World Chess Championship 2024 Game 3 Highlights: Gukesh takes down Ding Liren to level scores before 1st rest day

Gukesh’s unflappable demeanour on the chessboard has been on display once again at the World Chess Championship. Despite a disappointing loss in the first game of the World Chess Championship, Gukesh remained unfazed and managed to win game 3 to draw level with the world champion. 

This resilience was also evident in his past performances, such as his impressive run at the Candidates Tournament, where he narrowly missed out on a victory against Alireza Firouzja despite a time crunch. He still went on to win the Candidates. 

Rather than letting the losses demoralise him, Gukesh seems to draw strength from such setbacks. His ability to maintain composure under pressure is a testament to his mental fortitude and his potential to become a dominant force in the world of chess.

READ: With Game 3 win over Ding Liren, Gukesh shows again that his strongest weapon is his mental toughness

"It’s always nice to win a game, also for the first time against such a strong opponent. I think it means more that I got a win in the World Championship, and a very important win. I am happy with many things about this," Gukesh after winning Game 3 against world champion Ding Liren. This is Gukesh's first win in classical chess over Ding Liren. 

"This line came in as a surprise. Maybe after 7.h3 I have no knowledge on this line," Ding Liren says in the Game 3 post-game press conference. 

“I knew my bishop on c2 was a weakness so I tried to come up with some idea to save it. In the line that I played with 18…Rh5, I missed his move 23.Ne2” 

“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”.

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen had expressed disappointment with Ding Liren's cautious approach in the ongoing World Chess Championship's Game 2. Carlsen, known for his aggressive style, believes Ding missed a golden opportunity to extend his lead.

'It's hard to get better chances than this in a World Chess Championship,' Carlsen remarked on the Take Take Take app. 'Ding Liren has a risk-free position, an opponent who hasn't shown much resistance, yet he chooses not to push. This is the Ding we've come to know: decent preparation, slightly better positions, but no real desire to win.'

Carlsen further added, 'I would have had to be having a really bad day if I didn't want to push this position.'

The Norwegian grandmaster's comments highlight the stark contrast between his own aggressive style and Ding Liren's more conservative approach. While Ding has shown glimpses of brilliance in the past, his recent performances have raised questions about his willingness to take risks.

A look at how the players turned up for the press conference today is a very instructive glimpse into the mindset of both players and what're feeling heading into the first rest day.

Gjukesh is asked oif he is aware that the game he played against Ding Liren was an exact repalica of the game played between former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and Arjun Erigaisi at the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2023 in Dusseldorf. That Kramnik vs Arjun game had ended in a draw after 72 moves. 

“I recalled till the 13th move we had the same position. I think Arjun made some mistake in that game and Kramnik had an advantage but then it ended in a draw. I knew about that game, but I didn’t remember what the mistake was,” Gukesh said at the press conference.

Gukesh's win comes at a perfect time. A win with white right before the first rest day of the match coming on Thursday. This means that the Indian has levelled the score at 1.5-1.5.

“The worst thing you can do in a world chess championship match like this is to lose just before a rest day,” said five-time world champion Vishy Anand dryly.

Gukesh, is asked about the result: “It feels great. The last two days I was happy with my play. My play today was even better, I feel good at the board and today I just managed to outplay my opponent which is always nice.” 

Gukesh, when asked about the long time he spent thinking in Game 3, said: "I was pretty confident at that point. I was just thinking about the position at that time, because I knew I should be winning. I wasn’t playing for time. I just like to finish it off clean." 

Chess legend Susan Polgar has her say on the third game which Gukesh won: 'Game over! Ding did NOT survive the clock or the board! Completely self inflicted! Gukesh was calm and fully took advantage of Ding's mental collapse. Score is tied up at 1.5-1.5. Tomorrow is day off. Ding needs to regroup while Gukesh can build on his momentum.'

While the game was still on, and time trouble was courting Ding Liren, Polgar had earlier posted: "I don't think Ding can hold this. He is literally paralyzed mentally. He has to make 10 moves to get to move 40 but he is wasting more than half his time in this one move. There is no increment until move 41."

The 18-year-old from India gets his first win in a world chess championship match! He forced his world champion opponent to scramble on the board and on the clock. Ding finally ran out of time on the clock. 

WHAT A WIN!!!!

First victory for Gukesh in classical chess against Ding. In all the previous games with black pieces in classical chess, Ding has always prevailedover Gukesh. 

Chess legend Susan Polgar has her say on the positions: "Gukesh can sense the victory. He is taking his time and slowing down quite a bit. This game can bring a big momentum shift for both sides. If Gukesh wins, his self confidence will soar and Ding wil start to doubt himself again. But if Ding can hold, the opposite effect may happen."

Half an hour back she had posted: "Gukesh is up a piece for 2 pawns. Ding needs a miracle to hold. Not a great game for Ding so far. He played timidly, lacked confidence, and burned so much time on his clock for no reason."

The official FIDE broadcast shows some stats on how much time the players have spent on the board so far in Game 3. Remember in Game 1, Ding had spent almost 245 minutes on the board. In fact, in Game 1 Ding had only left his chair when both players had crossed the time control and had received the gift of additional time on their clock. 

Today as well, Ding has spent a lot of time on the board. here's the stat flashed on the YouTube broadcast of FIDE. 

Gukesh has never beaten Ding Liren in classical chess (he did win in Fischer 960 at the Freestyle Chess Tournament). Meanwhile, Ding has a 100 percent win record over Gukesh with black pieces. 

Could those records change today?

Gukesh playing remarkable chess so far this game. Great calculation. Ding though now has to make 11 moves in 8 minutes or he loses on time. 

Gueksh now has three pawns on the board compared to his opponent's five. But Gukesh seems to have established a firm grab on the third game. He's also ahead on the clock. He has 40 minuites for 12 moves before getting added time while Ding has under 12 minutes for his final 13 moves. 

Duthc grandmaster Anish Giri had this to say about the Gukesh vs Ding game 3: "Shaping up to be the weirdest World Championship game since Chigorin's mate in 2 blunder."

Now all the poieces of the jigsaw coming together for Gukesh. He's a bishop up on the board with Ding taking two pawns in compensation. But that bishop from Ding Liren who had jumped on the c2 square on the 10th move is finally capured by Gukesh's rook 14 moves later after he was stuck on that square. 

Ding tried his best to protect that bishop and get him out of danger, but it never came off the square. 

Here are all the moes so far:

1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 d5
3 c4 e6
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Nc3 c6
6 Qc2 g6
7 h3 Bf5
8 Qb3 Qb6
9 g4 Qxb3
10 axb3 Bc2
11 Bf4 h5
12 Rg1 hxg4
13 hxg4 Nbd7
14 Nd2 Rg8
15 g5 Nh5
16 Bh2 Rh8
17 f3 Ng7
18 Bg3 Rh5
19 e4 dxe4
20 fxe4 Ne6
21 Rc1 Nxd4
22 Bf2 Bg7
23 Ne2 Nxb3
24 Rxc2 Nxd2
25 Kxd2 Ne5

Here's how the third game has shaped up so far. Gukesh is playing fast, Ding thinking long and hard. 

Both players have made 18 moves not. But Gukesh has almost an hour more on the clock!

1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 d5
3 c4 e6
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Nc3 c6
6 Qc2 g6
7 h3 Bf5
8 Qb3 Qb6
9 g4 Qxb3
10 axb3 Bc2
11 Bf4 h5
12 Rg1 hxg4
13 hxg4 Nbd7
14 Nd2 Rg8
15 g5 Nh5
16 Bh2 Rh8
17 f3 Ng7
18 Bg3 Rh5

Vishy Anand is asked on the FIDE broadcast about the amount of chess the current generation is playing.

"I used to fell that if I played two or three classical events, it's good to take a break and think. But now there is so much rapid and blitz and online that you're comparing apples and oranges in terms of schedules.   

"I still think a lot of them are playing a lot of chess. But they clearly love it. and it doesn't seem to have a negative impact. So if it works for you why not? A lot of them are incredible hungry for chess," says Anand. 

IM Jovanka Houska asked five-time world champion Vishy Anand what the secret of India's success on the chessboard is. 'It can't just be hardwork, because everyone world over is working hard,' she points out.

'It's harder work,' grins Vishy Anand. He explains: "The Indians do work really hard because the Indian chess scene is really competitive. That keeps you on your toes all the time. IF you mean the specific situation at the top, we did have this golden generation of players. That's showing. Even this golden generation benefits from the dynamic. But even this golden generation is fighting for their spot in the team, their city, their street (chuckles). That keeps them (top Indian players) on their toes as well. They're very moticated. They're good friends and very strong rivals."

Vishy Anand in the FIDe commentary is asked if Gukesh is still feeling nerves. 

"I think he’s probably shaken off the nerves. The third time you do it (play in a world championship match) you probably get over it," says Anand.

here are the first 15 moves on the board in Game 3 between Gukesh and Ding Liren. 

1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 d5
3 c4 e6
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Nc3 c6
6 Qc2 g6
7 h3 Bf5
8 Qb3 Qb6
9 g4 Qxb3
10 axb3 Bc2
11 Bf4 h5
12 Rg1 hxg4
13 hxg4 Nbd7
14 Nd2 Rg8
15 g5 Nh5

Five-time world champion Anand is asked in the FIDE commentary about the opening move of today's game where Gukesh opted for 1.d4 instead of 1.e4.

Anand responded: 'Honestly everything makes sense. he could have played e4 agains today and you cannot criticise him for that. Playing d4 is fine as well. It's also something based on somethign that only he knows: how ready he is to play both openings. Was he worried before the game. What did he feel his odds are? Stylistically, it's not a bad idea to play 1.d4 as well. Gives Ding two things to revise from now on' 

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand who is in the commentary booth for the FIDE YouTube broadcast says: "Gukesh has been coming up with interesting stuff. But so far he has not landed a blow. But that's a perfectly normal situation for both of them. You don't expect that the first good idea you have is going to hit. But for Gukesh it it nice that he is able to keep probing here and there. But he'll have to keep on developing new ideas."

Ding Liren spent almost half an hour on the clock for the 13th move, and now he's under an hour to make his remaining 27 moves before he gets a gulp of extra time. Ding's move after a half an hour think is a knight bd7.

He was not thinking about that move, he seemed like he was agonising about that move. He was softly pulling at his hair at some point with his head lowered. 

Gukesh still in his prep. Has just spent four minutes on his 13 moves. 

Ding Liren pretty much fighting for a draw, says grandmaster David Howell on the official FIDE commentary. 

What's interesting is that Gukesh D and Ding Liren are following the game between Vladimir Kramnik and Arjun Erigaisi from the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2023 in Dusseldorf, which ended in a draw after 72 moves.

Gukesh's prep has been so exceptional in this game that he's forced Ding Liren into a long phase of thought. After the queens were exchanged, Ding Liren jumped in with his light-square bishop to try and pressure the pawn that claimed his queen. And that's clearly an error!  

And Ding realises that now. Now he has to fight to get out this trap set for him by Gukesh. 

Gukesh has spent four minutes. Ding has spent almost 48 minutes. 

Ding Liren chooses to go for the queen exchange, capturing Gukesh's queen and in the process losing his own. Immediately, after that, Ding Liren tried to pressure the pawn that captured his queen with a light-squared bishop. Gukesh responds by pushing his own dark-squared bishop out. 

Gukesh is almost 28 minutes ahead on the clock now.

Ding Liren forced into a long period of thought as both queens stand facing off. Ding contemplating if he should trade off the queens. Gukesh still deep into his prep. Nine moves in, Gukesh has barely spent a minute on the clock. 

Ding Liren, on the other hand, has burnt 24 minutes. 

Here's what the position looks like: 

That look from Ding Liren at Gukesh when Gukesh picked off his pawn on d 5. Ding then picked off the offending pawn with his own pawn. 

1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 d5
3 c4 e6
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Nc3 c6
6 Qc2 g6

So the firts surprise from Gukesh is that he opts for a d4 instead of a e4 in the first move. Maybe he wanted to avoid facing the French Defence again, which Ding employed in the first game of the world championship wher eGukesh had experienced defeat.

Gukesh, playing his second game with white pieces, opts for a new ploy. Isntead of playing e4, which is usual for him, he starts playing with e4, starts with a d4. And we have a Queen's Gambit on the board. 

Gukesh arrives in the playing hall, flanked by his father Dr Rajini kanth. And the 18-year-old does a purposeful power walk into the playing hall before he walks into the Fair Play Office for anti-cheating checks. 

The world champion Ding Liren walks in to the playing arena first for a change. Usually it's Gukesh who arrives first. Ding walks in with a bright smile on his face, unsurprising, considering he's leading the match by a full point after two games. 

Gukesh on the influence of his trainer Gajewski: "I started working together from 2022 December to prep for Wijk aan Zee in 2023. Initially on tournament basis. Very nice experiences together. Enjoyed working with him. Biggest influence has been approach I have to chess. I was very narrow-minded chess player. He opened me up to different approaches and ideas. His work mostly on openings. My openings improved a lot. Other parts of my game improved a lot as well. Last couple of years, Gaju is simply the biggest influence on my chess and life other than my parents."

Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, Gukesh’s early coach, took a bold step when Gukesh was just 11 years old. He proposed an unconventional training method: refraining from using chess engines until Gukesh reached a certain rating. This approach aimed to develop Gukesh’s intuition and decision-making skills, forcing him to rely on his own analysis and creativity.

Vishnu explained that the goal was to simulate real-game conditions, where players must make decisions under pressure without the aid of computer analysis. By limiting engine use, Gukesh could develop a strong sense of chess intuition and a more independent approach to the game.

While this experiment was met with skepticism from others, Gukesh embraced the challenge and successfully implemented the strategy. This unconventional training approach has undoubtedly contributed to his rapid rise in the chess world.

“This was like a very prominent thing to challenge (in chess)! This was like questioning everything (we know about training kids in the sport),” Vishnu Prasanna told The Indian Express. “That was just something I was experimenting with. I used the idea of not using a chess engine mainly to develop confidence and to set up a certain mindset (in Gukesh). My understanding was that if you need to make decisions continuously, like you’re playing a game. In a game, you don’t have an engine and you’re making decisions with a fair amount of uncertainty. I just wanted to imitate that in training away from matches. I just wanted him to kind of have his own mindset.”

Ding Liren, playing a novelty early on, got the early edge ith white pieces in Game 2 against Gukesh. But he could not capitalise as Gukesh fought back resolutely. The game ended in a 23-move draw.  

“For me at least, it’s hard to get away from the feeling that Ding Liren won the opening battle (in Game 2). This is a dream advantage in the World Chess Championship. It’s not much, but it’s all Ding’s. Gukesh is not playing for much, yet. You really need some mistake on Ding’s part for black to play for something. Whereas for black it can get unpleasant quite easily,” said Viswanathan Anand on the official broadcast.

The world chess championship match this time around is being played in a slightly different time control than the last world championship game between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. 

This time around, players have 120 minutes individually for their first 40 moves. Once the press the clock on their 40th move, they get 30 additional minutes for the rest of the game. They also get a 30 additional seconds on their clock as an increment for each move starting from move 41. 

Here's what Ding and Gukesh have said about that before the world championship started: 

Ding Liren said: "It's quite a short time control with not so much time for thinking. Last time, second time control we both have more time to think. But this time just 30 minutes. It's like Olympiad or other important tournaments. Maybe, it will lead to more interesting games. It's maybe there to see our reaction in time trouble." 

Gukesh, meanwhile, said: "The time control is shorter than the previous world championship. Same in Toronto (at the Candidates). Something to keep in mind. It's a very nice time control." 

Meanwhile, FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich explained why the time control was shortened: "(The question was) How we can keep classical traditions while making it more exciting for fans. Some kind of compromise between the two. This has been used at other important events. Good that we're aligning it. Olympiads, World Cup, Candidates... good to have same. For spectators easier to understand when it's the same."

How does the world chess championship works? here is a quick breakdown! 

The world chess championship is a battle between two players. One is usually the reigning champion, in this case Ding Liren. The other is a challenger, in this case Gukesh, who qualifies by winning the Candidates tournament. The event is a 14-game match. The first player to reach 7.5 points will be the winner. But in the case of both players being tied on points after 14 games, tiebreaks (matches in faster time control) will be played the next day to decide the winner.

How does the time control work in games?

In a game, each player will have 120 minutes for the first 40 moves. On the 41st move, they get 30 additional minutes for the rest of the game. They also start getting 30 additional seconds on their clock starting from move 41.

Game 1 - November 25, 2024 - Monday: Ding Liren (black pieces) 1-0 Gukesh

Game 2 - November 26, 2024 - Ding Liren 1/2 - 1/2 Gukesh (black pieces)

Game 3 - November 27, 2024 - TODAY

Rest Day - November 28, 2024 - Thursday 

Game 4 - November 29, 2024 - Friday 

Game 5 - November 30, 2024 - Saturday 

Game 6 - December 1, 2024 - Sunday 

Rest Day - December 2, 2024 - Monday 

Game 7 - December 3, 2024 - Tuesday 

Game 8 - December 4, 2024 - Wednesday 

Game 9 - December 5, 2024 - Thursday 

Rest Day - December 6, 2024 - Friday 

Game 10 - December 7, 2024 - Saturday 

Game 11 - December 8, 2024 - Sunday 

Game 12 - December 9, 2024 - Monday 

Rest Day - December 10, 2024 - Tuesday 

Game 13 - December 11, 2024 - Wednesday 

Game 14 - December 12, 2024 - Thursday 

Tie-breaks (If needed) - December 13, 2024 - Wednesday

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen has broken down what will hold the key to winning the 2024 world chess championship.

Carlsen, the world no 1 who abdicated the throne last year, has pointed out that Ding Liren has a slight advantage with the black pieces but may struggle to maintain a high level of play in longer games.

He also suggested that Gukesh's lack of aggression in the second game could be a cause for concern, as it might lead to increased pressure and stress for the young Indian player. Carlsen believes that Ding Liren has the potential to win the match even if he doesn't create many opportunities with the white pieces.

“Ding Liren has shown no indication that he’s capable of maintaining a very high level if the game goes into the fifth and sixth hour. Gukesh has shown that is something he does very well. But there’s nothing to suggest that Ding cannot get another win with black. Ding Liren does have the chance to win the match even if he does not create a single chance with white pieces,” said Magnus Carlsen on the Tak Take Take app.

Ding Liren opted to start the first game with a e4 pawn push. It was a surprise, as world no 2 Hikaru Nakamura expained in his YouTube recap. 

“1.e4 was the first mini surprise. In the past Ding has relied almost exclusively on 1.d4 or 1.c4. I believe he’s never played e4 in a World Championship match. He’s played it occasionally in other tournaments. But generally he sticks to d4 or c4,” explained world no 2 Hikaru Nakamura.

The move came on the back of Ding Liren trying the unconventional French Defence in the first game against Gukesh while playing with black pieces.

The key moment of game 2 was move 14.Rdc1, states the FIDE release.

Already out of preparation, Ding Liren abandoned the open file in order to avoid exchanges and regroup. However, 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, which means I am not happy with rook to c1” he lamented after the game.

Srinath Narayanan, who recently captained the Indian men's chess team and has coached both Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, commented on Gukesh's performance in the first game of the World Chess Championship in an interview with The Indian Express.

Srinath acknowledged that it was Gukesh's first World Championship match, and it was understandable that he might not have been at his best immediately.

Regarding Ding Liren's performance, Srinath noted that while the world champion had played decently, he hadn't shown any exceptional play. He suggested that Ding might be adopting a more cautious approach, waiting for Gukesh to make mistakes rather than actively creating opportunities himself.

“It felt like Gukesh was not at his best, but that was expected to a certain degree. It was his first game in a World Championship match and in general, people always need time to get into their best. They don’t do it in the first game of the event. But it’s also too early to have an opinion about Ding’s shape because he’s been able to play pretty decently so far. But it’s been nothing exceptional. He didn’t have to do anything extraordinary to win the first game. In the second game, he didn’t really push himself so much. So far it’s a bit early to say, but the initial impression to me does feel like Ding’s sort of waiting for Gukesh to come at him rather than create something himself,” Srinath told The Indian Express in an interview. 

Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan has seen the way Gukesh operates from close quarters when he was captaining the history-making Indian chess team at the recently-concluded Chess Olympiad. 

Srinath told The Indian Express that Ding Liren's victory in the first game would have significantly boosted the Chinese world champion's confidence. He explained that Ding hadn't won a classical game in a long time, and this victory would have helped him feel more comfortable and relaxed in the second game.

Whiel the second game was heafing ot a draw, somewhere in Singapore, Magnus Carlsen was thinking to himself why he has never had such positions in the games that he has played in his five World Chess Championship battles. He had some sharp views about the way his successor played in Game 2, popting for a conservative draw when Carlsen himself, if he were in Ding's shoes, would have floored the accelerator.

"It’s hard to get better chances than this in a World Chess Championship. Ding Liren is one-nil up. He has a risk-free position. He has an opponent who hasn’t shown him anything positive in the game so far. But Ding decided not to push. That’s not surprising… This is the Ding we have been used to seeing, decent prep, gets a slightly better position but doesn’t try to win. Just happy to make draws. Ding Liren pre-COVID was awesome. But this is a more recent Ding. Gets good positions but doesn’t try to win them,” Magnus Carlsen said on the Take Take Take app before adding: “I would have had to be having a really bad day if I didn’t want to push this position.”

Game 2 of the World Chess Championship between D Gukesh and Ding Liren ended in a draw. The game was a relatively quick affair, with both players opting for a cautious approach and playing out a threefold repitition to settle for a draw in 23 moves.

While the draw extended Ding Liren's lead in the match to 1.5-0.5, Gukesh has shown his resilience after a tough defeat in the first game. He seemed shaky in the first game, but is now settling into the cauldron of pressure that is the world chess championship.  

In Game 2, Gukesh managed to neutralize Ding Liren's opening surprise and played a solid game to secure the draw.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 3 of the World Chess Championship.