Courtesy: FIDE
On Sunday, December 8, in the Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match, Indian GM Dommaraju Gukesh managed to beat world champion Ding Liren from China, in a 29-move bloodbath on the board in Singapore. After a massive piece blunder from Ding Liren on his 28th move, which led to an instant resignation, Dommaraju Gukesh took a crucial 6-5 lead in the title match with just three games remaining.
In the Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match, Dommaraju Gukesh pulled out the Reti opening, an attacking choice with the white pieces, which instantly caught Ding Liren by surprise. It led to the world champion using more than an hour on his first five moves, only for him to turn the tide around with his exceptional play on the board, putting himself in a very good position despite being under extreme pressure early on.
Ding Liren resigned after blundering his knight on move 28
But, just as Ding Liren was looking to gain the ascendency, he allowed Dommaraju Gukesh to regain the initiative in the Game 11 of the World Chess Championship 2024 match. Shortly after, both players found themselves in time trouble with Ding needing to make 16 moves under eight minutes, in comparison to Gukesh’s requiring to execute 15 moves under 15 minutes, and ultimately, it’s the backward queen move from the world champion, allowing the challenger to claim a piece with a queen sacrifice, which led to his resignation.
After taking the lead for the first-time in the World Chess Championship 2024 match, Dommaraju Gukesh spoke about his victory in the Game 11, as per the Times of India, “This is a very important win. We’ve been going head-to-head for the last seven games, so considering that, this game was crucial. There are three more important games to go.” A disappointed Ding Liren took solace in how he bounced back against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the last World Chess Championship match with the white pieces in the Game 12 in 2023.
