Chess Olympiad 2024: No Gukesh vs Ding Liren as China opts to rest World Champion ahead of India clash

The much-anticipated showdown between Ding Liren and D. Gukesh will have to wait as China opted to rest the World Champion ahead of the seventh round of the open section of Chess Olympiad 2024 to be held in Budapest on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Chinese is the highest rated chess player of all time and won the world crown in May last year after defeating Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Gukesh won the Candidates tournament in April to become the youngest challenger to the world title at the age of 17. He turned 18 in May.

Liren said on the sidelines of the Olympiad that the Indian challenger could be the favourite for the World title to be contested between November 20 and December 15 in Singapore.

“I can see my opponent (Gukesh) playing extremely well in this tournament. Maybe he is a favourite in the World Championship Match. He also has a higher rating than me,” Liren said in an interaction with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in the tournament’s mixed zone.

ALSO READ | Chess Olympiad, Round 7: Indians in action, board pairings, rankings, live streaming info

“I have dropped a lot since last year, but I will fight my best to try to overcome the rating difference,” he added in a rather candid admission.

The Indian team currently has the sole lead in the open section after a comfortable 3-1 win over host Hungary in the previous round.

The women’s team also is the sole leader after winning all six rounds to get 12 match points. It beat Armenia 2.5-1.5 in the last round.

– Inputs from PTI