[Event "WCh 2024"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.11.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [GameId "2115827792267641"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. e4 e6 {A surprise. The usual approach to matches is to play for a draw with Black and a win for White, at least until one is in a must-win situation. The French is definitely not the opening you play to make a draw, and while Ding has had periods where he played the French with some regularity, and even used it once in the match with Nepo, it's not a normal part of his repertoire. Several thoughts come to mind. First, Nepo - Ding's opponent in his last title match - had been playing the French, so Ding and his team must have done a huge amount of work on it. Sometimes when you spend a great deal of time trying to bust an opening (or at least trying to find some advantage against it) without any real success, you start thinking that you might as well put all that work to good use and start playing the opening yourself. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Second, many of Ding's recent losses occurred in games where the action was delayed. His position would be fine for a while, but as the action started to build he'd get fatigued or perhaps get overwhelmed by the rising tension, and finally crack. Perhaps by injecting the game with tension from the start he could be better psychologically prepared for the battle. Third, world championship challengers often have their own problems with nerves. Yes, Gukesh has been the far more impressive player of late, but this is new to him. It's often wise for the challenger to take it easy for a game or two: to get used to the biggest stage, to calm his nerves, and so on. Forcing Gukesh to have a big fight straight away, while his mind may still be buzzing with a million other things may be smart.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 {The most principled move.} Nf6 {The most usual move here.} ({Nepo generally played} 3... Bb4 {, so the first hypothesis given above takes a partial hit here.}) 4. e5 (4. Bg5 {is still around, of course, but 4.e5 is more popular at the present time.}) 4... Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 {Certainly not unknown, but far less popular than 6.Nf3.} (6. Nf3 {has been nearly automatic, and after} Nc6 7. Be3 {Black has more than one main line to choose from. It's possible that Ding intended to go into the long lines with} cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Rb3 Qe7 15. Rxb7 Qh4+ ({or} 15... Rc8 {.})) 6... Nc6 7. c3 a5 {In a general way, this is a typical idea, but the move itself is relatively unpopular - only Black's 8th most commonly-chosen move. This was apparently part of Ding's preparation, though he spent a long time on the move before playing it. (Bluffing? Trying to recall his prep? The latter is plausible, given that he would have expected and spent more time preparing for 6.Nf3.)} (7... Be7 {looks like the most usual move at the moment, when play might continue} 8. Nf3 O-O {followed by either a queenside plan (...b5-b4, sometimes with the inclusion of ...a5) or a kingside plan (...f6 and opening the center). The distinctiveness of Ding's approach is that he delays castling indefinitely.}) 8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 ({White has also done well with} 9. a3 {, but there haven't been any super-GM vs. super-GM games from here.}) 9... Be7 10. g4 $146 {A logical novelty, though not necessarily a good one. White's whole setup is aimed at a kingside attack, with f4-f5 being a logical break. This reinforces the break and allows White to continue with Ng3 without blocking the pawn; next, Bd3 happens and Gukesh will have his idea kingside setup.} ({It's only a blitz game, but it features two of the world's best players:} 10. Qd2 O-O 11. h4 b5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 Be7 16. Kf2 b4 17. Rc1 Qb6 18. g4 Bd7 19. Kg3 Rfc8 20. Bd3 b3 21. a3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Re1 Bb5 24. Bb1 Qc7 25. h5 Bd8 26. Kf2 Qa5 27. Qe3 Qa7 28. Rg1 Bb6 29. f5 Rc4 30. Rd1 exf5 31. gxf5 Rc6 32. f6 Qd7 33. Qg5 {1-0 Duda,J (2743)-Caruana,F (2823) Chess.com Speed Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (1.19)}) ({In email games, where computer help is permitted, Black has done fine. (An aside: only the last of the three games looks at all plausible to me as an example of normal chess worth emulating.) Example 1:} 10. Ng3 Qb6 11. Rb1 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Bc5 13. h3 g6 14. Be2 f6 15. exf6 O-O 16. O-O Nxf6 17. Qd2 Bd7 18. Kh2 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Bxd4 20. cxd4 Rac8 21. a3 Ne8 22. Qe3 Nd6 23. Rfc1 Qb3 24. Qe5 Nf7 25. Qf6 Nd6 26. Qe5 Nf7 {½-½ Edwards,K (2226)-Guzman,C (2275) WZ-ch sf32 email ICCF email 2022}) (10. dxc5 {is both a stock and a Stockfish idea, clearing d4 for a knight.} Nxc5 ({Example 2:} 10... O-O 11. Ned4 Nxc5 12. Bd3 Na5 13. b3 axb3 14. axb3 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 dxc4 17. bxc4 b6 18. O-O Bb7 19. f5 exf5 20. Nxf5 Be4 21. N3d4 Nd3 22. e6 Bc5 23. Qd1 fxe6 24. Nxe6 Bxe3+ 25. Nxe3 Rxf1+ 26. Qxf1 Qd6 27. Ng5 {½-½ Hagnere,J (1880)-Chan,M WS TT/6/22/2 email ICCF email 2022}) {Example 3:} 11. Qc2 O-O 12. Ng3 b6 13. Be2 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Rxa6 15. O-O Qc7 16. b4 {Not bad, but in general White should keep his hands off the queenside pawns, keeping that side of the board as closed as possible.} (16. Rae1 $142 $14) 16... axb3 17. axb3 b5 18. Rxa6 Nxa6 19. Kh1 Nc5 20. Nd4 Qd7 21. b4 Na6 22. Nge2 Ra8 23. Ra1 Qb7 24. h3 Nc7 25. Rxa8+ Qxa8 26. Kh2 Bf8 27. g4 g6 28. Qd2 Nxd4 29. Nxd4 Qa1 30. Kg2 Qb1 31. Qc2 Qa1 32. Qd3 Qb2+ 33. Bf2 Bh6 34. Qe3 Qa2 35. Kg3 Qb2 36. Nc6 Bf8 37. Qd3 Qa1 38. Nd4 Qc1 39. Be3 Qa1 40. Nf3 d4 {Note this idea - you'll see it in a variation to the main game. (See the line with 15.Nb5 instead of Gukesh's 15.0-0.)} 41. Bxd4 Qa3 42. Qc2 Nd5 43. f5 exf5 44. gxf5 Ne7 45. Nh4 Nc6 46. Qe4 Nxd4 47. Qxd4 Qc1 48. fxg6 Qe1+ 49. Kg2 Qe2+ 50. Qf2 Qe4+ 51. Nf3 hxg6 52. Qe1 Qc2+ 53. Qd2 Qe4 54. Kg3 Bg7 55. Qd8+ Bf8 56. Qd4 Qe2 57. Qd2 Qe4 58. h4 Bg7 59. Qd8+ Bf8 60. Kf2 Qc2+ 61. Qd2 Qe4 62. Qe3 Qd5 63. Ke2 Bg7 64. Qd4 Qa2+ 65. Qd2 Qc4+ 66. Qd3 Qa2+ 67. Ke1 Qa1+ 68. Kf2 Qa7+ 69. Kg2 Qb7 70. Kg3 Qc6 71. Kf2 Bh6 72. Nd4 Qc7 73. e6 Bg7 74. exf7+ Qxf7+ 75. Nf3 Qa7+ 76. Kg2 Qa6 77. Qd5+ Kh8 78. Nd4 Qc8 79. Nxb5 Qg4+ 80. Kf1 Qxh4 81. Qd3 Qf6+ 82. Ke2 Qe6+ 83. Kd2 Bh6+ 84. Kd1 Qb3+ 85. Ke2 Qe6+ 86. Kd1 Qb3+ 87. Ke2 Qe6+ 88. Kf1 Qf6+ 89. Ke1 Qe6+ 90. Kf2 Qf6+ 91. Kg2 {½-½ Dietrich,U (2434)-Warzecha,H (2382) Remote-ch 2012 email Remote email 2013 (2)}) 10... Qa5 (10... h5 $2 {can be a useful trick in positions like this, as 11.h3?? is impossible (11...hxg4 12.hxg4?? Rxh1+) and 11.g5? g6 puts an end to White's kingside breaks. We'll see the ...h5 idea repeatedly as we go through the game; here, however, White has a good solution:} 11. gxh5 $1 f5 $2 (11... Rxh5 12. Qc2 $1 g6 13. O-O-O $1 {White continues with h4-h5, possibly but not necessarily prefaced by Ng3.}) 12. Rg1 Kf8 13. Rg6 $16 {/+-}) ({The engine laughs at White and happily castles, altogether unimpressed by White's attacking ambitions.} 10... O-O $1 {It might seems a little scary here, but as we'll see a little later it was Ding's carelessness about castling that could have cost him half a point.}) 11. Bg2 {Not a great square for the bishop, but White wants to castle.} (11. Ng3 $2 {is the move to make if you have all day, followed by Bd3 and then castling. Unfortunately for White, this leaves c3 vulnerable after} a3 $17) (11. a3 $11 {is a normal move in such positions.}) (11. Kf2 $6 {is sometimes played in positions like this, unpinning the c-pawn and castling by hand. Stockfish is not pleased by this, however, and looks to start opening kingside lines with} f6 $15) 11... a3 {Logical but slightly inaccurate, as shown by White's 13th move.} (11... O-O $142) (11... b5 $142) 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 $1 {Weakening c4, yes, but keeping Black's pieces out of c5. More immediately, it allows White to play Nexd4 without hanging the c3-pawn.} Qc7 ({There are French lines with the piece sac} 13... Nxb4 $2 14. cxb4 Bxb4+ 15. Bd2 {, but this isn't a particularly good version for Black. After} Nc5 16. O-O $18 {Black has neither attack nor initiative, and soon he won't have one of his d-pawns, either.}) 14. Nexd4 Nb6 15. O-O (15. Nb5 Qd8 16. Bf1 $1 {is a nice way to take care of White's main strategic problem; namely, the weakness of c4. Black has an elegant rejoinder:} d4 $1 17. Nfxd4 Nd5 {Suddenly thoughts about the c4 square are a distant memory, and White's porous position raises serious concerns. Here's a possible line:} 18. Qd3 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 Bh4+ 20. Kd2 Bd7 $44 {Black can strike from different directions: ...Rc8, ...f6, even ...g5. The position may be equal, but it looks scarier for White.}) 15... Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7 $11 17. Qe2 (17. Nd2 {seems safe but uninspiring at first glance, as} Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd2 19. Qxd2 h5 $1 {forces} 20. g5 {which seems to kill the game after 20...g6. It turns out that there is some life there, and also true that Black could go for a more ambitious option that could backfire.} Bb5 (20... g6 21. Qd3 Rc8 22. Bxd5 $1 Ba4 $1 (22... exd5 23. e6 O-O 24. exd7 Qxd7 25. f5 $1 Bxg5 26. Kh1 $1 f6 $8 27. Rg1 $1 Rfe8 $3 28. h4 Re4 $1 29. hxg5 Rh4+ 30. Kg2 Rc4 $1 $11 {This line has now reached the realm of complete implausibility, except for engines.}) 23. Bb3 Qd7 $1 {Black's grip on the light squares negates the value of White's extra pawn.}) 21. f5 $1 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 exf5 23. Rxf5 $44 (23. Bxd5 $44)) 17... Nxd4 18. Nxd4 (18. Bxd4 h5 (18... Bb5 $11) 19. Ng5 $1 {shows one point in favor of 18.Bxd4.} hxg4 (19... Bxg5 $2 20. fxg5 hxg4 21. Rf4 $1 f5 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Rxf6 O-O-O 24. Raf1 $16) 20. Qxg4 Rf8 (20... g6 21. Rae1) 21. Nh7 Rg8 22. Ng5 Rf8 $11) 18... Nb2 $1 19. Qe3 (19. Rac1 Qc4 $15 {lets Black meet a White queen move with ...Qd3 or ...Qxa2.}) 19... Rc8 (19... Qc4 20. f5 Qd3 21. Qc1 (21. Qf4 h6 22. f6 g5 23. Qc1 Bd8 24. Re1 Qh7 $1 25. Re3 Nc4 26. Bf1 $1 Nxe3 27. Qxe3 Qe4 $1 28. Qxe4 dxe4 29. Nb5 O-O 30. Re1 $44) 21... Rc8 22. Be1 h6 $1 23. h4 Qc4 24. Qe3 Qd3 $11) 20. Rac1 $5 (20. Rfc1 {avoids potential problems with the a-pawn, but it immobilizes both rooks. Besides, White's play is based on the f4-f5 pawn break, trying to open files on the kingside. What good are open files if your rooks aren't ready to use them?} h5 $1 21. g5 g6 $11 {is nice and tidy for Black, who will transfer the king to g7 and see what headway, if any, can be made on the queenside.}) (20. Be1 {makes sense and is arguably the best and most practical decision, not "wasting" a rook on the defense of c3 while keeping a2 defended. Here too Black may play} h5 21. g5 ({Trying to maintain the suppleness of the structure with} 21. h3 $2 {doesn't work: White is lost after} hxg4 22. hxg4 Nc4 23. Qe2 g5 $1 $19 {. White is badly overextended on the queenside and in the center, and Black's king seems to be fine on e8.}) 21... g6 $11) 20... Qc4 $15 21. f5 $6 {Going for it. It's hard to wait indefinitely, but that was the better decision.} (21. Rfe1 $142 Qd3 22. Bf1 Qxe3 23. Bxe3 Nc4 $15) 21... Qd3 $1 (21... Qxa2 $2 {Greed is not good.} 22. f6 gxf6 23. exf6 Bd6 24. Nf5 $1 Bc7 (24... Nc4 25. Nxd6+ Nxd6 26. Rfe1 Qc4 27. Qe5 Qa6 28. Qxd5 $18) 25. Ne7 $1 $18 Qc4 (25... Ra8 $2 26. Bxd5 $18) 26. Nxc8 Bxc8 27. Bg3 $18) 22. Qe1 $2 (22. Qf4 $6 {is where the queen wants to go. Unfortunately, Black has} g5 $1 $17 23. fxg6 $2 Qxg6 $1 $19 {and it's Black who has the threats (e.g. ...Bg5 and ...Nd3).}) (22. g5 $1 {is the engine's recommendation. Okay, maybe, but if Gukesh had been willing to play like this he probably wouldn't have played 21.f5 in the first place.} g6 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Bh3 O-O $1 25. Bxe6+ Bxe6 26. Nxe6 Rf3 27. Qxd3 Nxd3 28. Bc5 $1 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Nxc5 30. Nxc5 Bxg5 $1 31. Kg2 Be7 32. e6 $1 Rc6 33. Nxb7 Rxe6 34. Nc5 Re3 35. Rf3 Re1 36. Rf2 $15 {White should hold.}) 22... Bg5 $19 {Black is better everywhere.} 23. Rc2 Rc4 $6 {Threatening ...Rxd4.} (23... O-O $142 {pretty much sews things up. Black's king is safe, his rooks are connected, and White's passive army won't manage to keep Black's pieces at bay for very long.}) 24. h4 Bf4 25. Qb1 {This defends against the threat of ...Rxd4 while creating the threat of 26.Rxb2. It does leave the c-pawn insufficiently protected, however - you can't have everything.} Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 fxe6 $2 $15 {/?? This is a big error. Black is still better - though not at all winning - with best play, but White is right back in the game.} (27... Bxe6 28. Ne2 (28. Nb5 Qxe5 29. Bc5 Be3+ 30. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 31. Kh1 O-O $19) 28... Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4 30. Bc5 Qxg4 $19 {Black can't castle, but there's little White can do to take advantage of that.}) 28. Ne2 $1 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 (29. Bd4 $4 Be3+ $19) 29... Qxf4 30. Qc2 $2 (30. Bc5 $1 Qxg4 31. Qc2 $1 {gives White a lot of play for the three pawns he's down. The immediate idea is to play Qf2, threatening Qf8+ followed by Rxf8#.} (31. Qxh7 $2 {is a beautiful trick that almost saves the game - or rather, almost wins it. There's a beautiful rejoinder, though:} Qd4+ $1 {Ding pointed this out after the game, but also confessed to not seeing it in advance (presumably before playing 27...fxe6).} 32. Bxd4 (32. Rf2 $4 Qxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Rxh7 $19) (32. Kh1 Qxh4+) (32. Kh2 Qxh4+ $19) 32... Rxh7 $19) 31... Na4 $1 32. Bd6 Qd4+ $1 33. Rf2 $1 Nc3 $1 {Otherwise, Black isn't better at all.} 34. Bc5 $1 Qd1+ 35. Qxd1 Nxd1 36. Rf3 {Black's knight is offside, the rook is out of the action, and he's losing one of his extra pawns. The advantage is dwindling.} Nb2 37. Rxa3 Na4 38. Bf1 $1 b5 39. Bd6 $1 $15 {Black will have to start all over again.}) 30... Qc4 $1 {This keeps White's queen from penetrating *and* it gives Black the tempo he needs to castle.} 31. Qd2 O-O $1 $19 {Better late than never. White is lost once again, and isn't given another chance.} 32. Bd4 Nd3 {Obvious but nice. The knight saves itself, threatens the b4-pawn, indirectly threatens the bishop on d4; and stops checks on f2, f4, and c5 in case of a rook trade.} 33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5 35. Bxe5 (35. Bxd3 Qxd4 36. Qxd4 exd4 {might seem at first glance to offer some hope, but it doesn't.} 37. g5 (37. Be2 Kf7 38. Kf2 Kf6 $19) 37... g6 38. Kf2 Bf5 39. Ke2 (39. Bxf5 gxf5 40. Ke2 f4 $19 {Black's d4- and f4-pawns form a mutual protection society.}) (39. Bb5 Bb1 $19) 39... Bxd3+ 40. Kxd3 Kf7 41. Kxd4 Ke6 $19) 35... Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 {Defending the h-pawn, unpinning the g2-bishop which now threatens to take on d5, and above all threatening 38.Qe8#. Of course, there's an answer:} Be4 $1 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 42. Be6+ $1 {Ding confessed to having overlooked this move in advance. That's not good, and it's the second time in the game when he was very lucky to have a resource that should have been seen beforehand - but wasn't! Fortunately for him, he's winning nevertheless.} Kh8 $1 (42... Kh7 $2 43. Qxe4+ $1 {The check is the point.} dxe4 44. Bxa2 $11 {and Black is somewhat fortunate that this ending is still drawn rather than winning for White.}) (42... Kh8 $1 43. Qxe4 $2 {It's not check this time, so Black has} (43. Qg1 {stops the mate on g2, but has little else to recommend it. Black is three pawns up and his a-pawn will win further material after} Qb2 44. Qf1 Qf6 {and the a-pawn's inevitable advance.}) 43... Qf2+ {first and only then 44...dxe4.}) 0-1