[Event "WCC Match 2024"] [Site "FIDE World Championship 2024"] [Date "2024.12.12"] [Round "14"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh D"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackElo "2783"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [Annotator "Gozzoli, Yannick"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A08"] [Opening "Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld"] [StudyName "World Championship 2024: Annotated Games"] [ChapterName "Ding, Liren - Gukesh D (Gozzoli)"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/LF4x850G/HCFmWifD"] [Orientation "white"] { The last classical game of this complex match. Will Ding try with White or will we see tiebreaks ? } 1. Nf3 { changing from 1.c4 to keep more flexibility and not allowing the concrete 1..e5 } 1... d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 { We had reversed Benoni, reversed Benkö-Blumenfeld and now reversed Grünfeld ! } 4... e6 5. O-O cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nge7!? { played very quickly ! Very unatural but very concrete, typical of Gukesh's style during the match. But the main drawback is that it's positionnaly unsound, so any mistake can be decisive. } 7. c4 { playing in Catalan style. } (7. Nb3 { was the first intention, not allowing the knight exchange on d4 and asking Black what are they going to do with the knight on e7. it's almost impossible to guess what was Gukesh's idea after that but we can try some ideas. } 7... Nf5 { seems to be the most logical } (7... h5?! { is too much ! } 8. e4! { action on the wing, reaction on the center ! } (8. h4 Nf5) 8... h4 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Qe2 { looks good and easy to play for White. }) (7... g6!? { is a very interesting try } 8. e4 (8. c4 { is also possible }) 8... Bg7 9. exd5 exd5 10. c3 O-O 11. Re1 h6 12. Be3 Be6 (12... Nf5!? 13. Qxd5 Qxd5 14. Bxd5 Nxe3 15. Rxe3 Rd8 16. Bf3 Be6 17. N1d2 Rac8 { with interesting compensations for the pawn. }) 13. Na3 Nf5 14. Nc5 Qe7 15. Nxe6 fxe6 { with a complicated position. }) 8. e4 { very principled, trying to open up the position to use the advantage of development. } 8... dxe4 9. Nc3 (9. Qxd8+ Nxd8 10. Nc3 Bd7 11. Nxe4 Rc8 12. Rd1 f6 { is very fine for Black }) 9... Be7 10. Qxd8+ Nxd8 11. Nxe4 Bd7 12. Nec5 Bxc5 13. Nxc5 Bc6 14. Ne4 Nd4 { looks Ok for Black although after } 15. Bd2! Nxc2 16. Rad1 O-O 17. Bc3 { White has good dynamic compensation. }) 7... Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6 { Gukesh is still in his prep } 9. Qd1 (9. Qd3 d4 10. e3 { is supposed to be the main move but after } 10... Bc5 11. exd4 Bxd4 { threatening Bxf2 } 12. Rd1 e5 { the difference is that Black will play Bg4 with tempo on the Rd1 } 13. Be3 Bg4 14. Rd2 O-O 15. h3 Be6 16. Nc3 Qa5) 9... d4 10. e3 Bc5 11. exd4 { played after a long thought } (11. a3!? { looks interesting in order to provoke a5 to got to b5 square (remember game 12 !) } 11... a5 (11... dxe3 { is tempting but after } 12. fxe3! Qxd1 13. Rxd1 a5 14. b3 Ke7 (14... O-O 15. Nc3 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Nxd8 17. Na4 Ba7 18. Bd2 Bd7 19. Kf2 $14) 15. Nc3 Bd7 16. Ne4 b6! (16... Ba7 17. b4! { followed by c5 is great for White ! } 17... axb4 { is bad as } 18. axb4 Nxb4 19. Rb1 Nc6 20. Rxb7 Rhd8 21. Ba3+ { is decisive. }) 17. Kf2 Rhd8 18. Bb2 f6 19. g4 { with some pressure for White. }) 12. Qh5 Qb6 13. exd4 Bxd4 (13... Nxd4? 14. Nc3 { threatening Na4 is annoying } 14... a4 15. b4! axb3 16. Ne4 Be7 17. Bb2 O-O 18. c5! Qd8 19. Rad1 { with a strong initiative }) 14. Be4! { not an easy move to play, provoking Black to weakened his kingside } 14... h6 15. Nc3 O-O 16. Nb5 Qc5 17. Qxc5 Bxc5 18. Rd1 $14) 11... Bxd4! (11... Nxd4? 12. b4! Be7 13. Bb2 Bf6 14. Nc3 $16) (11... Qxd4? 12. Qe2 { and the Black Queen will be under the fire of White pieces. }) 12. Nc3 O-O (12... Bxc3?! 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Rb1 { White has a powerful initiative thanks to his bishops }) 13. Nb5 Bb6? { A big mistake ! } (13... e5 { was the only move, playing in the dynamic of the d4 square } 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. b3 Bf5 16. Re1 Qd7 17. Bb2 Rfe8 { white has two bishops and a better pawn structure, but Black will use their strong passed pawn on the center to compensate. }) 14. b3?! { during the live, we couldn't understand what Ding has missed. } (14. Qe2 { was the best move according to the engine, threatening Rd1 and taking the control over the d6 square } 14... a6 15. Rd1 Qe7 16. Nc3 $16 { followed by Be3 and Black will have big trouble to deal with his black squares . }) (14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Be3! { was also very promising and safe in this match context ! } 15... Bxe3 16. fxe3 { and it's not easy for Black to deal with the pressure, as } 16... a6 (16... Kf8 17. c5 Ke7 18. Nd6 f6 19. b4!? Nxb4 20. Rab1 Nd5 21. Rfc1 $36 Rb8 22. e4 Nc7 23. e5! fxe5? 24. Rf1!) 17. Rfd1! { is crushing }) 14... a6 { Almost the decisive moment. At this exact moment, Ding has missed something in his calculation, and loses his confidence so he switched in "draw-mode". On the contrary, Gukesh started to play with more confidence, forcing his opponent to deal with his mindset and the prize in stake. } 15. Nc3 (15. Nd6 Bd4 { maybe he missed this move ? } 16. Bxc6 Bxa1 (16... Qxd6 17. Bf3 Qb6 18. Rb1 e5 { and Black is fine. }) 17. Be4 Qc7 18. Ba3 Bf6 { and White can draw with } 19. Bxh7+ Kxh7 20. Ne4 Re8 21. Nxf6+ gxf6 22. Qh5+ Kg7 23. Qg4+) (15. Qxd8 { was also possible and safer } 15... Rxd8 16. Nc3 Bd4 17. Bb2 Bd7 18. Rad1 Rab8) 15... Bd4 16. Bb2 e5 17. Qd2 Be6 (17... Qa5!? { with the idea to quickly bring a rook on d8 }) 18. Nd5! { White has finally established a grip on the position and enjoy a small edge without any risks. However, Ding's mindset is to force the draw since he miscalculated his 14th move ! } 18... b5 { Very nice from Gukesh, he fight the outpost on d5 } 19. cxb5?! { After a 10 minutes thought, Ding decided to exchange everything and go to the tie-breaks, clearly showing to his opponent that he can't handle the pressure. Gukesh will now seize his chance by keeping on playing. } (19. Bxd4! Nxd4 20. f4! { was the right way } 20... bxc4 21. bxc4 Rc8 22. Rac1 { and Black isn't safe at all ! }) 19... axb5 20. Nf4 exf4 21. Bxc6 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 Rb8 { And of course the computer is showing his unfamous 0.00 but let's put ourselves in Ding's shoes. My position is unpleasant as my king will be weaker and i need to find a concrete path to a forced draw in order to avoid to suffer. } 23. Rfd1 Qb6 24. Bf3 fxg3 25. hxg3 b4! { So now the queenside is fixed and Black can hope for h5-h4 to destroy White shied } 26. a4!? { Ding wants to exchange the bishops and the queenside pawn to have a 3vs2 rook ending on the same wing. } 26... bxa3 27. Rxa3 g6! { 4 giving some air for his king and preparing h7-h5. It's very interesting to see how Gukesh will try to avoid massive exchange and keep the tension on Ding. } 28. Qd4!? { please, let's go to the ending, i give you my b3 pawn. } 28... Qb5 { psychologically very strong. Gukesh shows Ding that he will play the ending till King against King. } 29. b4!? { insisting, now Gukesh can't avoid the Queen exchange. } 29... Qxb4 30. Qxb4 Rxb4 31. Ra8 { closer and closer from the goal. But now Ding is clearly in the passive seat. } 31... Rxa8 32. Bxa8 { threatening Bd5 so... } 32... g5! { very strong ! Gukesh gives his bishop a strong square on g6 and limits the f2 pawn. } 33. Bd5 Bf5 34. Rc1 Kg7 35. Rc7 Bg6 { Let's be clear, this endgame is equal and draw is the most likely result. But you need to be 101% focus and accurate with White, Black will try forever there is a World Title in stake and absolutely no chance to lose ! } 36. Rc4 Rb1+ 37. Kg2 Re1 38. Rb4 h5 39. Ra4 Re5 40. Bf3 (40. Rd4?? Rxd5 41. Rxd5 Be4+ $19) 40... Kh6 { and we got to 40th move time control. Black's plan is to push g5-g4 and then h5-h4 to soften White's pawn structure. But his main plan is to force Ding to fight with his own ghosts... } 41. Kg1 Re6 42. Rc4 g4 43. Bd5 Rd6 44. Bb7 Kg5 45. f3! { very good defensive move forcing the exchange. } 45... f5 46. fxg4 hxg4 47. Rb4 Bf7 { the position is still equal, but Ding's clock is showing 17 minutes... Gukesh wants to bring his bishop to e4 and create a passer on the e-file. } 48. Kf2 Rd2+ 49. Kg1 Kf6 50. Rb6+ Kg5 51. Rb4 Be6 52. Ra4 { With 12 minutes and 27 seconds. } 52... Rb2 53. Ba8 { Ding is now under the 10 minutes... } 53... Kf6 54. Rf4 Ke5 55. Rf2?? { ......... I am speechless. After all his effort, Ding is tired to defend passively and wants to force events. Gukesh's psychological warfare has paid ! } (55. Bg2! { and keeping the same defensive method was the way to continue. Changing his mind in defense is never a good idea, you can miss ideas ! }) 55... Rxf2! 56. Kxf2 Bd5!! { The point, the pawn ending is totally lost. } 57. Bxd5 Kxd5 { White cannot catch opposition. } 58. Ke3 (58. Ke1 Ke5 { distant opposition ! } 59. Kd1 (59. Kf1 Kd4 60. Ke2 Ke4 61. Kf2 Kd3 { and Black will win the g3 pawn. }) 59... f4! 60. Ke2 (60. gxf4+ Kxf4 61. Ke2 Kg3 62. Kf1 Kh2 $19) 60... f3+! (60... fxg3?? 61. Kf1! { is a draw. }) 61. Kf2 Ke4 62. Kf1 f2!! { the key move ! } 63. Kxf2 Kd3 64. Kf1 Ke3 65. Kg2 Ke2 66. Kg1 Kf3 67. Kh2 Kf2 68. Kh1 Kxg3 69. Kg1 Kf3 70. Kf1 g3) 58... Ke5 { But Black can ! Here a devastated Ding resigned and crowned the new King, Dommaraju Gukesh. A dramatic end to a very complex match. Psychology has finaly play his role and Ding's nerves betrayed him at the very last moment. Congratulations to the New World Champion who showed a big maturity under the pressure. } 0-1