 "India's D Gukesh responds to questions during the press conference after his victory over Ding Liren in Game 11 of the FIDE World Chess Championship. Image credit: Eng Chin An/FIDE")
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh took a giant step towards making history in Singapore on Sunday by defeating China’s Ding Liren in 29 moves in Game 11 of the FIDE World Chess Championship. Gukesh, aiming to become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport and only the second Indian overall, moved into the lead for the first time as a result of his decisive victory on Sunday with the scoreline currently reading 6-5 in his favour.
Despite his victory, the 18-year-old Indian claimed that the game could have “easily gone the other way” and even felt he was in trouble at one point in the game.
“This game was just a rollercoaster, it could have easily gone the other way. In this game the key was I could accept that I’ve screwed up after the opening and then I could refocus.
“I was more surprised with Ding saying he thought he was in trouble after g6 because I thought I was in trouble,” Gukesh said during the press conference after snapping the streak of seven consecutive draws with his second victory in the ongoing World Championship.
Gukesh had opted for a Reti Opening in Game 11, bringing his kingside knight to f3 that was followed by d5 and c4. The decision to go ahead with this opening appeared to have caught reigning champion Ding by surprise as the 32-year-old ended up consuming an hour for his first five moves – his lack of proper time management costing him the game in the end.
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More Shorts“We thought we had good odds of out preparing him, and 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,” Gukesh said on his choice of opening for Sunday’s meeting.
Ding, who faces a do-or-die scenario in the remaining three games of the World Championship , admitted that the game was as good as lost after the 15th move.
“He played the best move 11.g3. I attacked his d3 pawn and he defended well. These were the critical moments. When I played 15.g6?!, it was a horrible move. I missed a4 (Gukesh’s next move 16.a4). If I had played e6, maybe the position would not be so bad! After 15.g6 my bishop was clearly out of play. I don’t think I have any chance after that,” said the Chinese GM.
Ding, however, remains optimistic of pulling off a late heist and successfully defending his title in the last three games. He mentioned making a comeback at a similar stage in his 2023 World Championship meeting with Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana before going on to defeat the Russian GM in the tie-breaks .
“Last time also (against Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2023) I made a comeback with the white pieces in the 12th round. Tomorrow, I will definitely try,” Ding added.
Gukesh and Ding face each other in a decisive Game 12 on Monday, which will be followed by the final ‘Rest Day’ of the 2024 World Championship on Tuesday. If neither player is crowned champion in the last two games (13 and 14), the event will move into tie-breaks on Friday, 13 December.