D Gukesh vs Ding Liren Game 11 Highlights: Gukesh defeats Ding in 29 moves, leads 6-5 with three games to go

Here’s how the 11th game of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship, which ended in a victory for Gukesh, played out in a little under four hours:

1. Nf3 d5

2. c4 d4

3. b4 c5

4. e3 Nf6

5. a3 Bg4

6. exd4 cxd4

7. h3 Bxf3

8. Qxf3 Qc7

9. d3 a5

10. b5 Nbd7

11. g3 Nc5

12. Bg2 Nfd7

13. O-O Ne5

14. Qf4 Rd8

15. Rd1 g6

16. a4 h5

17. b6 Qd6

18. Ba3 Bh6

19. Bxc5 Qxc5

20. Qe4 Nc6

21. Na3 Rd7

22. Nc2 Qxb6

23. Rab1 Qc7

24. Rb5 O-O

25. Na1 Rb8

26. Nb3 e6

27. Nc5 Re7

28. Rdb1 Qc8

29. Qxc6

D Gukesh wins Game 11! The Indian GM is in the lead for the first time in the World Chess Championship!

After moving his knight to a1, the Indian decides to gallop the piece all the way to c5 in his next two moves, threatening his opponent’s rook. Ding moves his rook away to safety, but does so only after advancing his pawn along the e file.

Gukesh decides to move his second rook to the b file as well, to which Ding retreats his queen all the way to the back along the c file. He then finally raises the white flag after Gukesh captures his remaining knight on c6 with his queen

Gukesh decides to advance his queenside knight to a3 before moving the same piece to c2. Ding decides to move his rook forward by one square to d7 before capturing Gukesh’s pawn on the b file with his queen.

Gukesh opts to take his queenside rook forward in the next two moves, moving it to the b file before placing it on the fifth rank. Ding, who retreats his queen to c7, decides to castle in his 24th move.

The Indian decides to move his knight to a1 in Move 25, while Ding decides to place his rook on guard along the b file, the two rooks separated by a pawn.

1. Nf3 d5

2. c4 d4

3. b4 c5

4. e3 Nf6

5. a3 Bg4

6. exd4 cxd4

7. h3 Bxf3

8. Qxf3 Qc7

9. d3 a5

10. b5 Nbd7

11. g3 Nc5

12. Bg2 Nfd7

13. O-O Ne5

14. Qf4 Rd8

15. Rd1 g6

16. a4 h5

17. b6 Qd6

18. Ba3 Bh6

19. Bxc5 Qxc5

20. Qe4 Nc6

Gukesh and Ding play out their next three moves in quick fashion. Both players decide to advance their bishops – Gukesh to a3 and Ding to h6. Gukesh then decides to sacrifice his bishop in exchange for Ding’s knight in the 19th, before moving his queen to e4, right next to Ding’s remaining knight, forcing it to gallop away to c6.

Gukesh had briefly ceded ground to Ding on the win predictor, only to surge ahead after his 17th move, with the predictor giving the Indian a 32.8 per cent chance of emerging victorious compared to 21 per cent for the Chinese GM with a 46.2 per cent chance of the contest ending in a draw.

Gukesh also leads Ding in terms of accuracy – 96.4 per cent to 94.7 per cent.

Ding responds to Gukesh’s a4 with an h5, freeing up space for his dark-coloured bishop which could threaten the white queen if placed at h6.

Gukesh, instead, chooses to distract Ding with b6, challenging the black queen.

The Indian Grandmaster consumes 13 minutes for his 16th move (a4), and is left with just 23 minutes and 17 seconds for his next 24 moves. Ding, who is taking his time for his response, has a little over 30 minutes left on his clock.

1. Nf3 d5

2. c4 d4

3. b4 c5

4. e3 Nf6

5. a3 Bg4

6. exd4 cxd4

7. h3 Bxf3

8. Qxf3 Qc7

9. d3 a5

10. b5 Nbd7

11. g3 Nc5

12. Bg2 Nfd7

13. O-O Ne5

14. Qf4 Rd8

15. Rd1 g6

Gukesh decides to move his queen to f4, placing it right next to Ding’s knight. The Chinese GM responds by moving his rook to d8, right next to his king.

Gukesh moves the rook that he had castled his king with to the same file thereafter As for Ding’s 16th move, he decides to advance his g pawn.

The Chinese GM decides to take his other knight, which had been sitting idle at f6 for so long, next to his queen at d7 before moving the same piece to e5 to threaten the white queen. Gukesh, in the meantime, opts for a castle.

For the first time in Game 11, Gukesh has less time on the clock than his Chinese opponent after consuming an hour for his 11th move. With Ding advancing his knight, Gukesh decides to move his light-squared bishop to g2.

After thinking long and hard for 60 minutes and 17 seconds, d3 is all that Gukesh can come up with for his 11th move. He then promptly gets up and leaves the room for a quick break.

Ding responds by moving his knight to c5, taking just nine seconds for the same. How the tables have turned!

The Indian GM appears stumped at the moment and is taking all the time in the world to make his next move after Ding’s decision to move his knight to d7. Gukesh has consumed nearly as much time as Ding, with both players now having less than an hour left for their next 30 moves.

Ding’s decision to move his other knight forward, placing it right next to his queen with his kingside knight along the sixth rank has got Gukesh thinking hard for his 11th move. The Indian GM has consumed nearly half-an-hour so far, and can afford to do so with nearly an hour-and-a-half left on the clock.

1. Nf3 d5

2. c4 d4

3. b4 c5

4. e3 Nf6

5. a3 Bg4

6. exd4 cxd4

7. h3 Bxf3

8. Qxf3 Qc7

9. d3 a5

10. b5 Nbd7

After the two players opt to move their pawns around in Move 9, with Gukesh moving his d pawn forward and nullifying the threat of a5 with b5, Ding decides to move his queenside knight to d7. With that, 10 moves have been completed in what has been a slow, but interesting Game 11 so far.

The first major capture of Game 11 takes place in the seventh move as Ding decides to capture Gukesh’s knight that had been lying dormant at f3 since the opening move. The Indian GM responds by knocking Ding’s light-squared bishop off the board. Ding too decides to move his queen forward, albeit by one square diagonally to his right.

Ding Liren consumes more than 20 minutes before taking his light-squared bishop to g4. His next move, however, is executed in 11 seconds with the two players opting for a pawn exchange along the d file

Gukesh goes back into his meditative pose, waiting for his opponent to make a move. The reigning world champion had consumed 38 minutes for his fourth move, and one wonders if we’re in for a similar wait now.

As of this update, Ding has exactly an hour left on the clock, while Gukesh is yet to complete a full minute for his five moves!

The Chinese GM decides to move his kingside knight to f6, mirroring Gukesh’s opening move. The Indian responds with a3 in a matter of seconds, and is yet to consume a full minute for his moves.

Gukesh’s unusual start appears to have stumped the reigning world champion for now, with the latter having consumed 35 minutes so far for his fourth move. The 18-year-old Indian GM, on the other hand, has completed his first four moves in 25 seconds!

Reigning champion Ding is taking his time for his fourth move after Gukesh opts to move his e-file pawn forward, having moved both the c and b pawns in his previous moves. More than 10 minutes have passed now, and Ding is still thinking hard. Gukesh, meanwhile, goes back into his meditative pose.

Both players opt to move their pawns around after Gukesh decides to get his kingside knight forward. Here’s what the board looks like after both players execute three moves quickly:

Gukesh’s decision to move his knight forward instead of a pawn while playing with white pieces is what comprises the ‘Reti Opening’, named after Czechoslovakian chess legend Richard Réti who used this move to defeat José Raúl Capablanca in 1924.

The opening follows this sequence — 1. Nf3, d5; 2. c4.

Ding Liren had opted for the London System opening in Game 10, in which the two players shook hands after 36 moves.