Chess World Cup: Chess World Cup | Ding creates a masterpiece, wins the twelfth recreation and evens the rating with solely two rounds left | Sports | EUROtoday

Liren Ding left a small thread of hope on Sunday after struggling a brutal defeat that left him dejected: “In the previous World Cup I came back precisely in the twelfth game. Tomorrow I will try again.” And lo and behold, he did it, and he additionally turned Dommaraju Gukesh into the required sufferer to create a masterpiece of very high quality technique, simply the realm the place the Chinese is stronger than the Indian. Now they’re tied (6-6) with two video games remaining. The penultimate one will probably be performed on Wednesday.

The aforementioned precedent, in April 2023 in opposition to the Russian Ian Niepómniashi, and the extraordinary resilience that the Chinese has proven at key moments in his profession inspired leaving a window open for an epic restoration, even if the defeat the day earlier than, after ruining a really advantageous place, it’s a kind of that hurts so much. However, the primary pictures this Monday cooled that hope: as soon as once more, Gukesh got here very nicely ready. After solely twelve strikes, the Indian’s place, with the black items, appeared very comfy; and on prime of that he had far more time than Ding, who was all the time hesitant, even within the face of fairly apparent strikes.

However, the insecure champion was taking part in nicely, struggling to attain a place with many items, avoiding the large simplifications that might facilitate the tie that his rival was in search of. On the opposite, Gukesh reconfirmed together with his thirteenth transfer (rook to b8) that strategic depth is his weakest (or least sturdy) side. That tower was like a screech in a well-tuned orchestra, whereas the champion’s items preserved a really promising concord.

Everything modified from that second on. Little by little, Ding proved that the squeak deserved punishment and located it probably the most annoying. Suddenly, the downtrodden participant from the day earlier than was reincarnated into the most effective Ding, the present world champion. The place was very annoying for Gukesh, who had to purchase a lot time that he was behind the Chinese additionally on the clock.

The scenario was very crucial for the youngest candidate in historical past. His father, Rajinikanth, paced the hallway like a caged lion, following the sport on his cell phone. Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, commentator on Chess24, made an unique evaluation: “Gukesh is probably not aware of how bad he is positionally, and that can help him find the best counterplay. On the other hand, Ding knows that he has a big advantage, but he will have to take risks to win. And they are both going to be in time trouble.”

But, for the primary time because the duel started, Ding’s face confirmed spectacular self-confidence, 24 hours after struggling an amazing blow. And that was mirrored in the truth that every of his selections was a punch to his rival’s liver. Gukesh, beneath nice stress on the board and on the clock, fought till it now not made sense to take action, and gave up after 39 strikes and 4 hours of Chinese show.

Then, on the press convention, the defeated man stored his cool and answered all of the questions with aplomb: “Bad games are always there, and today I suffered one. The current score is fair although, logically, I am disappointed. But there are two games left to fight.” Ding wanted 4 journalists to insist on the identical matter: why this Monday he appeared like a very completely different particular person, with monumental self-confidence when insecurity has been his major weak level all through the duel. Apart from recounting twice that on Sunday he went to mattress early, that he slept nicely, that earlier than the sport he took a nap and had an espresso, he lastly bought to the purpose: “It was important to realize that in the previous game I would have had an excellent position by playing e6 instead of g6; and that until then he had played well. Today, forced to win, I produced one of my best games in recent years. And seeing that my advantage was a winner, I was convinced that there was no turning back.”