Photo by D Gukesh.© X/@FIDE_chess
The 2024 World Chess Championship is still underway, but Indian grandmaster D Gukesh is assured of a huge sum thanks to his maiden victory in the third round of the 14-class match event against Ding Liren. With a maximum of 11 matches to go, the scores are level at 1.5-1.5. This was after Liren won the opener and the second game ended in a draw. Gukesh went on to win the third game. As per the prize money fixed for a match win in the event, Gukesh will get Rs 1.69 crore, an amount that Liren also secured for himself after the first round victory.
With nerves no longer a concern, Gukesh will look to maintain the psychological edge against somewhat shocked defending champions Liren when the two resume their intriguing battle for the World Cup crown in the fourth round in Singapore on Friday.
Gukesh clearly showed better preparation, while Liren's calculation let him down in the third game. The match had started with Gukesh facing the Chinese in a French defensive game with white pieces and his initial progress gave the Indian a huge time advantage, which he kept to the end.
The youngster lost the opener by playing poorly in a complicated middle game, but was encouraged by the fact that his preparation had gone well.
In the second game, his first white, Liren opted for a solid variation in the Italian opening and Gukesh had no trouble equalizing easily from the opening itself.
The game ended in just 23 moves via replay, earning Gukesh a lot of respect for his impeccable play with a slightly unfavorable suit.
Taking part in the third game before the first rest day, Gukesh decided to put all his energy into play and his opening choice again saw Liren spend more than half of the allotted time on the first 14 moves themselves.
The Chinese missed an easy equalizer later in his 18th innings, but this was largely caused by the initial pressure applied by the Indian.
Given the level of scores, it is unlikely that Liren will go all out in the next game. Instead, a more cautious approach is expected as the Chinese champion hopes his skills will hold up at crucial moments and avoid a repeat of the previous mistakes.
(With PTI inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
