After the first game of the World Chess Championship matchup between the current World Champion Ding Liren and D Gukesh, everybody thought that the Indian challenger was under immense pressure. But all those rumours and the negative chatter were put to bed yesterday as the 18-year-old showed the world exactly who is under pressure. Trailing behind by a point, 1.5 to 0.5, it was really crucial for D Gukesh to aim for the win and hopefully get it with the White pieces before going into the first rest day at the World Chess Championship taking place at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
D Gukesh started Game 3 with d4 instead of e4, which is the most-played move in World Chess Championship History. This set up the script for the rest of the game completely indicating to viewers just how different the game was going to be. The game in the end came down to time control. And with the challenger putting on the early pressure, it meant that Ding Liren was practically on the backfoot for the entire game. D Gukesh even chose to go for a sideline which has been mostly played by Vladmir Kramnik. This led to Ding Liren blundering his light-squared bishop for 2 pawns.
In the end, Gukesh kept on piling the pressure eventually leading Ding into a situation where he had to make 9 moves in less than 2-3 minutes. Here is where you saw it. The nervousness on the face of Ding Liren was easily visible for everyone watching. It was exactly what had happened last year during the World Chess Championship. With time pressure piling on, Ding was not succesful in making those remaining moves to get to move 40 and get the 30 minutes time add-on.
This win against Ding Liren marks D Gukesh’s first win against the Chinese Grandmaster in Classical Chess. But the teenager would be hoping it isn’t his last. Speaking about the game the Indian Grandmaster stated, “I feel good at the board, and today I just managed to outplay my opponent, which is always very nice!”
Both Grandmasters will have a Rest Day today and the action will resume on Friday, when Gukesh will be playing with the Black pieces while Ding Liren will look for the opportunity to win himself and take advantage.
