It may sound strange to say that Ding’s win in the first game of his world championship match came as a shock, but it did. His recent form had been shaky and his challenger Gukesh, heavily favoured by pundits, had the advantage of the white pieces. There was every reason to expect Ding to stick to classic match strategy which dictates a ‘safety first’ approach when playing black.
Gukesh opened with 1 e4, whereupon Ding usually prefers 1…e5 and plays in a solid, classical style. Instead, his choice of 1…e6 (the French defence) was, I imagine, perceived by Gukesh as a small provocation. It is likely that Ding’s second, the imaginative Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport and a renowned expert on the French, influenced his decision.
As a junior player, I watched the older children at Richmond Junior Chess Club play the French, and quickly adopted it myself. Looking back, it was an excellent opening for a developing player, since the basic strategic tension (space advantage vs counterattack) is easy to grasp, and the fundamentals of positional play, such as pawn breaks and outposts and bad bishops, all have a starring role. In his classic instructional manual My System, Aron Nimzowitsch, one of the world’s strongest players of 100 years ago, makes liberal use of examples from the French defence.
In the past, the French was a mainstay in the repertoires of many top grandmasters such as Mikhail Botvinnik, Viktor Korchnoi and Nigel Short. In spite of that pedigree, it has been out of fashion at the elite level for decades. White is invited to gain a space advantage, on which modern chess engines place a premium. It takes some nerve to ignore the oracular counsel that White’s chances are superior. But handling a space advantage is difficult for humans, even one as strong as Gukesh.
Dommaraju Gukesh-Ding Liren
Fide World Championship, Game 1, 2024
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 f4 c5 6 Nce2 Nc6 7 c3 a5 Mysteriously, Ding spend almost half an hour on this move, which is strategically well known but a rare choice in this exact position. 8 Nf3 a4 9 Be3 Be7 10 g4 Qa5 11 Bg2 a3 12 b3 cxd4 13 b4 Qc7 14 Nexd4 Nb6 15 O-O Nc4 16 Bf2 The strong knight outpost on c4 gives Ding good prospects. Gukesh would love to attack with f4-f5, but the weak e5 pawn makes that hard to accomplish. Bd7 17 Qe2 Nxd4 18 Nxd4 Nb2! (see diagram) This cheeky jump opens avenues for the black pieces. 19 Qe3 Rc8 20 Rac1 Qc4 21 f5 Qd3! With weak pawns on a2, c3 and e5, Gukesh can ill afford an exchange of queens. Now if 22 Qf4 g5! 23 fxg6 (en passant) Qxg6 there is no good answer to the various threats of Nb2-d3 and Be7-g5. 22 Qe1 Bg5 23 Rc2 Rc4 Threatening Rc4xd4. 24 h4 Bf4 25 Qb1 Rxc3 26 Rxc3 Qxc3 27 fxe6 fxe6 28 Ne2 Qxe5 29 Nxf4 Qxf4 30 Qc2? 30 Bc5! was worth a try, to prevent castling. After 30…Qxg4 31 Qxh7 brilliantly aims for mate with Rf1-f8#, but is refuted by 31…Qd4+! deflecting the bishop. However, 31 Rf3! preparing Qb1-f1, would yield real chances. Qc4 31 Qd2 O-O 32 Bd4 Nd3 33 Qe3 Rxf1+ 34 Bxf1 e5! Now Ding is two pawns up for no compensation. 35 Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36 Bg2 Bf5 37 Bg3 Be4 38 Kh2 h6 39 Bh3 Qd1 40 Bd6 Qc2+ 41 Kg3 Qxa2 42 Be6+ Kh8 Now 43 Qxe4 Qf2+! wins so White resigns
Gukesh struck back with a win in game 3. As we go to press, the match is tied at 3-3, with one win each and four games drawn.
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