Ding Liren, a Chinese Grandmaster, opened up about his loss against India’s D Gukesh last week at the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore. Ding, the incumbent champion, made a fatal error in the final Game 14, allowing Gukesh to become the world’s youngest champion. Following his defeat against Gukesh, Russian Chess Federation chief Andrei Filatov accused Ding of purposefully losing the match.
According to Russian news agency TASS, Filatov requested that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) investigate the outcome. The controversy revolves around Ding’s key error in the game’s final minutes when his move to Rook to f2 gave Gukesh a decisive advantage. Despite initial evaluations indicating a drawish position, the blunder enabled Gukesh to secure victory in a king-and-pawn endgame. The dramatic change in the game’s dynamics has fueled Filatov’s allegations of intentional loss.
However, chess experts and computations have noted that such errors are not unusual in high-stakes, long-duration games. Even skilled players frequently make mistakes after four hours of hard play due to weariness and psychological pressure. Filatov’s charges come amid a turbulent period for Russian chess and sports in general. Russia’s sporting reputation has been tarnished in recent years by doping scandals and its exclusion from many major competitions owing to the conflict in Ukraine.
Conspiracy theories fly around Ding Liren
However, the country’s chess dominance remains strong, lending credence to Filatov’s claims. In recent years, the chess world has faced suspicions of cheating, most notably in the Hans Niemann incident. However, demonstrating purposeful loss in a match of this magnitude would necessitate extensive proof, including a possible admission from Ding himself a scenario considered unlikely. Gukesh became the world’s youngest champion, defeating Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in the championship match.
The freshly crowned champion was humble and generous, praising his opponent’s efforts in producing what was a fantastic match over the last three weeks in Singapore. Filatov said “The result of the last game caused bewilderment among professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive segment are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE.”
