World Championship Game 6: Accurate defense by Gukesh secures another draw
“Opening preparation is like an iceberg – most of the lines remain under the sea” (Ding Liren) The sixth game of the FIDE World Championship match, presented by Google, ended in a draw after 46 moves this afternoon. Both players tried everything on the board, probing for mistakes in each other’s play, but neither managed to break through. The Indian challenger, Gukesh D. could have forced a draw on move twenty-six, but instead he chose to play on, arguing that although he thought that he might be slightly worse, there was no reason to not continue and see what happened. The champion Ding Liren was content with the result, but acknowledged that he needed to tighten up his game. Today’s ceremonial move was performed by Scott Beaumont. A huge chess fan, Scott led Google in Asia Pacific over the last five years, and prior to that in Greater China and Korea. A key person in the partnership, he spearheaded Google’s title sponsorship of this historic match: the first ever between two Asian grandmasters. The use of super computers in high-level chess has completely changed opening preparation. Given that all openings have been analyzed to equality, it is increasingly important to find ideas that can surprise your opponent, gain some time on the clock and trust that they will not be able to find the key equalizing moves over the board. This afternoon’s game was an excellent example. The champion Ding Liren went for the London system, which he already used successfully in the sixth game of his 2023 World Championship match against Nepomniachtchi. Although Ding is a consummate 1.d4 player, the London is an unusual choice in his opening repertoire. But Gukesh came well-prepared to the board and blitzed out his first fifteen moves. He was clearly still in his preparation, no doubt following the Aronian-Dominguez game from the 2022 Saint Louis championship, which ended in a three-fold repetition draw quite early in the game. Meanwhile, in the commentary booth, five-time World Champion and legend of the game Vishy Anand gave his thoughts on both players. “They have contrasting approaches. Ding is very solid with White, not taking a lot of risk yet. On the other hand, Gukesh is pushing it a bit more but every once in a while, he stumbles, like yesterday. I think they are both trying very hard – maybe Gukesh is putting a little bit more pressure but he needs to me more accurate”. Ding uncorked his novelty on move sixteen (16.dxe5) forcing Gukesh to think out his sixteenth and seventeenth move for more than twenty minutes. Totally focused, he found one of the several lines that promised a more or less balanced position, and it was Ding’s turn to dive deep into thought: it took him over forty minutes to decide upon 21.Qxc6 – apparently, the game was on! However, suddenly two moves later it seemed that the time came to pack the bags and head over to the press conference: both players were repeating moves. Put yourself in Gukesh’s shoes. Would you play 26…Qe7, and claim a threefold position draw or go 26…Qh4 and play on? Rather unexpectedly, Gukesh decided to play on, choosing 26…Qh4 instead of 26…Qe7, claiming a draw. After the game, he clarified his thoughts behind his decision: “I thought I might be slightly worse out of the opening but I wasn’t even sure. But with the files open in front of his king I thought I would always have counterplay and I didn’t see a reason to take the draw repetition. Obviously, I wasn’t playing for a win, I just wanted to play a few more moves and see what happened.” “That’s the professional way to go – repeat twice, make your opponent think that he has a draw, and at the last moment change your move,” said commentator IM Jovanka Houska in the commentator’s booth. Anand added: “Maybe Ding has studied this position and knows there is counterplay all over the place: in that case, maybe his outlook is different.” A fantastic insight from five-time World Champion! At some point, most of the online viewers considered Ding’s position to be slightly favorable, but, following a certain trend in this event, the advantage slipped away after a few inaccurate moves. Both players proceeded with caution and eventually exchanged queens, arriving at a fairly balanced rook ending. A draw was agreed on move 46. The champion Ding Liren was content with the result, noting that the match is even with several more games still to be played. At the same time, he acknowledged the need to sharpen his focus. “I feel like I am letting my advantage slip away at a critical moment. I have to improve this in the following games,” were his thoughts after the game. “Opening preparation is like an iceberg. The positions you see in the game are the ones that are on top, higher than the sea, but there are a lot of lines that don’t occur, they are all under the sea.” Before leaving for the day, Vishy praised the young Indian players Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R and Arjun Erigaisi. “This is a golden generation; they were grandmasters at a very young age. The thing is they keep growing…You can’t keep talking about this as a future thing, it’s happening right now. They’re all top10 players!” Tomorrow is the second official rest day for the players. The seventh game of the match is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, at 5 PM local time in Singapore, with Gukesh playing White. FACT SHEET, Game 6, FIDE World Championship: White: Ding LirenBlack: Gukesh DResult: 0.5-0.5Game length: 46 movesOpening: London SystemMatch score: 3-3 Although the FIDE World Championship is by far the main event, the local organizers along with FIDE have programmed a wide range of side events for all the fans coming to Sentosa for the match. On the agenda this afternoon, five-time World Champion GM Vishy Anand offered a 10-board simultaneous exhibition for VIP ticket holders, and then
World Championship Game 5: Ding Liren lets Gukesh off the hook
Against all odds, World Champion Ding Liren missed a great chance to pile up the pressure in the FIDE World Championship match presented by Google, misplaying a significant advantage in the endgame. Defending the black pieces, the Chinese champion efficiently neutralized his opponent’s exchange variation in the French Defence and seemed to be well on his to scoring his second win. However, just when the time seemed ripe, uncertainty crept in. Ding did not find the strongest continuation in a critical position, allowing the challenger to escape with a draw and keep the score tied at 2.5 points apiece heading into Game 6. The game started as usual with the customary handshake and ceremonial move. Both players arrived quite a few minutes before 5 PM and were introduced to K. Shanmugam, the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore. A passionate chess enthusiast, whose son is actually an International Master, performed the opening move for Gukesh. Ding Liren chose to repeat the French defence, which gave him such a good result in the first game. Gukesh changed gears and surprisingly decided to play the exchange variation, a line he had never used in his classical games. Legendary Philippine GM Eugenio Torre, invited guest for commentary, shared his thoughts: “I noticed that the players are trying to play different openings and defences. You used to be able to play the same variations but not anymore because of the computers”. On move eight, Gukesh introduced a new idea, 8.Qe2+, specially prepared for this game. He was obviously very aware of the main line with 8.0 – 0 since it was played twice in the Toronto Candidates tournament, by both Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi against Nijat Abasov. A couple of months later, Nakamura’s second, Nils Grandelius, tested it again without much success in the Budapest Olympiad against Alexei Shirov. Ding went into the tank for nearly forty minutes considering his options and came up with the best defence, maintaining the equilibrium. Regarding deep thinking, Torre made another interesting observation: “Grandmasters usually only analyse one or two moves ahead, except when there is a forced variation, in which you have to think six or seven moves ahead, for example when you sacrifice a piece.” After the early exchange of queens, realizing that his opponent was going to equalize the position without many problems, Gukesh decided to play actively with 17.g4, a risky move that he has made in all three of his games with White. “It’s cool that it’s the third game in a row that I am playing g4,” Gukesh said after the game. However, a few moves later he forgot to exchange the rooks (Gukesh should have played 23.Rxe5) and, without really knowing how, found himself in a very difficult ending. In the commentary booth, GM David Howell was amazed: “Black’s winning chances have suddenly increased massively. The move 23.dxe5 might have been a big mistake; I would have preferred to exchange rooks. Gukesh didn’t even think about it, he’s got 51 minutes on the clock, but he played it immediately. We often call it “the sting in the tail” – right at the end of a variation sometimes you forget to look one move deeper.” Put yourself in Ding Liren’s shoes. Should you play 27…Bc6 or 27…Be6? “Towards the end of the game, I was very worried about my position after the manoeuvre 27…Be6 followed by 28…Rc8. I was quite relieved when my opponent played 27…Bc6, as I thought it would be a draw” a visibly relieved Gukesh explained in the postgame press conference. The champion acknowledged missing a big opportunity: “I didn’t see the idea with 28…Rc8, I was thinking of moving the king to the kingside, like some kind of Berlin pawn structure. I didn’t realize that it was a big advantage for me.” On social media, several strong players including the Latvian legend GM Arturs Neiksans were not impressed by Gukesh’s performance. After Ding missed this one golden opportunity, the position fizzled out into an opposite-side coloured bishop endgame with a totally irrelevant extra pawn for Gukesh – a draw was quickly agreed upon reaching the reglementary move forty threshold. At the end of the press conference, Gukesh congratulated his colleague teammate Nihal Sarin for his recent success: “I didn’t know that he won the 3rd President Cup in Uzbekistan, so firstly congrats to him. During the tournament, I generally don’t talk to many people outside my team, but it’s always nice when Indian youngsters keep achieving things, it’s motivating for all of us.” The sixth game of the match is scheduled for Sunday, December 1, at 5 PM local time in Singapore with Ding Liren playing White. FACT SHEET, Game 5, FIDE World Championship: White: GukeshBlack: Ding LirenResult: 0.5-0.5Game length: 40 movesOpening: French DefenceVariation: Exchange variationMatch score: 2.5-2.5 Written by IM Michael Rahal (Singapore) Photos: Eng Chin An and Maria Emelianova Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/ Full programme of side-events: worldchampionship.fide.com/events About the event Current World Champion Ding Liren, representing China, and challenger Gukesh D, from India, face each other in a fourteen-game classical chess match. The player who scores 7.5 points or more will win the match, picking up the better part of the $2.5 million total prize fund. The first of the fourteen scheduled games took place on Monday, November 25 at 5 pm with Gukesh opening with White. Hosted at the luxurious Resorts World Sentosa the match is broadcast live with expert commentary on the FIDE YouTube Channel.
Wall Street Gambit: Where chess meets finance
This December, chess will be all the talk on Wall Street as hundreds of players from around the world will converge to participate in the 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships. As if the excitement of the games was not enough, FIDE is taking the fusion of chess and finance to the next level with the introduction of Wall Street Gambit; a one-of-a-kind chess and finance conference. Featuring an exceptional lineup of keynote speakers, the unique opportunity to play blitz against legends Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, and Fabiano Caruana, a tournament for attendees, and a networking cocktail hour, Wall Street Gambit promises to be an unmissable event—whether you’re from the world of chess or high finance. “I personally believe that Chess and Finance are very close to each other. That’s why we came up with the idea of a unique conference Wall Street Gambit… Our conference will become a great opportunity to exchange the secrets of decision-making, focusing and emotion management skills,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. “This is going to be a unique event in so many ways. Top chess grandmasters will gather at the financial heart of the world, and what fascinates me is the enormous concentration of the sharpest minds and the synergies that will be born,” said Emil Sutovsky, FIDE CEO. “I’m very much looking forward to an event that has everything it takes to become a landmark, ‘I-was-there’ kind of gathering.” Wall Street Gambit will take place on December 29 at Cipriani 55 Wall Street. This unique conference will bring together two of the world’s most challenging arenas—chess and finance—for a day of strategic thinking, competition, and high-level networking. The event will feature some of the most renowned chess legends, including Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Viswanathan Anand, who will be joined by leading figures from the financial and tech worlds, including Boaz Weinstein, D. Sculley, and Kenneth Rogoff. The day will begin with a chess tournament for the conference participants, offering a chance to showcase their chess skills while setting the tone for the insightful discussions ahead. After the tournament, the conference will transition to keynote speeches from some of the most influential names in chess, finance, and AI, who will explore the intellectual parallels between the worlds. D. Sculley, CEO of Kaggle, will deliver a keynote titled “Predicting in the Face of Incomplete Knowledge: Chess, Finance, and Other Challenges for AI.” Kenneth Rogoff, economist and chess grandmaster, will speak on the topic “Chess, AI, and Economics”. One of the most exciting highlights will be the opportunity for VIP attendees to play blitz games against Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, or Fabiano Caruana. This rare chance to test your skills against two of the greatest players ever is sure to be a thrilling experience for all involved. As the day winds down, there will be a photo opportunity and awards ceremony, followed by a networking cocktail hour—an ideal setting to connect with leaders from both the chess and financial sectors. Wall Street Gambit reflects the growing interest in chess within corporate and financial circles. Events like the World Corporate Chess Championship have shown how chess can enhance decision-making and leadership. Chess is more than just a game; it’s a tool for sharpening analytical thinking, and it will be on full display at Wall Street Gambit. Whether you are a chess player, a finance professional, or simply someone who enjoys intellectual challenges, Wall Street Gambit promises to be a transformative event. Set in the iconic backdrop of Wall Street, this is your chance to experience the exciting intersection of chess and finance. Don’t miss out! Tickets are limited, and they’re expected to sell out quickly. Secure yours here.
100% accuracy for Ding Liren and Gukesh in their 4th game draw
A game that sees both players performing at a 100% accuracy rate can only end in splitting the point. After 42 hard-fought moves, the champion, Ding Liren, and the challenger, Gukesh D, agreed to a draw after a clear three-fold repetition in a rook ending, leaving the match score tied 2-2 after four games. The champion was quite content with his play: “Yesterday I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss, and today I was in a very good mood. I tried to surprise my opponent, and it worked well, but the advantage was very small. He was able to neutralize my initiative and the game was balanced.” For the challenger, a draw with Black is a very good result: “It wasn’t a completely new line for me, although it was a bit of a surprise. I was playing over the board from early on. I think I reacted well enough, neutralizing his edge. It was a solid game, and even towards the end, I had some chances to press better. With Black, it’s all you can expect in a match. Both players arrived at the board a few minutes before 5 pm, sporting matching dark suits. After the customary handshake, the master of ceremonies introduced GM’s Xie Jun and Vishy Anand, both of them world champions, FIDE officials, and trailblazers in their countries, representing two of the world’s chess superpowers – China and India. Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion, Xie Jun, was the first Asian woman to become a chess grandmaster. FIDE Vice-President and current president of the Chinese Chess Association, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2019. Xie Jun performed the ceremonial opening move White. Opening the game for Black, five-time World Chess Champion and two-time World Cup winner Viswanathan Anand is the father of the Indian chess boom. He became the first Indian grandmaster in 1988 and was elected deputy president of FIDE in 2022. With the game in progress, Ding Liren opened with one of his go-to main moves 1.Nf3. In the commentary booth, IM Jovanka Houska was already quite excited “We did see the distinguished guests open up with 1.d4 d5, but that’s actually not what’s been played: instead Ding Liren opening with the knight! I was suggesting this at lunch as a good attempt to mix things up”. Gukesh quickly replied with 1…d5 and was immediately thrown off by Ding’s second and third moves, 2.e3 and 3.b3, the Zukertort Opening, classified under the flank systems. Ding had only played this move on a couple of occasions in the past in rapid games – to put things into perspective, he has more than 1000 games with White in the databases. Gukesh correctly opted to go into the tank for a few minutes and came up with a very solid London system setup. Meanwhile, Ding swiftly left the board to get a bottle of water from his lounge, to immediately return and focus. Commentator GM David Howell observed, “You are essentially playing a Queen’s Indian defense but with the white pieces. It’s a very well-known opening, and Ding will be playing with an extra tempo. Psychologically, that could be difficult”. The battle for the control over the position took an interesting turn after Ding Liren’s 5.Ba3, a move that has hardly been played at the highest level. “I have seen this sneaky idea before, but I’m not sure if it’s this exact position. White is trying to exchange the bishops and take away his opponent’s castling rights” confirmed Howell in the booth. GM Vidit, Gukesh’s elite teammate from India, tweeted about the opening: “I had the same position/opening as in Ding-Gukesh in 2022 against Hans Niemann. My feeling was that it’s not really dangerous for Black and the play is quite easy…” But Gukesh was on his game, figured out the idea, and neutralized it easily. “Ding isn’t trying to play the most ambitious chess – he’s just trying to keep the game alive, avoid preparation, and go for an unorthodox position,” both commentators agreed. Gukesh followed along the lines of a 2021 rapid game between elite GM’s Wesley So and Anish Giri. At the end of the opening, he seemed to have equalized comfortably, albeit with most of the pieces on the board. Notwithstanding, it did seem that White’s position was easier to handle. Contrary to the previous three games, today both players managed the clock adequately and went neck-to-neck for the most part of the game. Put yourself in Ding Liren’s shoes. Would you play 14.f4, pushing back the knight and starting an attack or 14.a4, increasing your space advantage on the queenside? Ding opted for the latter, with an advantage on the queenside. Gukesh clarified that he wanted his opponent to play 14.f4 because he thought that later on, he could take advantage of the weaknesses on the e-file. Very deep indeed! Former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk joined the broadcast going into the middlegame. Asked about her impressions of the match, she replied, “I have a slight feeling of dissatisfaction in a way because in the first and third game, you could sense the momentum rising, and then the tension was released too fast. We didn’t get to see the real fight that we were waiting for. I am rooting for chess, and I’d like to see the tension until the very last pawn, complicated middlegames, and interesting endgames, but I’m sure they will come: the players are still warming up, it’s a long match”. On move fifteen, Gukesh finally pushed his b7 pawn to b6 – an important moment in the game as this pawn was the only piece of the sixty-four that still hadn’t been moved. “The next few moves will be critical in deciding the outcome of the game,” were Kosteniuk’s final words. Another former Women’s World Champion, Susan Polgar, also chimed in on X: “Ding’s game strategy is simple. He wants to take Gukesh off his excellent home preparation. This
Shabalov, Kaak, Klinova and Burchardt crowned on the Golden Island
The 2024 World Senior Championship concluded in Porto Santo, the stunning “Golden Island” of the Atlantic Ocean. After 11 thrilling rounds, four champions emerged: Alerxander Shabalov (United States) in the 50+ section, Rainer Knaak (Germany) in the 65+, Masha Klinova (Israel) in the Women 50+ and Brigitte Buerchardt in the Women 65+. The 50+ Open section, featuring 15 grandmasters, was a tightly contested competition. Alexander Shabalov of the USA clinched the title winning the final neck-to-neck sprint against Poland’s Michal Krasenkow. Both GMs finished tied on 8.5 points, but the American benefited from a better tie-break to take home the crown. Interestingly, in the game between the two, played in the fifth round, Shabalov missed a real chance to win a rook ending and eventually had to settle for a draw. In the final 11th round, Shabalov beat his compatriot and fellow grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, while Krasenkow, who lead for many rounds, was held to a draw by German grandmaster Frank Holzke. Third place went to Israeli grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski one of the great entertainers of the tournament, who scored 8/11 and took bronze. IM Sérgio Rocha became the best Portuguese player in this section placing 29th with 6/11. Final standings 50+ German GM Rainer Knaak dominated the 65+ competition finishing in a clear first place with 8.5/11. The second seed seized the lead in Round 9 after beating Lubomir Ftacnik and never looked back. Israeli IM Alexander Mikhalevski (Victor’s brother) was second with 7 points, edging out Slovak GM Lubomir Ftacnik who also scored 7/11, on tiebreaks. A standout performance came from FM António Pereira dos Santos (Portugal), seeded 23rd, who achieved a remarkable fifth-place finish. The Portuguese player closed the tournament on a high note by beating Brazilian grandmaster Jaime Sunye Neto. Final standings 65+ The women’s tournament merged the 50+ and 65+ categories and saw 36 players competing. Israeli IM Masha Klinova, Frenchwoman IM Silvia Alexieva both totalled 8 points and tied for first place with Klimova claiming the title thanks to slightly better Buchholz tiebreak. WGM Tatyana Grabuzova (Spain), completed the women’s 50+ podium in third place. Finishing 10th in the tournament, WIM Brigitte Burchardt (Germany) won the +65 title ahead of the renowned Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia). The 83-year-old Gaprindashvili, a former World Champion, remains a formidable force in chess, finishing second in her category. Tatyana Bogumil, playing under the FIDE flag took third place. Final standings Women Organised by the Portuguese Chess Federation (FPX) with the support of FIDE, the 2024 World Senior Championship, brought together two hundred players from all around the world. Combining the quality of the tournaments, high-level competition with the unique atmosphere of the island of Porto Santo, known as the Golden Island, a paradise in the Atlantic Ocean, contributed to the event’s resounding success. Written by Paulo Felizes, FPX Head Press Officer Photos: FPX Official website: worldsenior.fpx.pt/
World Junior and Cadet Solving Championships: Girls prove their equality
The first-ever FIDE & WFCC World Chess Solving Championships for juniors and cadets brought together 291 participants across two venues: Brazil and Italy. These landmark events showcased the immense potential of youngsters, particularly highlighting the equality of talent between girls and boys in chess problem solving. The World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) partnered with FIDE to organize these solving championships as part of the FIDE Centenary celebrations. Held during rest days of FIDE’s Junior and Cadet championships, the events featured six age categories with identical sets of problems for both boys and girls. Although girls had the option to compete in the open category alongside boys, none chose to do so. However, comparing the results across categories demonstrated that girls, competing with no outside influence or prejudices about genders, performed at an equally high level. Had they opted to compete directly with boys, the girls would have earned five medals in four out of six categories. Notably, in the U14 category, Kesaria Mgeladze from Georgia (pictured below) outperformed all the boys, with two other girls finishing in the top four. Photo: X On November 4, Florianópolis, the capital of southern Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, hosted the 1st FIDE & WFCC World Youth Chess Solving Championship. WFCC Vice-President Dinu-Ioan Nicula selected the competition sets, featuring eight problems per age group (U14, U16, and U18), to be solved within 90 minutes. Each set included three problems in 2 moves, two in 3 moves, one in 4 moves, and two endgame studies. The Brazilian WFCC team, engaged by organizers, came from Rio de Janeiro, almost 900 km away. The FIDE Master of Chess Composition Ricardo de Mattos Vieira was the solving director, with Bruno Perez as his assistant, while the WFCC delegate of Brazil Marcos Maldonado Roland handled all organizational activities, including a series of solving events and free online lessons across Brazil. Despite only 63 participants attending, the quality of their performance was evident, with no participant finishing with zero points. Naturally, only the well-prepared solvers opted to spend the free day solving some extraordinary tasks instead of resting or preparing for the final rounds of their most important chess tournament. The solving hall in Florianópolis Photo: Pedro Ferreira Lage Unofficial results were emailed to participants on the evening of November 4, with scanned solving sheets provided when resolving protests. By the morning of November 5, the winners of the inaugural WYCSC were officially announced: Open and Girls up to 14: Final standings, Problems, Solutions Open and Girls up to 16: Final standings, Problems, Solutions Open and Girls up to 18: Final standings, Problems, Solutions Unlike tournament players, solvers can move chess pieces for both sides, but the trickiest part is putting yourself in an imaginary opponent’s shoes and thinking from their perspective. It was particularly evident in solving interesting endgame that decided medalists in the U18 category. Black has some hidden sources to play for a win, and White has to find equally surprising replies to maintain equality! №1 Alois Wotawa, Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1944 White to play and draw Based on the participation stats, the younger players are, the more eagerly they accept new chess challenges. It was visible through the comparison of numbers between U14, U16, and U18 categories in Brazil, and even more evident when seeing U8, U10, and U12 years in Montesilvano, Italy, where the 1st FIDE & WFCC World Cadets Chess Solving Championship took place on November 21. The participation in the event that attracted 228 solvers far exceeded the youth championship in Brazil, with every category boasting more competitors than all three Brazilian groups combined. The problems and studies were again selected by Mr. Nicula, who officiated the competition on the spot. Together with him, the WFCC Secretary Mohammad Alhallak has been engaged in all the activities, including the presentation of the competition in the new WFCC account in the Chess-Results server. Cadets had six problems to handle within 60 minutes, and for many of them, it was too short a time. In the U8 category, there were five problems in two moves and one endgame to solve, but if you think that a two-mover is easier than an endgame study, you should check the page with Results and Problems’ Difficulty and see that it was the other way round. Even the two-mover starter (on the diagram below), although the easiest one, was a hard nut to crack, most notably for Rayna Yan from the USA. She finished all six problems in just 35 minutes and had the best time (the first tiebreaker), but a single error in this problem prevented her from matching the achievement of Kesaria Mgeladze and becoming the absolute winner among both boys and girls in the U8 category: №2 Kristian Nielsen, Ostledingen, 1957 White to play and mate in 2 moves Each correct solution is worth 5 points. For a mate-in-two problem, it is enough to write the 1st move of White to get the full score, but those who hurry and write a wrong one receive none! The photo below has caught the moment of truth: will the boy stick to the wrong key-move of the problem above? While solving one problem, the boy had already set another one on the smaller board Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar There were many such mistakes made in a rush, and Rayna Yan wasn’t the only girl who failed to do better than all the boys because of a single wrong move. Sofia Baghramyan from Armenia missed the same chance, but her 2nd place in the overall U8 standings and the 1st one among girls was a good consolation. The U10 group of 91 solvers was the largest one. Anand Tsogtbileg from Mongolia achieved a perfect score, collecting all 30 points in 51 minutes – the only flawless performance across six groups. It is crucial to write down all the solutions correctly Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar Starters in each group are usually easier than other problems, and the one in the U10 category was no exception, with 29 correct solutions among the
Winners crowned at FIDE World Cadet Championship 2024
The 2024 World Cadet Chess Championship concluded in Montesilvano, Italy, after eleven thrilling rounds of competition across six tournaments. Outstanding young talents emerged as champions in each section. Chen Zhihan dominated the U8 Girls tournament. The second seed from China scored an impressive 9.5/11, finishing a full point ahead of Abigail Zhou and Stella Xin, both representing the United States, who secured second and third places, respectively. The U8 Open was fiercely contested, with three players tying for first place on 9/11. The Buchholz tiebreaker crowned Reddy Adulla Divith (India) as the gold medalist. His compatriot Swain Sattwik secured silver, while Guo Ziming (China) claimed bronze. WCM Alanna Berikkyzy (pictured above) lived up to her pre-tournament favorite status in the U10 Girls section. The top seed from Kazakhstan finished in clear first with 9.5/11, despite suffering a setback in her eighth-round game. Roman Shogdzhiev (FIDE) triumphed in the U10 Open, achieving one of the event’s two highest scores, 10/11. Marc Llari, who defeated Shogdzhiev in their direct encounter, could not maintain the pace and finished second. Ider Tselmuun (Mongolia) took bronze, edging out Chenxuan (USA) on tiebreaks. The U12 Girls section ended with Xue Tianhao (China, pictured above)) and Khanzada Amanzhol (Kazakhstan) tied for first place. Xue claimed gold due to a slightly superior Buchholz tiebreaker. FM Mark Smirnov (pictured below) delivered a commanding performance in the U12 Open, conceding only two draws and finishing 1.5 points ahead of his closest rivals. Antoni Radzimski (Poland) and David Lacan Rus (France) earned silver and bronze, respectively. Final standings: U08 Girls 1. Chen Zhihan (China) – 9½/112. WCM Abigail Zhou (USA) – 8½3. Stella Xin (USA) – 8½ U08 Open 1. Reddy Adulla Divith (India) – 92. Swain Sattwik (India) – 93. Guo Ziming (China) – 9 U10 Girls 1. WCM Alanna Berikkyzy (Kazakhstan) – 9½2. WCM Aimee Yang (USA) – 93. WCM Ider Tselmuun (Mongolia) – 8½ U10 Open 1. Roman Shogdzhiev (FIDE) – 102. Marc Llari (France) – 9½3. Nguyen Quang Anh (Vietnam) – 8½ U12 Girls 1. WCM Xue Tianhao (China) – 92. WCM Khanzada Amanzhol (Kazakhstan) – 93. Tong Thai Hoang An (Vietnam) U12 Open 1. FM Mark Smirnov (KAZ) – 102. CM Antoni Radzimski (Poland) – 8½3. FM David Lacan Rus (FRA) – 8½ The closing ceremony brought the event to a spectacular conclusion, featuring speeches by event officials, an electrifying performance by a local dance group, and the awarding of trophies to the winners. Photos: Patricia Claros Aguilar and Niklesh Jain | ChessBase India Official website: worldcadetschess2024.com/
Gukesh strikes back to tie FIDE World Championship
The 18-year-old challenger from India, Gukesh D, scored a huge win this afternoon to level the match score at 1.5-1.5. Armed with excellent opening preparation, and full of confidence, Gukesh trapped one of Ding Liren’s minor pieces and it was smooth sailing from then on. Gukesh was calm as a cucumber after the game, but one could sense he was content. “It feels great. For the past two days I have been very happy with my play and today I managed to outplay my opponent, which was very nice. I was prepared until move thirteen, I guess he was trying to remember something, but maybe he mixed up at some point. My position after g5, with this plan f3-e4, seems very shaky for him,” he shared after the game. The afternoon started with the traditional ceremonial move, performed by Mr Olivier Lim, Chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board, introduced by master of ceremonies Maurice Ashley with his usual flair. Although Gukesh has played most of the main openings during his career, 1.d4 has always been his main weapon. Most of the commentators and pundits, myself included, expected him to repeat 1.e4, but resident commentator GM David Howell offered an alternative explanation. “In a 14-game match you have seven White games, so you do have time to throw out some different ideas and test what your opponent has prepared,” was Howell’s reasoning. “Alternatively, maybe his team has drawn a blank against the French defence and need some time to come up with something there.” Both players fired out their initial opening moves in the Exchange Variation of Queen’s Gambit Declined, following the 2023 Dusseldorf FIDE World Rapid Team Championship game between Kramnik and Erigaisi. Gukesh had studied that game in his preparation for today: “I remembered the game, and also that Kramnik had a huge advantage in the middlegame after a blunder by Erigaisi.” Meanwhile, it seemed that Ding Liren was struggling with his memory – after just thirteen moves he was already more than an hour behind on the clock. “This line came as a surprise totally. After 7.h3 I had no knowledge at all,” Ding Liren admitted. Capturing the pawn en prise on b3 would have been extremely dangerous (Erigaisi saved the game by the skin of his teeth) so Ding Liren opted for development with 13…Nbd7 followed by the impressive find 14…Rg8! However, he spent thirty-five minutes of his two hours to accurately calculate all the consequences of his decision. “It doesn’t seem a comfortable position for Black. He has spent a lot of time calculating the different options to get to this position,” explained former World Champion Vishy Anand in the commentary booth. “It’s the computer effect – a position like this can end up being very sharp.” Gukesh went into the tank and nearly forty-five minutes to find the idea 14.Nd2 and 15.g5 leaving black’s knight stranding on the side of the board. GM Howell compared the situation to the first game: “I am getting huge déjà vu from game one – once again he has aggressively pushed his g-pawn, somewhat overextending, and he also has some weaknesses on the queenside, albeit with no queens on the board.” But this time his plan worked! Although Ding seemed to have a comfortable position, there was the lingering danger of losing the “trapped” bishop on c2. The key position arose in a tense queenless middlegame on move 18. Ding’s light-squared bishop was compromised on c2, dangerously close to being trapped. Put yourself in Ding’s shoes with the Black pieces. Would you play the aggressive 18…Rh5 attacking the pawn on g5 or 18…Bf5, getting your bishop out of the danger zone, or even 18…Be7, developing your last minor piece? Ding chose the aggressive 18…Rh5, attacking another pawn. “I knew my bishop on c2 was a weakness so I tried to come up with some idea to save it. I calculated a long line with 18…Be7, and I thought I was worse. Now I see that it’s not so clear, according to the computer. In the line that I played with 18…Rh5, I missed his move 23.Ne2,” he explained his miscalculation. After 19.e4! trapping the bishop, engine suggests that 19…Ne6 would have offered more chances to defend than 19…dxe4 but the position was already quite difficult. A piece down for two pawns, with ten minutes on the clock against forty, things were looking very bleak for the champion. “I still see some hope for Ding Liren, but only if he is able to swap a lot of pawns, and that doesn’t seem easy,” argued co-host IM Jovanka Houska. Gukesh wrapped the game up on move 37 – Ding Liren officially lost on time, but his position was already beyond repair. This win marked Gukesh’s first classical victory against Ding Liren, and the challenger was understandably very happy: “It’s always nice to win a game against such a strong opponent. I think it means more that I got a win in the World Championship.” Ding Liren’s final words lead to believe that he definitely wasn’t done yet and would be capable of bouncing back: “If I get such a position in the game, I need to press for a win.” The players will enjoy a well-earned rest day tomorrow. The fourth game of the match will take place on Friday, November 29, at 5 PM local time in Singapore, with Ding Liren playing White. FACT SHEET, Game 3, FIDE World Championship: White: Gukesh DBlack: Ding LirenResult: 1-0Game length: 37 movesOpening: Queen’s Gambit DeclinedVariation: Exchange variationMatch score: 1.5-1.5 Written by IM Michael Rahal (Singapore) Photos: Eng Chin An and Maria Emelianova Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/ Full programme of side-events: worldchampionship.fide.com/events About the event Current World Champion Ding Liren, representing China, and challenger Gukesh D, from India, face each other in a fourteen-game classical chess match. The player who scores 7.5 points or more will win the match, picking up the better part of the $2.5 million total prize fund. The first of
Gukesh: “Today was a good day!”
The second game of the FIDE World Championship between Ding Liren and Gukesh D ended in a solid draw. Both players decided to play it safe, steering clear of major complications and avoiding any risks. After a series of exchanges, a draw was agreed by threefold repetition on move 23. This result seems to satisfy both players. Today’s ceremonial first move featured two local celebrities. Ten-time Singapore champion and a living legend of Singapore chess, Mr. Tan Lian Ann, opened with the white pieces. Among many other achievements, Tan Lian Ann represented Singapore in four Olympiads, with three of them on board one. For the black pieces, the move was performed by Professor Lim Kok Ann, widely known as the founder of Singapore chess. A famous microbiologist, he was Singapore’s first National Chess Champion, and for close to five years, he was instrumental in fostering many Singaporean chess masters. Having passed away, he was represented by his daughter Stella Kon, a renowned Singaporean playwright, novelist, short-story writer, and poet. She and her siblings have also sponsored the latest GM tournament in Singapore. Ding Liren’s first move 1.e4 surprised resident match commentator GM David Howell. “I am a bit shocked by his opening choice. He rarely employs the king’s pawn openings until the last few months, when he has been experimenting a bit with it – he doesn’t seem like a natural e4 player to me, but here we are!” Gukesh took a moment to reconsider his strategy when Ding Liren played 5.Nc3 – the Giuoco Pianissimo variation of the Italian Opening. The Chinese champion had never played this line before, always choosing more dynamic setups with 5.c3. His most recent example was earlier this year in the Sinquefield Cup against … Gukesh! “My basic idea was to play carefully, and I was fine with a draw. I remembered that my second said that the opening was 0.2 according to the computer, so I may have missed some opportunities,” said Ding, initially content with his approach. The theoretical novelty of today’s game was 9.a5, grabbing more space on the queenside. Funnily enough, another top Indian player, Praggnanandhaa R, was involved in the two elite games in this line: in those games, played in 2023, the chosen moves were 9.Bxe6 and 9.Bxc5 Gukesh was fine with this approach. “I just wanted to play a good game,” he said. “With Black, so early in a match, you don’t want to do anything stupid. Yesterday, I was feeling good; I was fresh and confident, just that I missed a few tactics, which can happen to anyone at any time.” Gukesh was on top of his game. He pondered over the position between moves nine and thirteen for about twenty minutes, eventually finding a very logical sequence of exchanges. The resulting endgame looked totally equal. Contrary to what happened in the first game, Gukesh was fully concentrated at the board while Ding Liren was the one to take a couple of brief disappearances to their personal resting rooms – the tables had turned. In the commentary booth, former World Championship challenger GM Boris Gelfand was asked which side he would choose. “If I had to choose sides, I would choose White. It’s a slow game, and we can improve our pieces slowly. Black has difficulties in choosing what to do”. However, Ding’s 14.Rdc1 came as a shocker. It’s very rare to see a player abandon an open file with no apparent reason. On the commentary, GM Howell was sure that Ding Liren was still in preparation: “He has definitely seen this position before, sliding the rook across. You don’t play rook to c1 within a few minutes if you haven’t studied it before!” The ideas behind the mysterious move were quite hidden, and Gukesh took more than twenty-five minutes to sort things out. Ding Liren prophylactically defends the c2-pawn, which will come under attack at some point, avoiding the exchange of rooks at the same time. Additionally, his king can move towards the center, and the knight on f3 can be transferred via e1 to d3 – an active position eyeing black’s pawn weaknesses and blocking the d-file. A fantastic idea!! That being said, it soon became clear that his plan had backfired. “The move Rc1 is a typical idea in this kind of structure, but I don’t think it’s a good move in the game because I didn’t know how to develop while he has such a strong knight on d4. In fact, later on, I moved the rook back to d1,” Ding lamented after the game. In contrast, Gukesh D was quite happy: “I was able to find a good formation of pieces, after which it’s hard for White to really make progress. Maybe his move 14.Rd-c1 was not the best, but I didn’t see any other challenges in the position. Today was a good day, and hopefully, we will have many more good days coming.” Midway through the game, the many tens of thousands of viewers on FIDE’s YouTube channel enjoyed the insights of the five-time World Champion Vishy Anand, who is also one of Gukesh’s mentors. “We are actually neighbors in Chennai, as we live very near each other. Of course, if Gukesh wins the match, it will be huge for Indian chess. Many people would take up the game and start following. The fact that he is so young means that we can look forward to having him for a while – he would be the youngest ever in history.” Although the World Championship is the main event, the local organizers, along with FIDE, have programmed a wide range of side events for all the fans coming to Sentosa for the match. This afternoon, Google DeepMind scientist Nenad Tomašev delivered an exclusive presentation on the development and impact of AlphaZero, an AI program that has mastered complex games like chess. The session shed light on the intersection of technology and chess and offered unique perspectives for all enthusiasts. The third
5 ways to explore chess during 2024 World Chess Championship
From Google Arts & Culture to GenChess, discover new ways to experience chess with AI and explore the history of this timeless game. Chess, the classic game of strategy, has long been a proving ground for artificial intelligence. Google has achieved breakthroughs in AI with programs like AlphaZero — a single system that taught itself, from scratch, how to master chess — demonstrating AI’s ability to find creative solutions in complex scenarios. The methods the company developed and refined through games like chess have also led to real-world results. For example, similar techniques were applied to predict protein structures with AlphaFold, accelerate mathematical research with AlphaProof, and even discover entirely new algorithms with AlphaDev. This ongoing exchange between chess and AI fuels our passion for the game and its enduring impact on the field. Now, with Google as the title sponsor of the World Chess Championship, we’re celebrating this timeless game with a range of new experiences worldwide. 1. Take chess beyond the board with a historical deep dive The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Google Arts & Culture have launched “Beyond the Board“, a digital exhibition exploring the history of chess from the sixth century to today. Curated by Woman Grandmaster Anna Burtasova, the exhibition features the International Chess Federation’s archival collection of photos, rare scoresheets, and artworks, highlighting the evolution of the game and its key figures. “Beyond the Board” also examines the impact of AI on modern chess, showcasing the dramatic increase in processing power of chess engines, while celebrating the enduring appeal of chess as a space for human creativity and strategic thinking. This exhibition was made possible through close partnerships with experts and cultural organizations, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them on the next installment of this series. 2. Transform your ideas into one-of-a-kind chess pieces Next up, you’ll be able to reimagine the traditional chess set with GenChess, a new AI-powered experiment from Google Labs. Simply provide a text prompt like “sushi” or “mountain climbing” and Google’s most advanced image generation model, Imagen 3, will create a unique chess set for you. GenChess will be available this week for you to try. 3. Join the challenge to build an AI chess bot FIDE and Google are partnering to help create the next wave of breakthroughs in efficient AI with the FIDE & Google Efficient Chess AI Challenge, hosted by Kaggle. This coding challenge invites people from around the world to participate in creating their own AI chess engines on Kaggle. This competition has a unique twist: these engines must operate under strict memory and processing limitations. It levels the playing field, allowing anyone with a passion for AI and a creative mind to participate. Kaggle even provides free computational resources, alongside starter materials and a friendly community to help you dive in. Visit the competition homepage on Kaggle to learn more and participate. 4. Test your talent against Gemini’s Chess Gem Coming in December, Chess champ is a new, conversational way to experience chess within the Gemini app. Test your talent against a language model in a game of chess. Explore different openings, banter with Gemini and see if you can beat it. This feature will be available in English in the Gemini web app for Gemini Advanced subscribers. 5. Follow every move at the WCC with commentary by Gemini This year, Google is bringing AI directly to viewers who tune into the World Chess Championship. Imagine having an AI companion to guide you through the intricacies of a championship match — that’s what we’re doing with “Chatting Chess.” This new segment on the FIDE livestream will use Gemini to demystify the game, offering insightful commentary and fascinating chess trivia. You can also expect to find interesting comparisons and relatable analogies to help understand key moves and strategies. The championship kicks off on Monday, November 25, and you can catch all the action, including “Chatting Chess,” on FIDE’s YouTube livestream starting at 5:00 PM Singapore time.