Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has suffered a setback in the first game of the ongoing World Chess Championship in Singapore. Defending champion Ding Liren defeated him, putting Gukesh behind 0-1 in this 14-game series. This is the first time that two Asian players are battling for the world chess title.
Early moves and bad strategy
The 18-year-old Gukesh began the match playing with the white pieces. He made an early error by advancing his king’s pawn two squares, to which Liren responded with the ‘French Defense.’ Gukesh borrowed a strategy from Vishwanathan Anand, aiming to replicate the success Anand had when he claimed his first World Championship against Spain’s Alexei Shirov in 2001.
Initially, Gukesh held a half-hour time advantage until the 12th move. However, within eight moves, Liren regained extra minutes, demonstrating his resilience in overcoming the early challenge. With a powerful comeback, Liren secured the win in 42 moves.
World Chess Championship final format
This final match consists of 14 rounds, with tiebreakers if necessary. Both Gukesh and Ding earn 1 point per win and 0.5 points for a draw. To clinch the championship, 7.5 points are required. If the score is tied after all rounds, faster tiebreakers will determine the winner.
All eyes on Gukesh now
All attention is on the young talent, D Gukesh. If he overcomes China’s Ding Liren, he will become the world champion, joining Vishwanathan Anand as the second Indian to achieve this feat. Anand has previously won the world title five times.
In April, Gukesh triumphed in the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto, becoming the youngest winner at 17. Before Gukesh, Russian legend Garry Kasparov was the youngest, winning in 1984 at 22.
Who is D Gukesh?
Dommaraju Gukesh, hailing from Chennai, was born on 7 May 2006. He began playing chess at seven, initially under coach Bhaskar Nagaiya, an international-level player and chess tutor in Chennai. Later, he trained under Vishwanathan Anand. Gukesh’s father is a doctor and his mother is a microbiologist.
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