After defending world champion Ding Liren of China lost to India’s D. Gukesh with white pieces in the 12th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore on Monday. , made a quick comeback.
The victory with light pieces also helped Ding regain equal standing in the World Championship Series. The championship was tied 6.0-6.0 after 12 rounds.
Earlier on Sunday, Gukesh took the lead in the championship for the first time with a victory over Din.
Ding started with c4 and Gukesh responded with e6, playing a neo-Catalan defense for the UK opening.
By the ninth move, Ding was 30 minutes behind Gukesh, but he deepened his position and developed a free-flowing set-up, and on demand, gradually snatched the much-needed victory. The Chinese team played with perfect precision and immediately put pressure on Gukesh.
Gukesh will take up the white piece one last time on Wednesday after taking a much-needed rest day on Tuesday. If the championship is tied after 14 rounds, it will move to a reduced time format with a tiebreaker.
