ending up being trapped behind enemy strains, gasping for air. It was a sneaky little lure arrange by Gukesh. The Indian had all of it labored out and Ding didn’t absolutely grasp what he was strolling into.
This sequence of strikes, because it seems, was performed between Kramnik and India’s Arjun Erigaisi on the World Speedy Workforce Championships final yr. That sport had led to a 72-move draw. When requested about it, Gukesh stated that he recalled it was the identical place until transfer 13. “I think Arjun made some mistake and Kramnik had a huge advantage, but it ended in a draw. I remember this detail but don’t remember exactly how the game went.”
Gukesh was within the e book until transfer 13 and supplied that he was stunned by how Ding responded – “I think how he reacted was not the most precise way and then I think I just got a very good position.” Ding on his half stated that he discovered his place uncomfortable early on and was attempting to give you a plan to rescue his trapped bishop. Ding made a few sound selections within the middlegame, together with the Nbd7 novelty on transfer 13.
Simply when it seemed like he had solved his issues, Ding selected an ill-considered 18…Rh5. Gukesh responded by pushing his pawn to e4, reducing off all exit factors for the trapped bishop. This shifted the momentum of the sport because it meant that Black was not going to get adequate compensation for the piece. To make issues worse for Ding, he was low on time.
Gukesh realised that the sport had reached a territory the place he needed to simply hunker down, discover the correct strikes and stroll away with an equalising win within the match. He reeled off a collection of correct strikes, essentially the most essential of which was discovering 23…Ne2! – the one transfer within the place that offers White a bonus. Gukesh sat eyes closed for a few minutes, the transfer already swimming in his head, earlier than he performed it out on the board.
Ding was in hassle each on the clock and on the board. He later stated that he had missed Gukesh’s incoming Ne2 strike. Black was down a chunk – he had given up his bishop for 2 pawns, and Gukesh, enjoying at 98.7 p.c accuracy, was discovering all the correct strikes, tightening the noose additional.
White had an objectively profitable place and the Black king seemed prefer it may doubtlessly fall into mating nets. Issues didn’t get as far. Ding froze, the seconds counting down on his clock. He pushed his rook to the h5 sq. on transfer 37, knocking over a number of items and his time ran out. He wanted to make three extra strikes earlier than time management could possibly be reached and he would have an additional half hour with increments kicking in to work on what was nonetheless a depressing place. He seemed devastated because the scoresheets have been signed and the defeat had become a actuality. Requested how he plans to strike again, he paused earlier than saying: “Just the position itself …If I have a chance in the game, I need to press for the win.”
Gukesh has evened issues out on this match after a nervy loss in Recreation 1. He doesn’t appear to have doubted it. “I always knew that once I settle in, I will get back my rhythm.”