Ding beats Gukesh, leads 1-0
26th November, 2024 by R R Vasudevan from Singapore
Defending champion GM Ding Liren of China shrugged off his ills that held him winless for 304 days pulling off a fine technical win in 42 moves over GM Gukesh Dommaraju of India in the first game of the FIDE World Championship 2024 took off at Equarius Hotel Sentosa, Singapore here today.
The excitement was palpable, as the locals and a huge number of supporters viz., Indian and Chinese thronged the famed Sentosa Island in Singapore. The hall was packed with celebrities and commoners alike, for it was the bonding of chess that brought all here. The fan zone resembled a scenario similar to cricket match crowds in Australia and South Africa.
Chennai boy Gukesh went with the King pawn opening and Ding ventured into the established French Defence (Steinitz variation) and very early the Indian built up a sizeable advantage on the clock. Midway through the Chinese world champion looked concerned at a deficit of one hour on the clock. But a turnaround saw Ding succeed in conquering his opponent and his own mind. For once it looked like a famed counter attack that soccer giants Spaniard as famous for.
With black queen and knight venturing deep into white territory, things became a little shaky for Gukesh, who started to consume more time. Closer to the first time control, the players need to lash out their moves, when Gukesh possibly missed a promising continuation. Opting for 30. Qc2 saw the game tilt clearly in favor of black, whereas 30. Bc5 might have added to the complication and saved the day for Gukesh.
In recent times, it was Gukesh’s fellow countryman Viswanathan Anand who went down in the first game against Veselin Topalov in the FIDE World Championship match in 2010, but went on to win his fourth world title in Sofia. In the 2016 FIDE World Championship Match it was Sergei Karjakin who took the lead against Magnus Carlsen, before the Norwegian pulled one back, winning the title later through tie-break.
Either way, it was a start that neither might have expected. For Ding Liren it could be a result that serves as an indicator for what he had championed in the past. His 100 game streak without a loss, is something that he could reflect on now. For Gukesh, there’s no time for remorse as he should be back in good nick in under 24 hours facing Ding with reversed colors. That Ding set the Equarius Hotel on fire gives the Indian camp a huge work to do and a mountain to cross with six whites on hand.
Celebrities present included five time world champion GM Viswanathan Anand, former women’s world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, former European Champion GM Pavel Tregubov, FIDE CEO GM Emil Sutovsky, GM Maurice Ashley among others. The second game begins at 5pm Singapore time tomorrow.
GM Gukesh Dommaraju (2783) – GM Ding Liren (2728) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 Nc6 7. c3 a5 8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 Be7 10. g4 Qa5 11. Bg2 a3 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 Qc7 14. Nexd4 Nb6 15. O-O Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7 17. Qe2 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Nb2 19. Qe3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Qc4 21. f5 Qd3 22. Qe1 Bg5 23. Rc2 Rc4 24. h4 Bf4 25. Qb1 Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 fxe6 28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4 30. Qc2 Qc4 31. Qd2 O-O 32. Bd4 Nd3 33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5 35. Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 Be4 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 42. Be6+ Kh8 0-1
