From an equal endgame, the Chinese GM watched in horror as India’s Gukesh carved a masterpiece of a win against him. Originally, it was supposed to be the much-awaited Ding Liren vs Gukesh World Championship prelude. Wei Yi was told on the rest day ahead of the India match that he would have to step in on the top board after the reigning world champion chose to sit out the encounter.

“Ding was feeling terrible after that loss with White (the previous day) to Le Quang Liem. Of course, we still wanted him to play (against India),” Wei, China’s highest-ranked player, told the Hinkdustan Times in an interview, “We asked him to get some sleep and hoped he would wake up on the rest day, feeling better. But the next day he still wasn’t feeling okay and said no.”

Ding, who went without a win at the Olympiad has been struggling with mental health issues. Before his World Championship match against Nepomniachtchi, Ding received a poem written by Wei Yi. It spoke about their friendship and the reigning world champion later mentioned that it moved him to tears.

“I’m happy because I think Ding is in much better shape now than before. I saw that he was trying to win games (at the Olympiad). I hope he can recover as soon as possible,” Wei Yi said, “Right now it looks like Gukesh has better chances. But there’s still over a month to go for the match. Anything is possible.”

In 2013 Wei Yi became the fourth youngest grandmaster in the world and the youngest-ever to cross 2600 Elo. He was 14 then. Considered among the most promising prodigies in the world then, Wei Yi surpassed Carlsen’s previous record to cross the 2700 Elo barrier at 15.

He chose to go to university for a couple of years and returned to a changed chess scene. Chiefly, a wave of strong Indian players. India has two players in the top five – Arjun Erigaisi (world No 3) and Gukesh (world No 5) four players in the four players in the top-20. In contrast, Wei Yi, ranked eighth in the world, is the only Chinese player in the top-20. Ding has slid just outside it.

“Players like Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun have grown very quickly and this year, they may be the top chess players in the world. Maybe other countries can learn a lot from India. In China, we haven’t seen too many strong young players. I think we still need a few years to just try to stop the Indians.”

Read the full Hindustan Times article here.

In the marquee matchup of the day, Gukesh and Wei reached a balanced position (evaluated by engines as equal) when the Indian star, trusting his technical abilities, simplified into an endgame with two knights against a rook.

34.Rxg8+ Kxg8 35.Nxc3 leads to a setup rarely seen in chess games. The player with the knights gets to create threats of forks at every turn - in fact, knights are always tricky pieces, so Black will always have issues to deal with in this position.

By move 71, much later in the game, White's passed pawn on the f-file, supported by the pair of knights became the main factor in the position.

Gukesh managed to stop Black's passer on the h-file, while protecting his own passed pawn. It did not take long before Wei Yi threw in the towel.