World Chess Championship: D Gukesh 1.5 points away from maiden trophy with win in 11th game against Ding Liren

Published on Authored by Press Trust of India

Teenage Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh on Sunday, December 8, took a giant step towards the World Chess Championship title by defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China in the 11th game, taking a 6-5 lead in the contest after a spate of draws.

Contrasting emotions- While D Gukesh (left) smiles, Ding Liren is crestfallen after making an erronous move during game 11. Photo courtesy: Eng Chin An via x.com/FIDE_chess
Contrasting emotions- While D Gukesh (left) smiles after the match, Ding Liren is crestfallen after making an erronous move during game 11. Photo courtesy: Eng Chin An via x.com/FIDE_chess

With just three games to go, Gukesh now has a crucial lead in the 14-round classical format match and needs 1.5 points from the remaining three games.

History is now on Gukesh’s side as no challenger in modern chess has ever scored a win after being tied 5-5 following the 10th game.

For Liren, the only comforting thing could be the fact that he had won the 12th game in the last World Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia.

The Indian started off with the Knight move on his first turn and was surprised as Liren went for a reverse Benoni opening. The move was shocking as it looked like it was an over-the-board decision rather than a planned one.

After only five moves, Gukesh had a lead of over an hour on the clock, which is never too easy for the opponent to recover in crunch games. However, if everyone thought that the opening had gone seriously wrong for Liren, the Chinese had different ideas as he capitalised on an erroneous plan by Gukesh in the early middle game.

Things turned upside down when Liren went for completing his development and missed out on a simple manoeuvre that would have probably given the defending champion slightly better prospects.

Gukesh himself spent a lot of time in the middle game but the nature of the position remained double-edged. As the clouds began to clear, Gukesh came up with a spectacular pawn sacrifice on the queen side to give moving space for his rooks. Just as he doubled them on the file to exert pressure, Liren simply crashed and made the blunder in a blink.

“After Game 1, I had to show mental resistance because obviously it wasn’t a pleasant thing to lose the first game of the World Championship, but then once I hit back, I’ve started to play good chess,” said Gukesh during the press conference.

Gukesh had paid dearly in the opening game for unwarranted complications in his middle game as Liren, playing with black pieces, had drawn first blood by defeating the teenaged Indian to take the lead.

The Indian, however, struck back in the third game by showcasing an exemplary opening preparation to outwit the Chinese. The Chinese player was left dejected as he immediately realised the mistake. Gukesh played the winning move in quick time.

Gukesh said his team had done a great job of preparing him for the opening line in the 11th game.

“My team did some amazing work in this line. I looked at the line; I felt it was very interesting, and the risk-reward ratio was quite nice because I would surprising him for sure,” said the teenager.

The Indian categorically rejected the belief that Liren was playing for a draw, saying his opponent too had been in a strong position in game 11.

“I don’t think my opponent was playing for draws – he had some better positions in the match. It’s a 14-game long match and you can’t plan from the start to take the match to the tie-breaks, because in chess mistakes always happen.

“This game was just a rollercoaster, it could have easily gone the other way.”

In between the game, Gukesh took a six-minute break and retired to his lounge area. When asked the reason behind it, the Indian said, “I was just drifting with these long things (variations). I was getting lower than him on the clock by now, but I thought I should take a break… I was not thinking clearly. I told myself I have spoiled the advantage now, let me just make one move at a time, and somehow, things went very well.”

Known to be very competitive, Gukesh said the approach will not change even though he needs three draws from the remaining three games.

“I will just try to play good games, obviously it’s not possible to not think about the result but the focus and the process is on playing good games and that is the only way to get the result you want,” he said.

In the remaining three games, Liren will have two games with white pieces and this would be the best chance for him if he has to stage a comeback. Gukesh is just three draws away from winning his maiden world championship title.