D Gukesh vs Ding Liren, World Chess Championship Live: Gukesh couldn’t find a way through Ding’s strong defence late in Game 13
D Gukesh vs Ding Liren, World Chess Championship Live: Gukesh Dommaraju had Ding Liren where he wanted for much of Game 13 but the Chinese defending world champion put up a defensive masterclass and incredibly forced a draw with black pieces. While that alone is impressive, the fact that it was the penultimate game of a World Championship makes it an even bigger achievement.…Read More
All this means that it is advantage Ding going into the final classical game, and possibly the tie-breakers beyond, of this engrossing World Championship match-up. With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and only one game of classical chess to go, it is likely that the match will be extended to the tie-break stage where games of shorter duration will decide the winner. Ding is on paper far superior to Gukesh in rapid and blitz chess which are the formats that the tie-breakers will be following.
Gukesh, hence, has the odds stacked against him when he walks towards his chair today at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. However, he has made it clear that he is not fazed by it one bit. “This is something every chess player wants to experience, and I have the chance. I’ll enjoy it and give it my best. Whatever the outcome is, I’ll enjoy it,” Gukesh had said in the press conference after Game 13.
“As the games get less and less, there is more at stake, obviously. I came for a fight, I was feeling fresh (today), I was feeling confident. And I also had this cool idea prepared, so I was quite excited to play,” added Gukesh. Ding conceded he was “very tired” after the game. “Firstly, very tired after a long game. Secondly, I need to decide what’s the strategy for the next game, it’s a golden game,” said the defending champion.
