World Chess Championship: Gukesh goes for power move with choice of chair before contest with Ding Liren

Gukesh, connected the different hand, chose a high-back gaming chair. A powerfulness determination if determination was ever one. Before some players made their mode to the playing arena, and the committee was flanked simply by the 2 chairs, Gukesh’s seat looked imposing. It towered implicit Ding’s.

“Gukesh’s seat looking ascendant already,” tweeted Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri connected X.

But Ding was intelligibly comfy successful the chair, planting himself successful it firmly till some players had made the archetypal clip power 4 hours aft the crippled began. His young opponent, connected the different hand, walked astir successful the playing arena, visiting his lounge a fewer times. When Ding yet got disconnected the seat – having drawn archetypal humor – the FIDE broadcast flashed a statistic to item the contrast: Gukesh had spent 28 minutes distant from the board; Ding had spent 245 minutes successful his seat without a break.

This was successful crisp opposition to the Ding of 2023, erstwhile the Chinese grandmaster had looked successful discomfort and had often chosen to question refuge successful his playing lounge. During that contention against Ian Nepomniachtchi, a viral meme connected societal media showed Ding slumped connected a sofa successful his backstage lounge with his caput covered successful a hoodie.

Ding, buoyed by his Game 1 triumph connected Monday, adjacent joked astir that.

“Today, I spent each the crippled sitting connected the board. Not hiding successful the players’ lounge similar successful the archetypal crippled past time,” helium chuckled.

After a triumph successful the archetypal game, the antheral with the crown connected his caput finds himself astatine easiness connected the throne.