How quickly fate can change!
Ding Liren was pushed to the brink on Sunday. He lost to D. Gukesh in the 11th match. And there was little time to make a comeback if he wanted to defend the title he won in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana last year.
Understandably, he looked disappointed at the press conference. But for just a moment, that eerie smile returned to his face. He talked about how he fought back from a similar situation last year and defeated Ian Nepomniatchi in round 12.
He also hit back at Gukesh.
Ding not only won the 12th round, he also won in style, befitting a world champion. He gave his young challenger little chance and made one great move after another.
But Ding wasn’t the only one who had the courage to make a comeback at this World Championship. Gukesh lost the opening match itself, but after drawing the second match, he defeated the defending champion in the third match.
He did it in the most convincing style, performing a series of precise movements. He was playing to his strengths, his perfect calculations.
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If Gukesh can play like that again and Ding can play like he did in Game 12, the remaining two games should be a reward. On Wednesday, players will return to the arena behind the glass walls of the Equarius Hotel at World Resorts Sentosa after their final rest day.
This championship has come to an end. There is no winner until the final move is made in Thursday’s final game of the Classic. And if the scores are still tied (7.5 points needed to win), a tiebreaker will be held on Friday.
And last year, Ding won his first world championship in a tiebreaker. Before winning the fourth tiebreaker, he trailed Nepomniatchi three times and tied the score three times in the classic game. This dragon is definitely a warrior.
Ding may not care that the match goes into a tiebreak. He has performed much better than Gukesh in the shorter formats, rapids and blitzes, and can rely on his experience as well.
Gukesh, on the other hand, has been clearly the better player in the classical format for quite some time and will want to settle matters before the tie-break.
Well, who will fate favor?
