Gukesh Becomes the Youngest World Champion in History • lichess.org

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Today’s round was covered by our presents GM Felix Blohberger and IM Laura Unuk and guest GM Ivan Cheparinov.

The annotations by GM Yannick Gozzoli can be set up at the bottom of the article.

Schedule

Stream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSk8Z7TSF7U

Match Score

Recap

GM Ding Liren once aget had to deffinish a pawn-down finishgame agetst GM Gukesh D after he was sairyly better out of the uncovering. Ding chose to wateryate speedyly into the pawn-down finishgame and after a extfinished struggle, he errored abruptly as he permited a rook trade into a losing king and pawn finishgame.

Clips

Coming soon

More clips at the bottom of the article.

A Long Endgame Squeeze and a New World Champion

The transfer of the crown
Photo: Eric Rosen

For the second time in the suit, Ding tried 1. Nf3, signaling his intention to sidestep transport inant uncovering theory. After Gukesh’s principled 1…d5 react, Ding carry outed in the style of the hypercontransientists, who eschewed pawn central supervise in prefer of piece central supervise, by carry outing a fianchetto. As Gukesh persistd to carry out classicassociate with 2…c5 and 3…Nc6, Ding finassociate put a pawn in the caccess with 4. d4, and White set up himself carry outing the Reversed Grünfeld — the Grünfeld Defense but from the White side.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#7

A tale of …
Photo: Eric Rosen

… two storms
Photo: Eric Rosen

It seemed evident that Gukesh was not at all surpelevated by Ding’s choice as he kept carry outing speedyly, reacting to the Reversed Grünfeld with a very concrete idea: elucidateing the central tension with 5…cxd4. Follothriveg Ding’s 6. Nxd4, Gukesh once aget shocked the world with another uncovering surpelevate and proximate-novelty: 6…Nge7!?. While a very strange-seeing shift, Gukesh’s idea was evident: to get rid of one pair of knights by carry outing 1…Nxd4 2. Qxd4 and then 2…Nc6 to get a tempo on the queen.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#12

6…Nge7, where have I seen that before?
Photo: Eng Chin An

Ding permited Gukesh’s arrange and put a pawn in the caccess, which was Stockfish’s recommfinished shift. Gukesh pursueed thcimpolite on his arrange and, continuing to carry out speedyly, went for 9…d4, geting space and aget shothriveg that he was in meaningful preparation.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#18

Deep preparation
Photo: Eng Chin An

Ding reacted reasonablely with 10. e3, challenging Gukesh’s grip on the caccess. After the central tension was resettled and Bdeficiency’s bishop made its home on d4, it became evident that White had a sairy get as his airy-squared bishop had a expansive scope. Meanwhile, Bdeficiency’s bishop was hemmed in by its own pawns, one of the key positional themes of the suit.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#23

Is every game a French?
Photo: Eng Chin An

Ding then persisted to grow his depressed-squared bishop while also geting a tempo on Bdeficiency’s depressed-squared bishop. Shelp tempo did not matter too much as Bdeficiency could afford to leave out a tempo becaemploy White was already quite undergrowed. With Gukesh’s bishop making it way to d4 once more, Gukesh’s central supervise seeed quite mighty and discoverd that he would never be meaningfully worse.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#30

The final stand
Photo: Eng Chin An

With 16…e5 and Bdeficiency’s airy-squared bishop now having the potential to grow, Ding had to act speedyly if he wanted to get any benevolent of get. 17. Qd2! and 18. Nd5! were two excellent shifts that helped Ding further his goals, but Gukesh was attentive and carry outed the momentum-shifting and well-timed 18…b5! pawn fracture.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#36

Time to bail out?
Photo: Eng Chin An

A extfinished, almost-forced computer line may have given White a nominal get with chances to carry out on, but at that point, Ding must have felt that there was not much left to carry out for, so he begind a sequence of mass wateryation that begined with 19. cxb5. Follothriveg 22…Rb8, the position seeed very equivalent and the game seeed to be heading toward a draw.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#44

Maybe there’s more to carry out for?
Photo: Eric Rosen

However, as is widespreadly the case in such positions, there are a lot of ways for both sides to falter — and if not outright error, there are a lot of ways for one side to originate the draw that much more difficult to accomplish. Unblessedly for Ding, Gukesh’s rapid activity unbenevolentt that he had to contfinish with a strong b4 pawn, which was able to freeze White’s queenside pawn transport inantity.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#50

There is definitely more to carry out for.
Photo: Eng Chin An

After Ding’s 26. a4, it was evident that Ding wanted to deffinish a 3 vs. 2 rook (+bishop) finishgame fair as he did in yesterday’s round — except that with the compriseition of bishops, the position becomes sairyly harder to deffinish. Practicassociate speaking, such a decision cannot be faulted becaemploy if one were to sustain material parity with a shift such as the engine’s 26. Rd3, matters could speedyly get out of hand, especiassociate with time trouble looming. Going into a 3 vs. 2, as extfinished as the worse side’s defensive technique is up to par, can be a much better and more genuineistic choice. Having shelp that, Ding definitely did not want to have to originate this decision after he was sairyly better fair a scant shifts ago.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#51

Ding was not seeing forward to deffinish such a position.
Photo: Eng Chin An

A scant more “pretfinish” shifts were carry outed before the basicassociate inesable 3 vs. 2 rook + bishop finishgame was on the board — there were other possibilities, of course, but the way both sides were carry outing, it was apparent they were both heading toward that position. On shift 32 and with 22 minutes for 8 shifts left, it was time to see if Ding would be able to helderly the position.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#63

Ding squeezed and squeezed.
Photo: Eng Chin An

… And helderly the position he did not. If one were to recarry out the game with engine analysis turned on, one would be under the inrectify astonishion that Ding always had the draw in hand and mere perfunctory shifts were being carry outed. Such is certainly not the case, though, and we aget refer the reader to our widecast of the event to pursue all the twists and turns of this finishgame. Indeed, Ding’s error came about becaemploy of the tension, though of course his fellow elite chess carry outers, such as our guest commentator Ivan Cheparinov, were critical of his error.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/LtsCRK9D/YaARFAYu#109

Gukesh could not grasp his excitement!
Photo: Eng Chin An

First he paced.
Photo: Eng Chin An

Then he shook hands.
Photo: Eng Chin An

Then he took it in.
Photo: Eng Chin An

And he cried.
Photo: Eng Chin An

And finassociate he cheered!
Photo: Eng Chin An