 "World Chess Championship 2024: Why D Gukesh will aim to avoid tiebreakers and clinch the title in Game 14")
We have just one game left in the ongoing World Chess Championship 2024 between D Gukesh and Ding Liren! The World Chess Championship 2024 is currently tied at 6.5-6.5 going into Game 14 , which will be played on 12 December (Thursday) at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
The winner of Game 14 will also be crowned the chess world champion, however, another draw will result in tiebreakers. Liren, 32, of China is the defending champion while 18-year-old chess sensation from India, Gukesh, is aiming to become the youngest-ever world champion.
Ding will have the advantage of playing with white pieces in Game 14 and is the favourite for the last tie but even if he doesn’t win, he won’t fret much as long as the game ends in a draw and Gukesh is forced to take part in the tiebreaker.
Gukesh doesn’t have a great record in faster time-control chess games.
World Chess Championship 2024 tiebreaker format
The tiebreaker will be played on 13 December (Friday), starting with four rapid chess games. Each game will have a time control of 15 minutes per player and a 10-second increment will be given per move.
The first player to reach 2.5 points will be declared the winner.
But if the scores remain tied, two mini-rapid chess games will be played. In these two games, 10 minutes will be given to each player and a 5-second increment per move. The first player to score 1.5 points will be declared as winner.
In case, we still don’t find a winner, two blitz chess games will be played. These two blitz games will have a time control of 3 minutes per player and a 2-second increment per move. The first to reach 1.5 points will win the Championship.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere’s also a provision of sudden-death blitz games if the stalemate continues. It will have the same format – time control of 3 minutes per player and a 2-second increment per move. The two players will alternate colours until a winner is found.
Advantage Ding in tiebreakers
Ding will have an edge in the tiebreakers due to his record. Gukesh has a terrific record in classical chess, which gives him excess time to calculate on the board and make his moves. This option is not available in faster time-controlled games and is seen as a major reason behind his poor performance in rapid and blitz games.
In classical chess, Gukesh is ranked No.5 in the world and has a rating of 2,783, while Ding is currently World No. 23 (2,728 Elo rating) in classical format.
Gukesh has a rating of 2,654 and 2,615 in rapid and blitz respectively, while Ding has a rating of 2,776 in rapid chess and is also the world No.2. The Chinese has a rating of 2,785 in blitz chess.
“Gukesh has not done anything in his career to suggest that he’s very good at rapid. He’s a very confident young man. I’m sure he believes that he can win even in tiebreaks. But we’re looking at facts and there is nothing from his career to suggest that rapid is a good format for him,” World No.1 Magnus Carlsen had once said.
Gukesh will be up against his record if the match goes into the tiebreakers but the youngster has defied multiple odds to compete for the world title at the age of 18 and must continue to trust in his abilities.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
