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Gukesh Gambles But Game 6 Also Ends In Draw
Gukesh took the bold decision not to accept a draw in a slightly worse position, but the game ended in a draw anyway. Photo: Eng Chin An/FIDE.

Gukesh Gambles But Game 6 Also Ends In Draw

Colin_McGourty
Colin_McGourty
Staff
| 116 | Chess Event Coverage

"I just like playing chess!" said Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju after rejecting a draw by repetition in game six of the 2024 FIDE World Championship. It was a decision that could have backfired, as World Champion Ding Liren had chances to push for a win, but a fierce struggle ended in a 46-move draw. The scores are level at 3-3 going into the second rest day. 

Game seven, after a rest day on Monday, starts Tuesday, December 3, at 4:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET /  2:30 p.m. IST / 5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore.

Match Score

Name Rating 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Score
  Ding Liren 2728 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ . . . . . . . . 3
  Gukesh Dommaraju 2783 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ . . . . . . . . 3
How to watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship
You can watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship live on Chess.com/TV and on the Chess24 Twitch and YouTube channels, while GM Hikaru Nakamura is streaming on Kick. IM Andras Toth is analyzing the games in a Chessable course. 
Watch the live broadcast, hosted by GM Peter Leko, GM Robert Hess, and John Sargent.
All would be well that ended well in game six. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao

GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed game six of the match below.

Game 6 Of World Championship Usually Delivers

There's a special magic about game six of the world chess championship. There were epic historical games, for instance, Botvinnik 0-1 Tal (1960) and Fischer 1-0 Spassky (1972), while we've been treated to fantastic chess in more recent times.

In 2014, GM Magnus Carlsen blundered against GM Viswanathan Anand, realized the mistake instantly, and had to maintain a poker face for 60 seconds until Anand missed the chance and went on to lose the game. In 2018, GM Fabiano Caruana missed a (fiendishly difficult) forced checkmate against Carlsen that would have knocked Carlsen off the top spot on the rating list and perhaps altered chess history.

Nepomniachtchi resigned in 2023 after Ding found a spectacular way to deliver checkmate. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

More recently, in 2021, Carlsen broke through against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi after five draws in Dubai to win the longest game in world championship history. Then, in 2023, Ding came from behind for a second time to beat Nepomniachtchi in Astana. Since 2008, in the era of the unified title, five of the nine game sixes had been decisive, with the winners going on to claim the title every time.

Ding Liren Wins London Opening Battle, But What Next? 

Are statistics just for the fans? Not quite, since Ding explained his switching to 1.d4 and the London System for game six wasn't a coincidence. 

Asked at the post-game press conference whether he was more focused on getting chances with the black pieces, he responded:

Sometimes I play the white pieces like Black. This time I tried to push for an advantage in the opening, and this London, last time, also in game six, I won a beautiful game in the London, so this time I wanted to repeat that success.

Last time, also in game six, I won a beautiful game in the London, so this time I wanted to repeat that success.

—Ding Liren

The opening, at least, was a success, with Ding's 16.dxe5 a new move.

Ding could relax.

Gukesh, meanwhile, said he recalled 16...Rb8, but the reply 17.Nc4 he "was unaware of." It was a tricky position to find yourself on your own, since GM Peter Leko, joining the live broadcast, pointed out that the equalizing 17...Qg2, from his notes, is a move that might not even cross a player's mind. 

GM Anish Giri made the same point about the similar alternative 17...Qf3!.

So the oracles human and computer declared 17...Be6!?, intending to exchange off the dangerous knight on c4, an inaccuracy, but Gukesh wasn't overly worried. He explained: "I never really felt in danger because I thought once I take on c4… maybe I’m slightly worse, but it should be really hard to convert it with White because you can’t really push the queenside pawns that easily and you always have some play on his king."

I never really felt in danger.

—Gukesh Dommaraju

The most imminent danger for Gukesh was perhaps that he was 46 minutes behind on the clock, but that would all change when he played 20...Qf5, the second-best move in the position (computers prefer 20...Rbd8).

Suddenly Ding was out of his preparation, and the think that followed was the longest of the match so far, a whopping 42 minutes and 42 seconds. How could that even happen? Ding explained:

Because there are so many lines to prepare and this is just one of them. Preparation is like an iceberg. You see the positions that arise, the parts of the iceberg that are higher than the sea, but there’s a lot of preparation that didn’t occur on the board, the iceberg in the sea, so of course I prepared a lot of positions, but this one is a little bit new for me. 

Preparation is like an iceberg.

—Ding Liren

Ding did add, however, almost as an afterthought, "There’s no excuse for just repeating moves after such preparation!"

Ding Liren has taken the longest think of the match so far. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Repeating moves is just what he went on to do, however, starting a dance of queens that seemed destined to end in a quick draw. "Yesterday Ding had a much clearer advantage—here, if you remove the evaluation bar, I would say the repetition is very natural," said Leko. The narrative of Ding getting an edge but then taking a draw without a fight was ready to be rolled out again, and content creators had already started filming their recaps.

Gukesh Avoids Draw, Accepts Worse Position

Then Gukesh shocked everyone by playing 26...Qh4!?.

The Indian fans went wild, though the commentators seemed less convinced.

The shock value was great, with Ding himself admitting he'd been on the verge of writing down Qe7 on his scoresheet.

It wasn't necessarily an unpleasant shock, however, since Ding said at the press conference, "Qh4 came as a total surprise because I think his queen is not so well-placed on the kingside—it’s better-placed on the queenside."

What was Gukesh thinking? He commented: "I thought I might be slightly worse, I was not even sure fully if I’m slightly worse, but I thought it’s more likely, but I thought with the files open in front of his king I always have counterplay, and I saw no reason to take a repetition right now."

Gukesh single-handedly ensured we got a fight, and he lived to tell the tale. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

The choice looked more questionable as Ding, now forced to play on, responded quickly and well, with Leko feeling the decision to continue might have been "a huge mistake." He pointed out that Gukesh had cited GM Bobby Fischer's famous quote, "I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves," at an earlier press conference, while now he seemed to be relying on his opponent's sometimes fragile psychology.

Gukesh denied that suggestion, however, giving the biggest smile of the post-game press conference as he commented:

I just like playing chess! It was more just the position than it was psychological. I just thought there was a lot of play left in the position, and I did not really see too much danger for me. I just thought I’ll make a few moves and see what happens. Obviously a draw was the most likely result, so I just wanted to get a long game, especially as tomorrow is a rest day. 


After the match is over, it may be interesting to ask Gukesh about the moment, but for now it meant that what had threatened to be an early draw with little content became an enthralling battle and the longest game of the match so far. 

Ding Lets His Advantage Slip Away Again 

Ding Liren had to postpone his rest-day plans. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Up to a point, Ding played fast and well, and Gukesh's unwillingness to trade off queens threatened to get him into trouble. Nepomniachtchi seemed skeptical of the Indian star's ability to come up with a plan. 

Just at that moment, however, Gukesh came up with a queen invasion with Qa5-b5-e2-f3 which posed Ding new problems.

Not for the first time in the match, Ding found himself explaining that he'd seen the computer's preferred 34.Qg5!, and also the good move 34.Qg3, but after calculating (and seemingly misevaluating) some concrete lines, he'd rejected those moves and instead played 34.Kc2?!, which he called "not such a good move."

Finally Gukesh got to exchange off queens on his own terms with 34...Qxf4! 35.exf4 f5! and, with both players getting short on time before reaching move 40, the gamble of playing on, which had looked very double-edged...

...had chances of paying off.  

No Mistakes In Time Trouble

Gukesh lost the opening battle but still posed questions in game six. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

The next sequence of moves before move 40, however, is evidence of just how good both players are. Despite being the one under heavier time pressure, Gukesh managed to pose real problems with the extremely committal 36...e3!? (Carlsen would later give the hot take that if Gukesh had played 36...Kg7 he would have gone on to win).

The 18-year-old explained, "After e3 he had to find this h5-resource, which was I thought a bit tough," but Ding, who had stocked up on supplies...

...was up to the task of breaking open the position and forcing what would ultimately be a totally logical draw by repetition.

It was a fascinating game, and it was hard to decide who could be happier with the outcome. Gukesh had shown his fighting spirit by playing on, but Ding didn't collapse and got to show his own fighting spirit in the latter stages of the game. 

With the scores level at 3-3, both players were in a good mood at the press conference. Gukesh's line about liking chess was a highlight, but Ding also starred. He answered the hypothetical question on what he'd do if he won the title, "Last time I cried after winning the title; this time I may smile!" while he unintentionally brought down the house with his response to a question on his "chilling" and the Bing Chilling meme.  

This may, or may not, be the backstory.   

The serious business of the match will recommence on Tuesday, with both players seeing room for improvement. Ding commented:

I think it’s good for spectators that the match is still even—there’s a lot to see in the next couple of rounds. For me, I want to improve my score as much as possible!

At the press conference was Richard Rapport, who will be focused on helping Ding improve his score. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Gukesh will have the white pieces on Tuesday.

Video Playlists

Check out Chess.com's playlist of Game Reviews and Interviews.

You can also follow along with the video recaps by your favorite partner streamers, like GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Anish Giri, IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess), GM Ben Finegold, GM Aman Hambleton (Chessbrah), GM Arturs Neiksans, FM Nemo Zhou, Epic Chess, and Chess Dojo in the playlist here.

The 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore decides the next world champion. 18-year-old Indian Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju takes on Chinese Defending Champion Ding Liren in a 14-game match, with the first to 7.5 points winning. The players have two hours for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with 30 seconds added each move from move 41 onwards. The prize fund is $2,500,000, with $200,000 for a win and the remaining money split equally. If tied 7-7, a playoff will take place, starting with four games of 15+10 rapid chess.

Previous world championship coverage:

Colin_McGourty
Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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