Bengaluru: The match was intended as a prelude to their World Championship showdown later this year, with both Ding Liren and D Gukesh expected to keep their preparation strategies under wraps.
In Round 1 of the Sinquefield Cup, reigning world champion Ding Liren and his 18-year-old challenger D Gukesh played to a draw. This was their first meeting since Gukesh’s victory in the Candidates tournament in April. Ding entered the game with a 2-0 lead over Gukesh in classical chess, with both victories coming while he was playing Black. His most recent win against Gukesh occurred at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in January.
In St. Louis on Monday, Ding Liren had an opportunity to challenge Gukesh, this time with the White pieces. On move 18, after a lengthy 20-minute deliberation, Gukesh advanced his Black pawn to d4. The engine immediately marked this move with a single question mark (indicating an inaccuracy), and the evaluation bar quickly tilted in favor of White.
The move drew a surprised reaction from GM Yasser Seirawan in the St. Louis broadcast studio. “That’s a lot of time for a move you don’t like!” he exclaimed. GM commentator and R. Pragnanandhaa’s coach, Peter Svidler, described it as a “very surprising decision and a huge opportunity for Ding.” Gukesh’s move allowed White’s Queen to advance to h6, which was a risky call that opened up the potential for a kingside mating attack. This move also gave Ding the chance to push his rook to h4 and strengthen his assault. “This is Ding’s best chance to gain an advantage in the game,” Svidler noted.
With the opportunity before him, Ding, resting his hands on his face, took a 30-minute pause. He played the expected Queen to h6 but then made a less effective move with Bd3, which eased the pressure and allowed Gukesh to create an advanced passed pawn and potential counterplay. As a result, Gukesh managed to escape without serious harm.
Earlier in the day, Gukesh was seen arriving at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis, accompanied by his trainer, Grzegorz Gajewski, and his father, Rajni Kanth. Recently, the teenager received a luxury Mercedes-Benz E-Class as a gift from his Chennai school in anticipation of his match.
Currently ranked No. 6 in the world with a rating of 2766, Gukesh has achieved his highest-ever ranking. In contrast, the reigning world champion, who is a wild card in the 10-player round-robin tournament, has fallen to his lowest ranking since 2016, now sitting at No. 15 globally. After the game, Ding Liren told GM and commentator Cristian Chirila, “I wanted to surprise him in the opening but also conserve my preparation.” He added with a smile, “I’m playing better now than I was earlier in the year. I played many training games with my seconds, and although I lost many of them, I became more familiar with chess… I learned a lot from my losses.”
