Ding sets the tone as world chess title match with Gukesh knotted at 3-3

​We’re just short of halfway through the 14-game match of the world title match in Singapore, and it’s becoming clear that as the champ goes, so will go the match.

Going into Monday’s rest day, Chinese titleholder GM Ding Liren and 18-year-old Indian challenger Gukesh Dommaraju were all knotted up at 3-3, with one win for each player and four draws to open the match.

Pre-match fears that the fragile Ding, dealing with both physical and psychological challenges recently, might be blown out of the water by the surging young Indian star have proven overblown. Ding’s Game 1 win with Black is perhaps the most impressive game of the match, and it has been the champ’s play — for good and for bad — that has set the tone for virtually every game since. Ding’s poor play in Game 3 virtually gifted his challenger a point, and the champ had real chances to break through in almost every game since, with only his own unambitious play and poor clock management preventing him from claiming a clear lead.

Whether Ding’s willingness to settle for draws in good positions comes back to haunt him may become clear when the match resumes with Game 7 Tuesday, with Gukesh again playing the White pieces.

The third game was Ding’s worst showing, as Gukesh largely stepped aside and let his opponent sabotage himself. White’s QGD Exchange line was unambitious, but Gukesh’s 9. g4!? turned out to be an inspired practical choice — Black’s bishop sortie 9…Qxb3 10. axb3 Bc2?! 11. Bf4 h5 (Bxb3? 12. Nd2 Bc4 13. Nxc4 dxc4 14. e3, is fine for White, as 14…b5?? 15. Nxb5! cxb5 16. Bg2 is one quick way for Black to lose) 12. Rg1 hxg4 13. hxg4 Nbd7 not only looks unnatural but cost Ding more than a half-hour on the clock, setting up severe time pressure later on.

Dispatched to win a pawn, the Black bishop not only fails in its mission but never returns from behind enemy lines: 19. e4 dxe4 (Rxg5 20. Rc1 already wins the trapped piece) 20. fxe4 Ne6 21. Rc1 Nxd4 22. Bf2, and with the knight defending the bishop itself under attack, Ding must lose material.

Black gets two pawns for the ill-starred bishop, but once Gukesh sorts out his tangled pieces and activates his bishop pair, Ding is just lost. It’s over on 34. Kxf3 Bd4 (Rxg5 wins a third pawn, but is instantly met by 35. Rxd7! Kxd7 36. Rd1+ Ke6 [Ke7 37. Bh4] Bh3+ f5 38. exf5+ gxf5 39. Re1+ Kf7 40. Kf4 Bh6 41. Bxf5, winning) 35. Rh1 Rxg5 36. Bh3 f5 (Rd8 37. Bh4 skewers the rooks) 37. Bf4 Rh5, and Black resigned just ahead of 38. Bxf5! Rxh1 39. Bxd7+ Kxd7 40. Rxh1 and wins.

—-

Ding displayed considerable resilience in bouncing back from such a deflating performance, holding a draw in Game 4 and very nearly beating the challenger for the second time in Game 5 with his French Defense, which is proving a potent weapon for the champ. But after outplaying his opponent in a queenless middlegame, Ding passes on a prime opportunity to cash in.

White tries the Exchange French, but his g-pawn thrust with 17. g4?! Nf4 (if White wants to give Black such a nice square, Black feels obliged to take it) 18. Bg3 Nb6! hands the initiative to Black.

A White oversight hands Ding a golden opportunity, but one he bafflingly declines to take up: 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. dxe5? (the wrong recapture; 23. Rxe5 puts the game on a glide path to a quick draw) Nd3! 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. f3 (White had planned to contain the dangerous pawn with 25. b3, but Black is clearly better on 25…Rc8 26. Rc1 d4 27. c4 Nd5 28. a4 Nc3) Nc4 26. Nxc4 dxc4, and Ding need only shore up his dangerous pawn duo to force White into a highly unpalatable endgame.

Instead, Black throws it all away with the hard-to-explain 27. Re4 (see diagram) Bc6? (the protective 27…Be6 or even 27…Rc8 screams to be played here, paralyzing White’s game and planning to add the Black king to the mix via 27…Be6 28. Kf2 Rc8 29. h4 30. Bf4 Kg8!, when Gukesh can do little but hold on and hope) 28. Rd4! (Black may have banked on 28. Rxc4?? Rd8, and the pawn can’t be stopped) Bxf3 29. Kf2 Bc6? (going for the draw; 29…Bh5 was the last chance to play for an advantage) 30. Rxc4 Rd8 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. cxd4 Bd5 33. b3 Ke7 34. Ke3, and both of Black’s proud pawns are history.

Gukesh even goes up a pawn in the end, but the opposite-colored bishops leave the position totally blocked and the players soon agree to split the point.

Game 6 was an absorbing struggle with both players deftly handling a tense, tricky major piece ending. But even here, after Gukesh as Black declined a draw by repetition with 26…Qh4, Ding missed a chance to make his opponent at least sweat a little on 33. R1d2 Qf3, when 34. Qg5!? keeps the position alive.

Instead, the queens come off and neither side can claim an edge in a double-rook ending, soon leading to yet another draw.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Gukesh-Ding, Game 3, FIDE World Championship Match, Singapore, November 2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. h3 Bf5 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. g4 Qxb3 10. axb3 Bc2 11. Bf4 h5 12. Rg1 hxg4 13. hxg4 Nbd7 14. Nd2 Rg8 15. g5 Nh5 16. Bh2 Rh8 17. f3 Ng7 18. Bg3 Rh5 19. e4 dxe4 20. fxe4 Ne6 21. Rc1 Nxd4 22. Bf2 Bg7 23. Ne2 Nxb3 24. Rxc2 Nxd2 25. Kxd2 Ne5 26. Nd4 Rd8 27. Ke2 Rh2 28. Bg2 a6 29. b3 Rd7 30. Rcc1 Ke7 31. Rcd1 Ke8 32. Bg3 Rh5 33. Nf3 Nxf3 34. Kxf3 Bd4 35. Rh1 Rxg5 36. Bh3 f5 37. Bf4 Rh5 Black resigns.

Gukesh-Ding, Game 5, FIDE World Championship Match, Singapore, November 2024

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 c4 7. Bc2 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Bg5 Nbd7 14. Nbd2 h6 15. Bh4 Nh5 16. Re1+ Kf8 17. g4 Nf4 18. Bg3 Nb6 19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5 Bd7 21. Ngf3 Re8 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 Nd3 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. f3 Nc4 26. Nxc4 dxc4 27. Re4 Bc6 28. Rd4 Bxf3 29. Kf2 Bc6 30. Rxc4 Rd8 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. cxd4 Bd5 33. b3 Ke7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kxd3 g6 36. Kc3 a6 37. Kd3 Kf5 38. Ke3 Ke6 39. Kd3 Kf5 40. Ke3 Ke6 Draw agreed.

Ding-Gukesh, Game 6, FIDE World Championship Match, Singapore, December 2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Bd6 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Qa4 O-O 10. Qa3 Ne4 11. Nfd2 e5 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxc5 Qg6 14. Nd2 Qxg2 15. O-O-O Qxf2 16. dxe5 Rb8 17. Nc4 Be6 18. Rd2 Qf3 19. Re1 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Qf5 21. Qxc6 Qxe5 22. Qd5 Qe7 23. Qd6 Qg5 24. Qd5 Qe7 25. Qd6 Qg5 26. Qd5 Qh4 27. Red1 g6 28. Qe5 Rbe8 29. Qg3 Qh5 30. Qf4 Qa5 31. a3 Qb5 32. Rd4 Qe2 33. R1d2 Qf3 34. Kc 2 Qxf4 35. exf4 f5 36. h4 e3 37. Re2 Re7 38. Kd3 Rfe8 39. h5 gxh5 40. Rd5 h4 41. Rxf5 Rd7+ 42. Kc2 Kg7 43. Rg2+ Kh8 44. Re2 Kg7 45. Rg2+ Kh8 46. Re2 Kg7 Draw agreed.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.