New Delhi: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh opened his account in the World Chess Championship by defeating defending champion Ding Liren in the third round of the World Chess Championship in Singapore. Gukesh outplayed the Chinese to draw level on points in the high-profile match.
After three rounds, the two players are level on 1.5 points each. While Liren won the first round, the second round ended in a draw. It was a much-needed win for the Indian ahead of the first rest day on Thursday.
The Indian Grandmaster showed great composure and won in a winning position after 37 moves. Against his much-experienced opponent, the 18-year-old displayed magnificent opening preparation to outwit the Chinese.
Gukesh’s strategic victory in Round 3
Liren paid the price for spending a lot of time in the first phase of the game. At one point in the third game, Liren needed to make a whopping 11 moves in eight minutes.
By move 13th, Gukesh had opened up a lead of one hour on the clock after spending just four minutes to make his moves compared to Liren’s one hour and six minutes.
Time management: A key factor in Gukesh’s win
With 40 moves to make in the first two hours without any increment, the middle game hampered Liren’s play and Gukesh took advantage of his opponent’s weak position. The Indian superstar produced a relentless performance and eked out some difficult yet perfect moves to increase the pressure on the Chinese.
Both Gukesh and Liren followed a not-so-popular variation among the players in the topical Queen’s Gambit. The Indian GM followed an idea implemented by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in a rapid game against the highest-rated Indian player Arjun Erigaisi.
This was Gukesh’s first win in classical chess against the Chinese Grandmaster Ding. In all the previous games with black pieces in classical chess, Ding has always got the better of Gukesh.
World Chess Championship: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh claimed his first win against defending champion Ding Liren in the third round and levelled the score in Singapore. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
