World Chess Championship 2024: In Gukesh vs Ding, there will be no winner until the last move is made

How quickly fortunes change.

Ding Liren was pushed to the brink on Sunday. He lost to D. Gukesh in Game 11. And there was very little time for him to make a comeback if he wanted to retain the crown he won in the Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, last year.

He understandably looked disappointed at the press conference. But, for a fleeting moment, that disarming smile returned to his face. He spoke of how he fought back from a similar situation last year, to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 12.

He fought back against Gukesh, too.

Not only did Ding win Game 12, he won authoritatively, befitting a World champion. He didn’t give the young challenger much of a chance, coming up with one superb move after another.

But it is not just Ding who has shown pluck and come back from behind in this World championship. Gukesh had gone down in the opening game itself, but after drawing the second, he defeated the defending champion in the third game.

He did that in the most convincing of styles, making a series of accurate moves. He was playing to his strength – impeccable calculation.

Also read | Viswanathan Anand: Ding shows he’s most dangerous when pushed against the wall

If we get to Gukesh to play like that again, and Ding to play like he did in Game 12, we should be in for a treat for the last two games. The players return to their arena behind the glass wall at Equarius Hotel, World Resorts Sentosa, on Wednesday, after the last rest day of the match.

This championship has gone the distance – there will be no winner until the last move is made in the last classical game on Thursday. And if the scores are still level – one needs 7.5 points to claim the crown – tie-breakers will be played on Friday.

And it was in the tie-break that Ding won his maiden World championship last year. Until he won the fourth tie-breaker, he had been behind Nepomniachtchi three times in the classical games, and three times he had equalised. This dragon is surely a fighter.

Ding may not mind the match going into the tie-breaks. He has fared much better than Gukesh in the shorter formats, rapid as well as blitz, and he could also rely on his experience.

Gukesh, on the other hand, has been clearly the better player in classical format for quite some while, and he should be keen to settling the issue before the tie-breaks.

So, whom will the fortune favour?