New Delhi: Indian Gradmaster D Gukesh on Monday lost the 12th round of the World Chess Championship to reigning champion Ding Liren of China to squander the advantage on the one-point lead gained a day before at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
Gukesh won against Liren on Sunday in the 11th round after the latter made a blunder with the time pressure mounting on him. The Indian Grand Master gained a one-point lead after the two players were involved in seven straight draws.
However, that advantage won’t stand for the time being as the Chinese bounced back to level the scores at 6-6. There are two more games left in the 14-round classical time control format. The two players are still 1.5 points away in order to clinch the title.
The two players are now tied at 6 points each with just two games left in the 14-round classical time control format, still shy of 1.5 points in order to win the title. The matches will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with Tuesday being a rest day.
How Liren bounced back in 12th round?
In what was the first victory for Liren with his white pieces, Gukesh’s preparation did not come as good as the other 11 games that he played here. The start was an English opening by the Chinese and much to the surprise of the fans, Gukesh went for a position that led to a Benoni defense with colours reversed.
Gukesh started to miss out creating counter play in the middle game as white played just normal developing moves. By the 15th move, though less on time on the clock, white had a small advantage as a central breakthrough looked inevitable, giving Liren the space advantage.
Gukesh’s 17th move did not help his cause as white was able to get the desired break in the centre. Five moves later, another error by Gukesh gave Liren a huge advantage.
Liren’s central pawn made a foray to the sixth rank in what was a near-decisive blow on the 27th move. Gukesh had to part with a couple of pawns. Adding to Gukesh’s woes was an imminent rook invasion. The game ended through a fine tactic by Liren who sacrificed a rook to force matters. The game ended in 39 moves.
The Moves: 1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 d4 5.0–0 Nc6 6.e3 Be7 7.d3 dxe3 8.Bxe3 e5 9.Nc3 0–0 10.Re1 h6 11.a3 a5 12.h3 Be6 13.Kh2 Rb8 14.Qc2 Re8 15.Nb5 Bf5 16.Rad1 Nd7 17.Qd2 Bg6 18.d4 e4 19.Ng1 Nb6 20.Qc3 Bf6 21.Qc2 a4 22.Ne2 Bg5 23.Nf4 Bxf4 24.Bxf4 Rc8 25.Qc3 Nb8 26.d5 Qd7 27.d6 c5 28.Nc7 Rf8 29.Bxe4 Nc6 30.Bg2 Rcd8 31.Nd5 Nxd5 32.cxd5 Nb8 33.Qxc5 Rc8 34.Qd4 Na6 35.Re7 Qb5 36.d7 Rc4 37.Qe3 Rc2 38.Bd6 f6 39.Rxg7+ Black resigned.
(With inputs from PTI)
Indian Gradmaster D Gukesh on Monday lost the 12th round of the World Chess Championship to reigning champion Ding Liren of China to squander the advantage on the one-point lead gained a day before at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
