Gukesh Beats Ding To Level World Chess Championship After Game 3

GM Gukesh Dommaraju has scored his first classical win over World Champion Ding Liren to level the scores at 1.5-1.5 going into the first rest day of the 2024 FIDE World Championship. Gukesh posed tough problems in the opening of game three, but just when Ding had solved them, and looked on the verge of taking over, he blundered. He was forced to give up a bishop for two pawns, and though Gukesh’s conversion looked tricky, Ding collapsed in time trouble. 

Game four, after a rest day, starts Friday, November 29, at 4:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET /  2:30 p.m. IST / 5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore.

Match Score

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Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao

GM Rafael Leitao will analyze game three of the match below.

Gukesh Surprises In The Opening

“I feel good at the board, and today I just managed to outplay my opponent, which is always very nice!” said Gukesh at the start of the post-game press conference, with the power of self-confidence visible as it was only in the minutes that followed that he realized he’d actually been in some danger during the game. Ding hadn’t spotted it either. 

The opening went Gukesh’s way, as the pre-game expectation that Ding would choose something quieter than the French became moot when 1.d4 appeared on the board.

The Queen’s Gambit Declined, perhaps the most popular opening in the history of the world chess championship, followed, but 7.h3 was a rare move, even if one championed by 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. 

A disconsolate Ding would later say, “This line came as a surprise to me—maybe after 7.h3 I have no knowledge for this line.” GM Judit Polgar, commentating, noted that the plan was likely not the immediately obvious one:

“30 years ago when someone played h3 in this position you might think at first that the reason is because you don’t want the bishop to come to g4. These days… the first idea is that he wants to play g4 at some point—these are the times we’re living in!” 

Sure enough, g4 followed two moves later, accompanied by an offer to exchange queens. Ding accepted, and went down a rabbit hole Gukesh’s colleague GM Arjun Erigaisi had already been down against Kramnik in the 2023 World Rapid Team Championship in Dusseldorf. Or rather, the bishop did, getting stuck on c2.

In this position Arjun went for the obvious 13…Bxb3?, but it was a mistake punished by 14.Nd2!. That wasn’t the end of the story, with Gukesh, who recalled the game, explaining, “Arjun made some mistake and Kramnik had a huge advantage but it ended in a draw.”

Ding here sank into a 33-minute think, “because I thought my position is not so comfortable, and my c2-bishop was a weakness, and he’s going to attack it with Nd2, so I tried to come up with some idea to save it.”

Ding Seems To Take Over

As in game one, however, Ding’s long think wasn’t in vain. In the post-game press conference it became clear he was choosing between the computer’s best options, its second choice 13…Ne4, and the top choice, which he played, 13…Nbd7!.

Gukesh, meanwhile, assumed, probably wrongly, that his opponent had gone astray, saying, “I thought how he reacted was not the most precise way.” Ding suddenly looked completely back in business.

His move Rg8 was threatening to follow up with g5, so that Gukesh decided to play the move himself, later commenting, “I think I just got a very nice position after 15.g5.”

Curiously, this committal decision was in fact the point the computer announced that Ding had taken over, and he correctly followed up with 15…Nh5, driving away the white bishop.

Gukesh would say afterward when he was told of the computer evaluation:

“During the game we both thought that White is doing well, which is all that matters… It’s obviously not pleasant to misjudge a position so badly, but OK, as long as I played better than the opponent I think it’s good.” 

During the game we both thought that White is doing well, which is all that matters!

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Ding was playing fast, as in game one, and said he thought his position was “OK, or even better,” but he would be spooked by Gukesh’s 17.f3, which sent him into a fateful second long think as he realized things weren’t as easy as he had assumed. 

Ding Goes Astray And Gukesh Wraps Up First Win

Ding saw the best move, 18…Be7!, but wrongly evaluated the final position of a long line he calculated. Instead he went for 18…Rh5?, which would have been good against any move except 19.e4!, once again preparing to trap the bishop. Ding confessed he’d underestimated it. 

Gukesh played the sequence of moves that followed perfectly to punish Ding’s choice, with GM Anish Giri shocked at what was happening. 

Once again, things turned on the finest of tactical details, with Ding having overlooked one crucial move, as Polgar guessed during the live commentary. 

Ding was relying on Gukesh having to play a move like 23.Rg2 to get the rook out of the firing line of a bishop coming to d4, but he found the only winning move, 23.Ne2!—and the crowd went wild!

From this point on, both players correctly knew that White was winning, but it still wasn’t easy. Gukesh explained:

“I’m winning a piece, but he gets a couple of pawns and the dark squares are a bit soft, so I didn’t think I was completely winning. I knew I should be better, close to winning, and then I think I played quite precisely.”

Even this early in the match, Polgar felt it was essential for Gukesh to convert his chance. 

He did, since although Ding seemed to have chances to at least put up resistance, his earlier time usage hugely complicated his task. He got down to under two minutes for nine moves, and Gukesh applied the final touches by spotting a winning tactic. He didn’t quite get to unleash it on the board, since Ding lost on time—as he’d almost done in game seven of the previous match.

A Rest Day To Regroup, But Celebrations Cut Short By Doping Control

Any win in a world championship match is huge, especially in this event where it immediately earns $200,000, but this one was especially sweet for Gukesh, since he’d defeated Ding for the first time in classical chess. 

“It’s always nice to win a game, also for the first time against such a strong opponent. I think it means more that I got a win in the world championship, a very important win, so I’m happy with many things about this!” 

Gukesh was confronted with Carlsen’s criticism of his play in the first game (that we’d highlighted in the game-two report), but highlighted that Carlsen himself had struggled in his first world championship game. He added:

“It was a bad game, but I was generally feeling good. I thought even though I was nervous it was not too much to handle. I felt good! It was a bad game, but I always knew that once I settle in I will get back my rhythm.” 

It was a bad game, but I always knew that once I settle in I will get back my rhythm. 

—Gukesh Dommaraju on Game 1 

For Ding, it was a tough blow to take. Asked if the upcoming rest day had influenced his play, he replied, “Not really, but the result of the game will maybe influence my emotions during the rest day.”

When GM Maurice Ashley asked him how he was planning to make a comeback, the long pause said more than the words that followed.

The emotions were reversed for Gukesh, but he couldn’t celebrate with his team right away. 

The players now have a rest day on Thursday to adapt to the new situation, before battle recommences on Friday. The scores are level again at 1-1, and Ding will have the white pieces in what is now effectively an 11-game match! 

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