Gukesh misses 'knockout blow' as Ding does a Houdini in Game 13
After a draw in the penultimate classical game, the match is tied on 6.5 points each.
After a draw in the penultimate classical game, the match is tied on 6.5 points each.
After a draw in the penultimate classical game, the match is tied on 6.5 points each.
Several years later, if India's D Gukesh decides to write an autobiography, he might want to consider the title 'missed chances'. That is, if he doesn't beat China's Ding Liren for the World Chess Championship in Singapore in the next two days.
Gukesh could still write a triumphant bestseller, but he must upset the reigning champion with black pieces in Game 14 on Thursday or steal victory in the tie-breakers a day later. If he doesn't do either, the handful of missed opportunities, the most latest in Wednesday's Game 13 that ended in a draw after 68 moves must haunt him. After the penultimate classical game, the match is tied on 6.5 points each.
Like in Game 7 and Game 8, Gukesh played beautifully to reach a winning position but could not land the killer punch on Ding. "I almost gave up," Ding said in post-game analysis when the moderator GM Maurice Ashley showed him Gukesh's 31 Ne4 (a smart knight move). "I couldn't see the knockout blow," Gukesh said before that.
But there was a knockout blow waiting to be discovered. From as early as move 22, when Gukesh gained a tempo with Bf4 (placing a Bishop attack on an unguarded rook), the computer evaluation bar favoured the 18-year-old Indian. The first threat on Gukesh's King came in the 41st move when Ding gave a casual check. Until then, it was one-way traffic: Gukesh attacking and Ding defending.
The 32-year-old Ding, who played his best game of the match in Game 12, to level the contest, was under immense time pressure too. He had under 15 minutes to make 15 optimum moves until the time control on move 40 was reached. Gukesh, with absolutely no threat on his king, had to simply find the best line of attack, and had double the time on his clock.
Under pressure, Ding found some spectacular defence; the best was move 31. Rf8 (a subtle rook move that gained an exclamation mark from the chess engine). "I didn't see Rf8. I only spotted it when he was thinking," Gukesh said. Eventually, Ding pulled a Houdini act and neutralised the position. By then, a queen-rook end game had resumed and Gukesh lost all his advantage.