Ding Liren vs Gukesh D: A Preview

In a game that serves as a preview for the upcoming FIDE World Championship Match, the reigning World Champion Ding Liren was paired against his challenger Gukesh D in the first round of the 2024 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. This is the first time the two have played a classical game of chess against each other since Gukesh won the right to challenge Liren for the title. Ding Liren who is 2 and 0 against Gukesh in classical time controls, played well with the white pieces but when Gukesh made a mistake creating counter play, Ding seemed content to force a draw. 

The key moment came when Gukesh played the questionable 18… d4 which left his king vulnerable in the g-file.

Then on move 20, Ding Liren chose to play Bd3 with the idea of sacking pieces to force a perpetual check.

Instead, 20. Re1 would have activated his Queen’s Rook and given white real winning chances.

The reigning World Champion being overly risk averse against the challenger is of note. It’s hard to imagine Carlsen, Anand, Kasparov et cetera forcing a draw under similar circumstances. But Ding Liren is a different champion and the reason for his tempered approach could be a sign that Liren is still struggling with confidence or just that he is saving his best fight for the main event in November. Regardless of the two missteps highlighted in this post, both Ding Liren and Gukesh D. played a highly accurate game that should offer some interesting insights to those who study the moves. 

For ambitious students of the game, I recommend playing through the moves below while referencing my annotations in the attached photos.

[Event “Sinquefield Cup”]

[Site “Saint Louis, MO USA”]

[Date “2024.08.19”]

[EventDate “2024.08.19”]

[Round “1.4”]

[Result “1/2-1/2”]

[White “Ding Liren”]

[Black “D Gukesh”]

[ECO “C50”]

[WhiteElo “2745”]

[BlackElo “2766”]

[PlyCount “56”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8.

h3 Be6 9. Bb5 Ba7 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Ne7 12. d4 Ng6 13. Bf1 d5 14. Nbd2

Nxe4 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 c5 18. Rg3 d4 19. Qh6 g6 20. Bd3

c4 21. Be4 d3 22. Bxg6 fxg6 23. Rxg6+ hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26.

Qg6+ Kh8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Qg6+ 1/2-1/2