Chess - The 2024 Dynamic between Ding and Gukesh

Grandmasters Ding Liren and Gukesh D encountered each other several times in Chess games throughout 2024. The biggest event being FIDE World Championship was where Gukesh secured his triumphant win as the 18th World Champion.

Here's a lookback on their 2024 games, from Ding holding his own to Gukesh's moments of breakthrough.

Gukesh D Vs Ding Liren - Tata Steel Masters 2024 - R3

This was early in January with Ding wielding a rating of 2780 and Gukesh at 2725. Given Ding's struggles after being crowned the 17th World Champion in 2023, this among other games was a return to form.

Fast forward to August 2024, where Gukesh and team India win big at the Sinquefield Cup, Ding falls considerably behind on his rating, and his form appears to falter in his performance, though, not against Gukesh himself.

Enter the draw between said GMs since Ding's Tata Steel Masters win.

Sinquefield was not as enthusiastic for Ding, but by no means a change of course in his undefeated streak against Gukesh, who had by then become the challenger to the title. Oh, for the time in 2018 when Ding upheld his undefeated streak of over a hundred games in Classical Chess! This game was also Ding's first time as white among the two, and holding his own to save his preparation seemed reasonable.

Gukesh's overall form this year made him a favorite to win the World Championship, while Ding openly addressed his struggles and the notion of him being the underdog going in to defend his reign.

It still had to be seen just how this modern era Fischer-Spassky dynamic would play out.

Enter the FIDE World Champinship,

Undefeated Ding Liren against then Challenger Gukesh at an extraordinary level of contention, but not yet in winning against Ding himself in a game.

I shall be less elaborate to discuss a repeat of the recently concluded World Championship. The focus here is the key pattern in Ding and Gukesh's history of games and how it all factored when the stakes mattered most.

My review of Game 1

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-1-review

Long story short: 

Ding was assigned the black pieces, which given his wins against Gukesh twice in Tata Steel Masters (2023 and 2024) was significantly in his favor.

Ding not too surprisingly bagged the win. 

Accuracy had Gukesh at 97.5 and Ding at 97.2 in the opening.

But here is the real pattern:

Ding used his pawn and knight combo with extra precision knowing just when to push for the A file, and revisit the whole rook advantage along a file when the endgame was young. 

He even posed checkmate in his classic way as Black, while getting a tempo on promoting his A (game) file pawn.

(Contrast: Boris Spassky won game 1 against Bobby Fischer because Bobby blundered his bishop. Gukesh may not have played any game-changing move but certainly didn't give away the position. Ding was just well prepared ahead of time, intellectually so. Ding takes all in Game 1, making it the best Game 1 in a long, long time)

Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen remarked that Gukesh didn't play a single good move in Game 1. Sure, Magnus is world number one, but this year's Game 1 was more enthusiastic than Game 1 between Anand and Carlsen in 2013 that ended in 16 moves.

For Ding's sake, I almost wondered whether he'd be in to push for a draw every following game. Either it was too good to last, or the times have sailed since Carlsen Vs Caruana (2018)

My review of Game 2

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-2-review

The opening remained very similar to previous games where Ding still pushes for the A file (In this case, to counteract b5).

Ding declined the rook exchange at first,

then offered Gukesh the trade if he pleased, where the knight repetition was agreed on black's terms to avoid getting ambitious with a rook trade.

Another plus for Ding, in that he offered the draw over forcing one at Sinquefield.

My review of Game 3

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-3-review

Much like Fischer Vs Spassky, Gukesh lands his first win against Ding. The catch, however is that Ding misplaced his bishop, allowing an easy but prolonged win.

Ding had a similar opening in Tata Steel Masters of 2023, where his bishop was better placed. Perhaps there was enough revision by Gukesh as White since that time.

Ding unfortunately lost game 3 on time, while Gukesh felt similar pressure at 20 seconds from Game 1. This was where Gukesh made a comeback with the improvisation.

(Contrast: Bobby Fischer exchanged minor pieces making his pawn look isolated, until it sprung back to its g file and he took the endgame intellectually. Game 3 of 2024 wasn't that.)

My review of Game 4

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-4-review

In Game 4, Ding did well to place his bishops where they operated best.

Said game ended in a draw to clear the mist after a tied score. Ding initiated the draw, and Gukesh with the checks, obliged. Unlike later games, where Gukesh pushed beyond draws, this did not have much to work with, especially considering the limitations should white hypothetically nab the passed but isolated pawn on c5 (This would become an eerie aftermath in Game 14). Perhaps Gukesh did well not to see this game through.

My review of Game 5 (Link says Game 6 because I may have accidentally named it that first)

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-6-review

Ding yet again opted for the French Defense given Gukesh replayed e4, supposedly for a reason. We saw a queen trade with a willing King step ahead. 

Gukesh forced the hand of g5 where capturing was pivotal for Black's survival. 

Ding then took Gukesh by surprise with a knight and pawn advancement out of nowhere. Sadly, Ding didn't materialize the advantage and Gukesh got around to bargain for the draw.

Bh5 looked golden after what Ding played in Game 1. This should have won game may have helped Ding win the championship when coupled with Game 12.

In all games where Ding had an advantage or dominated all the way, it was largely his intellect and hardly anything to do with luck.

Games 6-10 were self explanatory. Ding tried to get his desired position or offer a draw. Gukesh played on even if his position went behind the evaluation bar. Both players missed advantages that came their way. The fact remains, however, that Ding had the advantage, needn't have overlooked Game 3 and could just as well have benefitted from Game 5. Two occurrences came his way ahead of Gukesh leading the score.

My review of Game 6

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-round-6-review

My review of Game 7

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-7-review

My review of Game 8

https://chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-8-review

My review of Game 9

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-9-review

My review of Game 10

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-10-review

My review of Game 11

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-11-review

Game 11 was also neither player's moment of pride, except that Gukesh once again benefitted from Ding's misplaced piece, this time a very unfortunately blundered knight.

Gukesh is to be applauded for using Ding's pawn and bishop tactic as countermeasures. It was here that Game 5 (if won) would have helped Ding under pressure. For another thing, Gukesh may have prepared entirely different for a comeback, but the better games came first to Ding, and twice to potentially lead the score.

The sad part is that nobody, not even Gukesh, expected this slip up. It just happened to happen. Gukesh deserved this win for the effort and perseverance alone, but it was just a win, not something that a player can get a learning or two from.

My review of Game 12

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-12-review

Ding outdid Game 1 with Game 12, sadly just to even the score than what ideally would have been his leading advantage.

If I remember correctly, spectators wondered why Ding played d5 and d4 in Game 11. Some said Gukesh had great knowledge with the Catalan. For what Ding would unleash, this seemed like a nice pattern for a comeback.

Ding lets Gukesh's A pawn take its course, just not too much. Some say Gukesh trapping his rook was a blunder, regardless of which, Ding took the edge in the position quite earlier. This had me thinking it was shaping to be a great game, but maybe Game 1 was my favorite.

Then Ding the Liren' Legend doubled his pawns in the D file.

I have no words for this. Wow!

Ding's win here was only too clear. GM Peter Leko added that it would have been prudent to do this before falling back on the score.

My review of Game 13 

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-championship-game-13-review

This game repeated the pattern in Game 1. Gukesh and team knew Ding had his priorities on e6 should White play e4.

This was another improvised game, but one where Gukesh took the positional edge, only that he timed the knight winning move to be, in the wrong order.

Ding felt fortunate to dodge this missed win. But if Game 12 proved anything, had Game 13 been a loss, he would have made a comeback all the same.

My review of Game 14

https://www.chess.com/blog/Jack8237/chess-the-2024-world-champion

This game, in the context of Ding's white moves in this championship, took a different approach.

Gukesh's incredibly handy second, GM Pentala Harikrishna, as revealed later, came into factor as this position rung a bell back to when Ding won against the grandmaster in a Shenzen masters tournament.

In the end of that game, Ding had 2 passed pawns contributing to his win.

Did team Gukesh's preparation to distract the defense towards the center and later, Ding's passed pawns, just come in handy?

All said patterns, and pushes, if one will, brought us to the nearly improbable move, of this:

This whole year has been one long pattern between the two grandmasters.

GM Gukesh D has had some great intellectual displays, yet surprisingly not as much against GM Ding Liren. Could that have been Ding's one core strength in this championship?

Ding mentioned that the loser of the world championship wouldn't be eligible in future Candidates' Tournaments. If I am not mistaken, didn't GM Mikhail Botvinnik made a comeback against former winner, GM Mikhail Tal the same way? Well, the simple way to put it is that times and conventions may have moved on.

GM Ding Liren has taught me one brilliant aspect of Chess, that one can play just any opening move and get the same desired position, leading viably to a dream one. This has likely been done in Chess before, but no other recent world championship player has propelled me to explore this concept as Ding has. 

Gukesh earns this win as 18th World Champion.

Ding mentioned in the final press conference that having escaped Game 13, it seemed fair to lose in Game 14. But looking at the entire pattern that has become of this dynamic, Ding started his 2024 run against then challenger Gukesh with a win and a draw, and while he clearly intended to advance into a tiebreaker in this match, his blunder in Game 14 was anything but fortunate, or 'fair' by his final speech. It's alright, Ding. The dynamic between both ends from January to December shall mark a beautiful revisit in the coming years, or one for the archive of time.

That is Ding Chilling and Gukesh Willing for the Chess world.

Ding is a 1 time World Champion, and currently, so is Gukesh.

Directly or indirectly, the pattern seen between them has come a long way this year, by which Ding takes credit for bringing out the champion in Gukesh.

(Credit for the image below goes to Chess24 / Respective sponsors.)

Here's to a 2024 dynamic, signing off.