12/7/2024 – As the World Chess Championship in Singapore nears its conclusion, the tension remains palpable, with the score still tied after ten games. Saturday's cautious game 10, a 36-move draw from a London System, reflected the heightened stakes as players avoid unnecessary risks with only four classical games left. Gukesh D, the challenger, and Ding Liren, the reigning champ, are both focused on precision, knowing that a single mistake could prove decisive. | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An
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Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
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Little room for error
Find below expert video analysis by GM Daniel King
With only four classical games remaining, the World Chess Championship in Singapore remains tied. After the early excitement of wins in games 1 and 3, games 4-10 have all ended in draws. Saturday's game 10 was a cautious, 36-move encounter that offered little in the way of fireworks, leaving the overall score balanced as the match heads into its final stretch.
Ding Liren opened with his favoured 1.d4, prompting commentator David Howell to quip, "Pawn to Ding 4." The game quickly transitioned into a London System, marking the second time this structure has appeared in this match and the third time overall in a World Championship match. Both players rattled off their prepared moves until Gukesh D spent almost half an hour on 10...Nh5, a somewhat uncommon continuation in the position.
Although the knight move is not the most popular continuation, Gukesh noted it as a reasonable idea in this system. The position evolved with 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Ne4 Nf6 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6, and Ding chose to simplify further by trading queens with 14.Qxd8
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
This sequence, while logical, significantly reduced the chances for either player to create meaningful imbalances.
Ding retained a slight edge, but he wisely avoided over-pressing against an opponent of Gukesh's calibre. Further simplifications led to a draw being agreed on move 36, with both players left with a bishop and six pawns each. While the game was not as thrilling as earlier encounters, it reflected the caution now dominating the match.
The significance of every move has grown with only four classical games remaining. Ding remarked in the press conference:
There’s not so much room to make mistakes. Every loss will result in a very bad situation. We need to be careful with every move.
Gukesh echoed this sentiment, saying:
Now the cost of one game is higher than before, but my approach and my goal is still the same – to play good games.
The action continues with games 11 and 12 scheduled for Sunday and Monday, followed by a final rest day on Tuesday. The fourteenth and potentially decisive classical game is set for Thursday, with a tiebreaker, if needed, to follow on Friday. By the end of the week, we will either see Ding Liren retaining his title or witness the crowning of the youngest world champion in chess history.
Gukesh D thinking in front of Ding Liren's empty chair | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
World Championship memorabilia on display | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An
World Championship memorabilia on display | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An
Looking for a realistic way to play for a win with Black against 1.e4 without taking unnecessary risks? The Taimanov Sicilian is a reliable system, and hence one of the best options out there!
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
London System Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
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