Chess star D Gukesh plays out a draw against reigning World Champion Ding Liren in the first round of Sinquefield Cup at St. Louis. This match was a prelude to the upcoming World Chess Championship 2024.
It marks the first and last classical match between Gukesh and Liren after the teenager’s victory in the Candidate Tournament in April. Previously they have played at Tata Steel Masters, coincidentally on both occasions. While Gukesh has retained 6th spot in the World Chess Rankings, Liren has dropped to 15th in May. With Gukesh’s pawn pushed off to D4, a large mishap was avoided. Gukesh again was at advantage when Liren played Bishop D3.
With more rookie and smart moves by the players, the match ended up in a draw.
What went wrong with Gukesh?
Gukesh struggled with the black pieces and the nerve wracking match began when he played his pawn to D4, which showcased inaccuracy and perfect setting for Ding Liren to set up his trap, the evaluation bar went in favor of White. His king was in pursuit of danger, and he had to look for moves to get away.
The coach of R Praggnanandha criticized the teenager’s move, calling it inaccurate as it was a big opportunity for Liren to potential checkmate, opening up the path for White queen to move to H6.
Despite playing the potential checkmate move by his opponent, Gukesh remained unscathed since he played bd3, taking a step away from the danger zone.
Ding Liren steps away from winning the match
The Chinese Champion was close to checkmate, when Gukesh’s pawn was at D4, even the grandmaster exclaimed it was a possible dead end made by Gukesh and a golden opportunity for Liren.
Liren took a few minutes before striking the queen to H6. Gukesh countered with his bishop moving to D3. From there on, slow and acute moves were played, eviction of pieces from the board. The Black Queen and The White King were miles away shuffling away, and ultimately the game ended up in a draw.
Ding Liren spoke about his 15th rank and the March’s result that he wanted to surprise his opponent, quite saving some moves for later.He admitted that he is playing better than before, although he has lost quite a few matches, he has learned a lot and is improving on his precision.
World Chess Championship 2024
This game was nothing but a pure demonstration of strategic resilience and brilliance by both the players and the intense competition that would take place in the near winter. The World Championship would take place from 20 November to 15 December 2024 in Singapore. That would be a bigger stage for the players.
FIDE chose Singapore as this year’s championship venue over thousands of locations because of the business hub and a strong chess community.
