Tears of joy and heartbreak in Singapore
18-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh D is the new FIDE World Champion and the 18th in the line of champions, the youngest ever in history.
In a dramatic and unexpected turn of events, when it seemed that the final game was heading for a draw and tiebreaks were unavoidable, the champion Ding Liren made a huge mistake on move fifty-five and was forced to resign three moves later. The final result of the match is 7.5-6.5 for Gukesh D.
Let’s take a closer look at what happened this afternoon in the fourteenth and final game of the 2024 FIDE World Championship, presented by Google.
History doesn’t always repeat itself. Last year’s thrilling 14-game classical World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi finished in a 7-7 tie and was decided in the rapid tie-break. By winning the fourth rapid game in great style, Ding became the 17th World Champion.
The game started at 5 PM sharp, with Maurice Ashley introducing the players to the hundreds of fans in the venue. The ceremonial first move was performed by Professor Hsu Li Yang, a distinguished academic at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Beyond science, Professor Hsu is also passionate about chess. He achieved the title of International Master in 1994, and he currently serves as the President of the Singapore Chess Federation.
For the second time in the match, the champion opened the game with 1.Nf3 – the Reti opening. The challenger defended with 1…d5, his main response, which he also employed in games 4 and 12 (via a different move order). Commentator GM David Howell quickly observed: “There are not many forcing lines in this variation, so we shall probably see most of the pieces on the board for most of the game.”
For this important game, Ding had prepared a kingside fianchetto, followed by a quick 4.d4 – the Reversed Grunfeld! “Ding is a big expert in the Grunfeld with Black: he is now playing a Reversed Grunfeld – a total mirror image, but with an extra move for White,” explained co-commentator IM Jovanka Houska in the commentary booth.
Gukesh’s opening preparation in this match has been top-notch. He blitzed out the relatively new idea 6…Ng-e7, trying to improve on the main line 6…Bc5, which was played a couple of times by his Indian colleague GM Praggnanandhaa. Ding decided to play it safe, trying to secure a small opening advantage without taking significant risks.
Even FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich gave his opinion on the position in his interview with Howell and Houska: “Ding’s opening choice was expected, but Gukesh played a variation that nobody expected. Of course, it will all depend on the motivation of the players and if Ding is ready for a big fight today, or he wants to play it safe: in any case, I think that there is a lot of life in this position.”
Dvorkovich was also very appreciative towards the hosting country: “Singapore is a beautiful location for anything, but for the World Championship in particular, as it combines all kinds of cultures and chess is exactly about that, bringing the cultures together.”
Ding had the chance to play aggressively for a win and wrap up the match. However, the champion opted to secure a small opening advantage if possible, but without incurring in any major risks. As Ding’s rapid and blitz ratings (2776 and 2785) are much higher than Gukesh’s (2654 and 2615), most analysts considered the Chinese GM the favorite in tomorrow’s potential tiebreaks.
One of the two key moments of the game occurred just out of the opening. Instead of 14.Qe2, which according to engines might have promised a small but stable advantage, Ding Liren opted for 14.b3, which allowed Gukesh to immediately equalize.
From then onwards, the opponents maintained near-perfect accuracy of nearly 100%. They started exchanging some minor pieces and seemed content with the draw. Still, the challenger tried everything to keep the game going and get some winning chances, but it just didn’t seem enough.
On move twenty-nine, Ding decided to sacrifice a pawn, to ensure the exchange of queens and rooks. Although White was a pawn down, the game was clearly heading towards a draw.
Ding was holding his ground, but just when most of the analysts and journalists in the media center were already preparing their reports with the draw and tie-breaks, disaster struck for the champion.
In an effort to force a quick draw, he offered an exchange of rooks on f2 at an inappropriate moment. "I was totally in shock when I realized I made a blunder,” Ding explained in the postgame press conference.
Put yourself in Gukesh’s shoes. Can you find the winning plan?
After the exchange of rooks followed by 56…Bd5!, the king ending with the extra pawn is winning and Ding had to resign. Gukesh couldn’t believe his eyes when Ding Liren blundered with 55.Rf2: “At the first moment, I didn’t see that I was winning. When I realized that I was winning, it was the best moment of my life.”
Ding Liren painfully acknowledged his defeat: "I think I played my best tournament of the year. It could be better, but considering yesterday's lucky survive, it's a fair result to lose in the end. I have no regrets."
In the postgame press conference, Gukesh shared his appreciation for his opponent: “We all know who Ding is, he has been one of the best players in the world for several years and to see him struggling, and to see the fight he gave, it shows what a true champion he is and for me, he is the real world champion.”
“For the past two years he hasn’t been in the best shape, but he fought like a true champion; he put on a great show and I would like to thank him,” Gukesh added.
“Since I was seven, I have been living this moment, already for ten years. Every chess player wants to experiment this moment and doesn’t get the chance. I am living my dream,” said the elated new World Champion.
FACT SHEET, Game 14, FIDE World Championship:
White: Ding Liren
Black: Gukesh D
Result: 0-1
Game length: 58 moves
Opening: Zukertort Opening
Variation: Reversed Grunfeld
Match score: 7.5–6.5 (for Gukesh D)
Although the FIDE World Championship takes central stage, the local organizers along with FIDE have arranged a wide range of side events for all the fans coming to Sentosa for the match.
The main highlight today was the talk “How to win a game” by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Managing Director of FIDE.
Written by IM Michael Rahal (Singapore)
Photos: Eng Chin An, Maria Emelianova and Singapore Open
Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/
Full programme of side-events: worldchampionship.fide.com/events
About the event
World Champion Ding Liren, representing China, and challenger Gukesh D, from India, faced each other in a fourteen-game classical chess match. The player who scores 7.5 points or more wins the match, picking up the better part of the $2.5 million total prize fund.
The match was hosted at the luxurious Resorts World Sentosa and broadcasted live with expert commentary on the FIDE YouTube Channel.
