World Chess Championship 2024, Game 12: Ding Liren storms back with a score-levelling win against Gukesh

King Ding is chilling. Again.

Ding Liren used all his experience and showed his class and resilience to storm back into the World Championship match in style. In an almost must-win game, he prevailed over D. Gukesh at World Resorts Sentosa on Monday.

The score is now 6.0-6.0 after Game 12. The two men head into the last rest day with every scenario possible, including a tie-breaker. What we know for sure is that the match will go the distance as far as the classical games are concerned.

Neither player can now win the crown with a game to spare. One needs 7.5 points for that. A draw would have suited Gukesh on this day. After scoring a crucial win in the last game and thus taking the lead for the first time in the match, he could have consolidated his position with half-a-point.

AS IT HAPPENED: Gukesh vs Ding Liren Game 4 Highlights

But Ding was in no mood to oblige. He opted for English Opening, and also ensured that he was in no time trouble, as he had been for much of the match. He was able to get a better position out of the opening. He continued to build on that, and came up with the right move whenever it mattered most.

The same cannot be said of Gukesh. For once, the precise calculation — a major strength of his — deserted him. Against a Ding who was playing at his best, it was going to be costly. So it turned out.

He erred on the 16th and 17th moves with his knight and bishop and White’s position began to look menacing. Ding continued to put pressure with the perfect pawn push in the centre. Then on the 22nd move with his dark-squared bishop, Gukesh’s already precarious position became very difficult, or almost impossible, to defend.

Ding went on to capture a couple of pawns and advanced his ‘d’ pawn all the way to the seventh rank. The end was hastened by Gukesh’s ‘f’ pawn push on the 38th move. Ding then finished with a flourish, sacrificing his rook for a pawn.

Gukesh resigned with checkmate not far away. It was the first win for Ding with white. He could not have timed it better. After his defeat on Sunday, he had pointed out at the press conference that he had won Game 12 in last years’ World championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi — with white pieces — after being in a similar situation.

Much to his delight, history repeated itself.