World Championship Game 5: A missed chance for Ding

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
11/30/2024 – The score in the match for the World Championship remains tied, as Gukesh D and Ding Liren drew their fifth game. Ding, played the French Defence with black and missed a crucial chance in a favourable endgame after Gukesh failed to foresee a strong knight manoeuvre. With one game left before the second rest day, we are reaching the midpoint of what continues to be a tense, exciting struggle. | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An
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"There is something to improve"

Find below expert video analysis by GM Daniel King.

Game 5 of the World Chess Championship in Singapore nearly delivered a third decisive result in a row featuring Gukesh D with the white pieces and Ding Liren with the black pieces. Ding once again opted for the French Defence, mirroring his choice from game 1. Gukesh introduced a bold novelty but overlooked a critical knight manoeuvre by the reigning champion. However, despite gaining a promising endgame position with rooks and bishops of opposite colours, Ding failed to capitalise, and the game ended in a draw.

Following Gukesh’s remarkable victory in game 3, concerns had been growing about Ding's ability to return to form. Yet the defending champion proved his resilience, expertly handling Gukesh's Exchange Variation in the French.

Ding appeared satisfied with the result, leaving the playing hall in good spirits. However, upon learning he had missed a significant opportunity, he acknowledged things could have gone better for him, commenting: "There is something to improve".

For Gukesh, the combination of youthful vigour and impressive composure continues to serve him well. The 18-year-old has shown an ability to bounce back quickly, as evidenced by his recovery from a tough loss in game 1. With his energy reserves likely to outlast Ding's in the latter half of the match, Gukesh seems poised to maintain his competitive edge. Experience remains the only area where he lags behind the reigning champion, though.

With one more game remaining before the second rest day, the match will reach its midpoint on Tuesday. As the tense and gripping battle between these Asian superstars continues, the chess world eagerly anticipates further drama at the 14-game showdown in Singapore.

Ding Liren

Ding Liren in good spirits during the press conference | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

Dommaraju Gukesh

As calm and collected as ever - Gukesh D | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

By now it is not that surprising to see Ding playing the French Defence, especially since Richard Rapport is working with him. However, Gukesh's decision to go for the Exchange Variation with 3.exd5 seemed a bit too cautious. Moreover, once the Indian star entered the line with 8.Qe2+ Qe7 and the queens left the board, it looked like a quick draw was in the cards.

The novelty of the game was played on move 17, when Gukesh spent 10 minutes before playing the risky 17.g4. After all, the Indian prodigy was not in the mood for a fightless draw!

While 17.Nf1 was the more cautious - and objectively stronger - alternative, this move paved the way for a real struggle. And the challenger seems to consider that he is capable of outplaying his opponent under such circumstances.

As it turned out, though, it was Gukesh who overlooked a crucial move in his calculations, as a critical point of the game was reached on move 23.

After 22...Bxe5, White should play the natural 23.Rxe5, which would have led to simplifications. However, Gukesh erred by choosing 23.dxe5, allowing Black to play 23...Nd3, which the Indian himself confessed to have missed while evaluating this line.

White is all but forced to take with 24.Bxd3, and after 24...cxd3 25.f3 Black has 25...Nc4, again forcing a capture that only worked in Ding's favour.

It was now fully evident that Black was in the driver's seat with his strong, protected passer in the centre of the board.

However, after 26.Nxc4 dxc4 27.Re4, Ding failed to find the correct bishop manoeuvre despite still having more than 40 minutes remaining on his clock.

Here 27...Be6 keeps Black's advantage, with the idea of playing ...Re8-c8 next and then bringing the king to the centre via g8-h7, etcetera. Instead, Ding went for 27...Bc6, when White should not play 28.Rxc4 at once due to 28...Rd8, and White must give up his bishop to prevent the passer from promoting.

But White does have 28.Rd4 Bxf3 29.Kf2, gaining a key tempo.

Thanks to this king move, White will be able to capture on c4 next, as the monarch has crucially approached the passed pawn. Here Ding could have continued fighting for more with 29...Bh5, but went for 29...Bc6 instead, which he later described as an implicit draw offer.

Gukesh grabbed the pawn on c4 and the game soon ended in a draw. Ding's inability to realise he had a considerable advantage explains many of his decisions towards the end of the game.

Ding Liren, Dommaraju Gukesh

Draw agreed | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

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Topics: Gukesh, World Championship 2024
Carlos 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.