New Delhi: Ding Liren was regarded as the favourite to defend his crown at the World Chess Championship in Singapore and the Chinese had earned the reputation of playing with solid attacking moves. He bounced back in the 12th game as India’s D Gukesh took a slender lead a day before, buckling him under the time restraint. But then Liren enforced a draw in the 13th round with the black pieces.
Ahead of the 14th and final classical round, the two contenders were tied at 6.5-6.5, and the popular notion was that a draw would be the outcome on Thursday and then Liren would outsmart the 18-year-old Gukesh in the tiebreaker played in faster time controls.
But then credit must be bestowed on the Indian youngster for coming up with a gameplan, pushing for some strategic moves with the intent to play for a win. Ding was being more cautious and all he wanted was a draw. Even though he had the luxury of time with an hour and six minutes left in contrast to the Indian’s nine minutes and 43 seconds.
Then came the much shocking and outrageous blunder which changed the course of the game. In the 55th move, Liren moved his rook from f4 to f2, leading to the exchange of rooks, and then exchange of bishops, which ultimately left the white king with just one pawn while Gukesh had the support of two pawns at his end. The error cost the 32-year-old his championship title and made the Indian teenager the youngest Grandmaster.
“I was totally in shock when I realised I had made a blunder. His facial expression told me that he was very happy and very excited. That’s when I realised I had made a blunder. It took me some time to realise it,” Ding admitted his erroneous move during the post-match press conference.
“It was not as dead a draw as yesterday. He had a bishop on the board. He also had a rook, so it was more tricky. I could have done better, but considering my lucky escape in yesterday’s game, it’s fair that I lost in the end. I have no regrets,” he added.
The question on integrity for Liren
Liren has been facing the wrath of chess community for losing the match deliberately to Gukesh. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik called Liren’s blunder as a childish.
“Frankly, I am very disappointed by today’s game. Even Game 5 was not extremely high level, but today it was really weak play from both players. It’s a very disappointing level,” Kramnik wrote on X.
“No comment. Sad. End of chess as we know it,” he added.
Russia’s Chess Federation chief, Andrei Filatov, asked the global governing body for the sport (FIDE) to conduct investigation for the Game 14 between Gukesh and Liren.
“The result of the last game caused bewilderment among professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive segment are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE,” Filatov was quoted as saying by TASS.
Ding Liren, the favorite, lost the World Chess Championship to 18-year-old D Gukesh after a shocking blunder in the final game. Liren’s critical mistake in move 55 led to a rapid collapse, handing Gukesh a historic victory and making him the youngest World Chess Champion. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
