World Chess Championship: Ding Liren goes out of book to test Gukesh, but finds Indian teenager up to task

Then came the occurrence of Game 1.

On Tuesday, buoyed by the heady triumph of Monday, Ding reached into his container of tricks and pulled retired a caller 1 connected the archetypal move. Playing with white, helium pushed his pawn to e4. It’s the astir communal archetypal determination successful chess with white. Viswanathan Anand calls it his insignia successful the sport, to the constituent that erstwhile presented with a chess board, helium usually autographs the e4 square. Bobby Fischer, who astir exclusively played this opening determination successful his career, called 1.e4 arsenic the ‘best by test’.

But Ding has ne'er been a 1.e4 player.

“1.e4 was the archetypal mini surprise. In the past Ding has relied astir exclusively connected 1.d4 oregon 1.c4. I judge he’s ne'er played e4 successful a World Championship match. He’s played it occasionally successful different tournaments. But mostly helium sticks to d4 oregon c4,” explained satellite nary 2 Hikaru Nakamura connected his YouTube recap of the game.

But Ding wasn’t going to play accepted chess aft forcing a triumph successful Game 1. On Monday arsenic well, he’d sprung the uncommon French Defence with black.

“In the archetypal crippled I tried thing new. That required a batch of memorizing. Today also, I played an uncommon determination (1.e4). I prepared a batch for that,” Ding admitted.

Ding’s mentation was aimed not conscionable to astonishment Gukesh with his archetypal opening determination but to drawback him disconnected defender with a lesser known enactment aboriginal on.

In implicit opposition to Game 1, the 2nd crippled saw Ding physique up a handsome pb connected the timepiece successful the aboriginal exchanges. And dissimilar the archetypal game, wherever Ding had spent 245 minutes rooted to his seat successful the mediate of the playing hall, helium retreated into his backstage lounge by the 8th determination arsenic his hostile hunched implicit the board.

With his 9th determination Ding progressed his a pawn to a5, an antithetic determination that adjacent the machine said was not successful its apical 3 recommendations. It was a puzzling move, but 1 that prevented Gukesh pushing his pawns connected a and b file. But arsenic Gukesh mulled his adjacent move, commentators connected the FIDE broadcast pointed retired however an anonymous online relationship had tried to play this unusual and uncommon enactment conscionable connected Monday nighttime connected a unreality database. It brought backmost memories of the 2023 World Chess Championship, wherever a batch of Ding Liren’s preparations had been discovered online aft helium had played a uncommon enactment successful a crippled that had besides been played by an anonymous relationship connected an online database.

By the 12th move, Gukesh was down by 30 minutes. He yet opted for a queen exchange. The valuation barroom gave a flimsy vantage to Ding astatine this point.

“For maine astatine least, it’s hard to get distant from the feeling that Ding Liren won the opening conflict (in Game 2). This is simply a imagination vantage successful the World Chess Championship. It’s not much, but it’s each Ding’s. Gukesh is not playing for much, yet. You truly request immoderate mistake connected Ding’s portion for achromatic to play for something. Whereas for achromatic it tin get unpleasant rather easily,” said Viswanathan Anand connected the authoritative broadcast.

But, specified is the calculating nous of the 18-year-old that by the 20th move, Gukesh had managed to support stoutly and bring calm to the chaos. Both players started to hop their knights astir to get a gully by threefold repetition. It was a logical conclusion. Ding didn’t privation to overextend and find his vantage from Game 1 wither away. Gukesh did not privation to instrumentality different full-blooded punch connected his visage.

“I was amazed successful the opening, but I reacted beauteous decently. I didn’t springiness him immoderate superior chances. It was a coagulated crippled with black, which is nice,” said Gukesh. “A gully with achromatic pieces successful a World Chess Championship is ever nice.”

The 3rd crippled of the satellite title volition beryllium played connected Wednesday with Gukesh returning with achromatic pieces.

“There volition beryllium a large combat successful Game 3, due to the fact that helium is down a constituent and he’s playing with achromatic pieces,” said Ding. “I’m acceptable for a fight.”