Ding Chillin’ as defending champion defies preconceived odds at World Chess Championship 2024

The 18-year-old from Chennai has shown more initiative and looked keener for intense battles, but the defending champion has so far been able to prove his peers wrong.

FILE PHOTO: China’s Ding Liren plays against India’s D Gukesh during the fifth game of the World Chess Championship, in Singapore, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

Reaching the venue of the World Chess Championship - the Equarius Hotel at World Resorts Sentosa - from mainland Singapore involves multiple modes of transport for most people.

To get to the small island - beyond which lies death, as the locals would say (there is no consensus on the reason behind it though) - you’ll have to take an underground metro, an elevated monorail, and possibly a bus if you’re not inclined to walk in the sweltering heat.

The journey of the World Championship match, approaching its half-way mark, has just been as fascinating thus far. Especially given the circumstances; much of the chess world had been dismissive of the reigning champion Ding Liren’s chances and was expecting D. Gukesh to dominate.

The 18-year-old from Chennai has shown more initiative and looked keener for intense battles, but the defending champion has so far been able to prove his peers wrong. He may have been happy to look for a draw in most positions and may have also had a tougher time while handling the pressure from the clock, but he has been solid enough.

Given the contrast in form between the two players, Ding should not be too unhappy with the way things have gone, though he was rather critical of himself at the last press conference before Monday’s rest day. He spoke of how he slipped from advantageous positions.

Before the match, he had also talked of having to seek professional help for his mental health concerns. Doubts had been raised therefore if he would be in the ideal shape of mind for the match.

He has looked fine. He was even joking at the press conference about the memes on ‘Ding Chillin’ after the sixth game.

It was the game in which Gukesh again showed his willingness to take risks, despite having to pay the price for being more aggressive in the opening game. He had lost that game with white pieces, but came back strongly to win the third game to level the scores.

It is still all square at 3-3. The last three games were all drawn. If you feel that is too many, you could just go back to the 2018 World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London.

All the 12 games were drawn, forcing a tie-breaker (speed chess), in which Carlsen crushed Caruana. Here, it is a best-of-14 affair.