Champions are those who hit their way back with their back to the wall. Ding Liren showed what he is made of by inflicting a defeat on D Gukesh in the crucial 12th game of the World Chess Championship. The crushing win by the defending champion leaves this match tied at 6-6, with two more games to play.
There was a muted round of applause at the fan zone at Resorts World Sentosa, where this match is being played, after the players shook hands following the 39th move. It was vastly different from the explosion of cheers seen a day ago, when Gukesh had won. He was beaten comprehensively. Ding came out of his shell and seized the initiative with white pieces. It was not a cruise, but errors on the part of the Indian tilted things in favour of the Chinese.
Gukesh was not exactly crestfallen after the setback. He said that the situation is still level, which leaves the players on an even keel. “It’s not obviously good to lose, but the good thing is that the scores are still tied, with two more games to go. I will think over it and there is a rest day tomorrow. That gives me some time to analyse further,” said the 18-year-old after the game.
It was not exactly Ding’s game from the beginning. However, he was the more proactive of the two after the opening. This was something that he had not done in the previous games. He always took a lot of time to think over his initial movements and got under time trouble. On Monday, it was different. He was asking the questions and putting Gukesh under pressure.
“We must say that Ding played a brilliant game,” Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte told RevSportz. Part of the All India Chess Federation delegation in Singapore, he felt that Gukesh froze after a while. “He couldn’t quite mobilise his pieces and made one bad move. That put pressure on him and Ding took advantage of that. Not that Gukesh played very badly, but Ding was better on this day.”
This outcome changes things after Gukesh’s win in the 11th round. In the last three games, he needed draws to become the youngest-ever world chess champion in history. Now, it’s back to square one. The youngster will certainly feel the pressure in the last two games. He was brilliant until this game and not quite on this day. Now, he has to get back to his best.
The good thing for Gukesh is he will have white in the 13th round on Wednesday. As he pointed out, the rest day will also help him look back and regroup. He has been right up there with the reigning champion in most of the games and called the shots more often. This was actually the only instance where he was behind from the middle-game.
But, one must look at the resurgence of Ding. He had come back thrice in last year’s Championship duel with Ian Nepomniachtchi before prevailing in the tie-breaker. Just in the nick of time, he has shown that trait once again. Everyone, not just Gukesh, will take note of this. He has bounced back again like a true champion. This match has more ebbs and flows coming up.