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Ding Survives After Gukesh Piles On Pressure In Game 13
Ding Liren survived huge pressure to go into the final classical game still level with Gukesh Dommaraju. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Ding Survives After Gukesh Piles On Pressure In Game 13

Colin_McGourty
Colin_McGourty
Staff
| 126 | Chess Event Coverage

World Champion Ding Liren was on the ropes in game 13, but down to four minutes for 10 moves he spotted the only defense to thwart GM Gukesh Dommaraju and now goes into the final game of the 2024 FIDE World Championship level at 6.5-6.5. Gukesh returned to 1.e4 and surprised Ding in the French Defense, and while the world champion found many good moves he still stumbled into trouble, on the board and the clock. Gukesh was within a move or two of locking in a huge advantage, but Ding never gave up and now has the advantage of the white pieces in the final classical game.     

Game 14 starts Thursday, December 12, at 4:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET /  2:30 p.m. IST / 5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore.

Match Score

Name Rating 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Score
  Ding Liren 2728 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ . 6.5
  Gukesh Dommaraju 2783 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ . 6.5
How to watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship
You can watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship live on Chess.com/TV and on the Chess24 Twitch and YouTube channels, while GM Hikaru Nakamura is streaming on Kick. IM Andras Toth is analyzing the games in a Chessable course. 
Watch the live broadcast, hosted by GM Peter Leko, GM Daniel Naroditsky, and John Sargent.
Ding before the game as the pressure mounts. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao

GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed game 13 of the match below.

A 'Cool Idea' In The Opening

Team Gukesh won the early opening battle, as they have most days of the match. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

How would Gukesh approach his final classical game with the white pieces? He said afterward:

As the games get less and less there’s more at stake, obviously, so I came for a fight! I was feeling fresh, I was feeling confident, and I also had this cool idea prepared, so I was quite excited to play it. 

I also had this cool idea prepared, so I was quite excited to play it. 

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh played 1.e4 in the first game of the match, but went on to lose despite unleashing some interesting preparation against Ding's French Defense. The feeling from observers was that Ding had prepared the French as a one-game surprise, but when 1.e4 was next played in game five, Ding again went for the French, and Gukesh almost lost again, despite going for the notoriously drawish Exchange French.

Gukesh then switched to other openings, but for his final classical game with White he finally returned to the same battleground.

Gukesh avoided the 4.f4 he'd played in the earlier game, and after 7.a3! Ding knew he'd fallen into some prep.   

The first time this was played was in fact by Frank Marshall against Edgard Colle in 1927, but as you can see, it hadn't garnered many supporters since. When asked if he was surprised, Ding responded, "Yeah, of course, he played a move-order trick and I was confused and I had to figure it out during the game, because he can play f4, or in some lines he can just play Nf3, Nf4."

Chess is tough. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

After 7...Be7!? 8.Be3 there was a completely new position on the board, and Ding was asking himself where he'd gone wrong, later commenting, "This is already very difficult to play for Black, because normally Black can play f6, but here Nf4 is very strong."

Once again in the match, Ding's time dwindled, as he spent 54 minutes on his 7th and 8th moves. 

In the end it would all work out for Ding, but as we'll see, he made the most important decision of the game with under five minutes for 10 moves.  

Ding Defends Well, But Gukesh Still Takes Over

Gukesh was in control, but Ding is proving to be a very tough nut to crack. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

The plan that Ding came up with—bringing his knight to c4 via b6—was concrete and bold, even if it wasn't fully silicon-approved. It had the great virtue of getting Gukesh to think as well, and despite 12.Nge2 being a strong move and getting praise from GM Peter Leko, 12.Qg4 might have posed even more problems if you'd been able to look at it before the game. 

Gukesh said of the alternative, "I briefly saw it was possible but I did not think it was very strong," and he was happy with how things progressed. Both players were making strong moves, with Ding again going for bold defense when he played 15...f5 rather than the more passive alternative 15...Kh8. 

Ding got to snack and chill, while Gukesh burned up 20 minutes deciding whether to take en passant for the first time in the match.

Ding later noted he'd probably have played the interesting 16.d5!? here himself, but Gukesh chose to take on f6.

It looked as though we were heading for mass simplifications, which would be a relief for Black in time trouble, but instead of capturing on f6 with the knight as well, Gukesh played 17.Qf3!?, offering up the pawn on d4. Here Ding made a fast and far from obvious decision, seeming to trust his opponent as he played 17...Qe8!?.

Once again, however, making a decent decision fast wasn't a bad practical choice, even if 17...Nxd4! might have solved all Black's issues. Ding noted he'd missed some details in that line.

He'd also overlooked that after 18.Nxf6+ Rxf6 White could put the queen on e2 instead of e4: "I only thought Qe4 and I have Bb7, and this 19.Qe2! is a very strong positional move—he just slowly improves his position and my position is very uncomfortable."

Gukesh posed difficult problems to solve. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

Ding kept fighting, even when 21...Ne7!? allowed a move you could easily miss that deserved to be classed as a brilliancy, 22.Bf4!. 


If you capture on f4 with the rook, then 23.Qe5! forks the two rooks and wins, so the bishop has suddenly found a path to dream squares such as e5 and d6. Gukesh had spotted it from a distance: "I’d seen earlier that if he plays Ne7 I have Bf4!, this nice trick, and I thought once I get Bd6 I should have quite a nice advantage, which probably was the case, but I couldn’t see the knockout blow—maybe there wasn’t one!"

I couldn't see the knockout blow—maybe there wasn't one!

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Both players had tricky choices in the coming moves, and little time, before we reached the critical moment of the whole game.

Ding Finds Saving Move: 'I Almost Gave Up'

In pure computer terms, Ding's 30...Qf7 was a blunder, while 31.Rxe8 Qxe8 32.Ne4!, which Gukesh said was his first intention, was winning. "I'm aware of that," said Gukesh with a brief moment of irritation when the computer verdict was pointed out to him, before adding, "but I'm still not sure." The line the players looked at in the press conference was much better for White, but Black's play could be improved on, and it was far from an instant knockout blow.

Ding knew he'd dodged a bullet. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

Gukesh's 31.Ne4!?, meanwhile, left Ding on the brink of a precipice. He had eight minutes on his clock, 10 moves to make, and only one option here that would continue the game and not leave him a mountain to climb to retain his world championship title.

Sometimes the drama of such moments is only imagined in the heads of fans, while a player has long since seen the key move and is just double-checking, but in this case, no! Ding also realized the magnitude of the situation. He explained: "My first intention was to play 31…Rc7? but it runs into a very nice trick, 32.Nf6+!, losing immediately. I almost gave up, because I didn’t find any move to survive, to stay in the game, but in the end I finally found this nice resource 31…Rf8!." 

I almost gave up, because I didn't find any move to survive.

—Ding Liren

With four minutes and 41 seconds remaining, Ding played 31...Rf8!.

Gukesh called it an "unpleasant surprise," noting that he'd missed that after 32.Nd6 Ding also had the only move 32...Rc7!. 

Time was still very short, but Ding, as we've seen so many times during the match, suddenly began to play quick, flawless chess as he navigated his way to move 40. 

All thoughts were turning to the final classical game, and potentially tiebreaks... or rather, all thoughts but those of Gukesh!

Gukesh Keeps Trying But Can't Avoid Draw

Gukesh once again single-handedly prolonged the game. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

"I thought I could still press a bit," said Gukesh, and so instead of a quick draw by repetition, he played on at every opportunity in the moves that followed. Ding wasn't going to let things slip now, however, and responded precisely to force matters into a rook endgame a pawn down. "Once he exchanges queens it's just a draw," said Gukesh, and by move 68 it was all over. 

Gukesh correctly described it as "a very good game," and had come close to landing a huge blow on the 55th birthday of Indian chess legend GM Viswanathan Anand. 

Gukesh commented: "Happy 55th birthday to Vishy sir. He has been an inspiration and a role model for me and millions of others and I’m glad that I could play at the same level as he played a lot of years."

Gukesh is following in the footsteps of Anand, whatever happens now. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

Ding, meanwhile, confirmed once again that he's in this match to fight. Asked if he would keep playing chess regardless of how the final game ends (he'd mentioned quitting if he lost the previous match), he responded: "Yes, I think I will continue my career, but maybe just play lesser tournaments, instead playing more rapid and blitz than classical." 

A 'Golden Game' Awaits

The players keep resetting the pieces after each game, as if they can't wait for the next. Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE.

For now, however, there's one more momentous classical game to go, a game Ding dubbed "a golden game." This is the first day of the match when a world champion can be crowned. Ding has the white pieces, but Gukesh vows to enjoy the biggest game of his life so far.

I think it’s kind of fitting that the match has gone so close, because we both have shown a lot of fighting spirit and we have played some very entertaining chess, so this last game, my approach will be to be in my absolutely best shape and just enjoy this experience, because this is something that every chess player wants to experience and I have the chance. I’ll enjoy it, give it my best, and whatever the outcome is I’ll enjoy it. 

Ding, meanwhile, has usually adopted a conservative approach with the white pieces during the match. Will he try to push for a short draw and take the match to rapid tiebreaks on Friday, when he's at least on paper the favorite? Not according to his post-game interview with FM Mike Klein, where he commented, "I don’t think you will see a short draw!"

Ding has been here before, but the pressure will be enormous on both players. Don't miss game 14! 

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The 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore decides the next world champion. 18-year-old Indian Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju takes on Chinese Defending Champion Ding Liren in a 14-game match, with the first to 7.5 points winning. The players have two hours for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with 30 seconds added each move from move 41 onwards. The prize fund is $2,500,000, with $200,000 for a win and the remaining money split equally. If tied 7-7, a playoff will take place, starting with four games of 15+10 rapid chess.

Previous world championship coverage:

Colin_McGourty
Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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