No more worries about nerves, teenage Indian grandmaster D. Gukesh will be slightly sluggish as the two resume their intriguing battle for the world championship crown in the fourth round here on Friday. He will be able to maintain a psychological advantage over the shaky defending champion Ding Liren. The 18-year-old Gukesh, who showed better preparation and took his first win in the third round, is in an upbeat mood as expected and will be looking to relax after his first rest today. There are up to 11 games remaining under classic time control, with the score tied at 1.5 to 1.5. This was after Liren won the opening match and the second match ended in a draw.
Gukesh clearly showed better preparation, but Liren’s calculations let him down in the third game. The match started with Gukesh playing a French defensive game with the white pieces against China, and his initial advances gave the Indian a huge time advantage, which he maintained till the end.
“It’s always nice to win a match, even if it’s your first match against such a strong opponent. I think winning in the World Championship means more, it’s a very important victory,” he said after Wednesday’s match. , said Gukesh, visibly satisfied. .
The youngster conceded the opening goal due to poor play in a complicated midfield game, but was able to take heart in the fact that his preparations were progressing smoothly.
In the second match, which was the first White match, Lilen opted for a solid variation in the opening stages for Italy, and Gukesh had no trouble opening the match and easily equalized.
The game was over in just 23 moves. With this iteration, Gukesh gained a lot of respect for his flawless play in a slightly disadvantageous color.
Playing the third game ahead of his first rest day, Gukesh was determined to give it his all, and with yet another first choice Liren ended up spending more than half of his allotted time on the first 14 moves themselves. Ta.
The Chinese then missed an easy equalizing goal in the 18th turn, but that was mainly due to the pressure the Indians applied in the beginning.
Given the level of the scores, it is unlikely that Lilen will be at his best in the next match. Rather, a more cautious approach is expected as the Chinese champion will look to maintain his skills in key moments and not repeat his previous mistakes.
Gukesh hopes to ride the wave of success as long and far as possible. This first win in the match must have been a huge confidence booster for the Chennai-based player.
If he continues to surprise, especially with Hakuko, he will be rewarded in future matches.
In his last World Championship match, which he won, Lilen fell behind three times, but was able to equalize against Russia’s Ian Nepomniatchi.
In fact, he only prevailed on the final day in a tiebreaker that decided the fate of the title.
Given his fighting ability, it would be unwise to discount Liren, but it remains to be seen how he will fare against an opponent who is 14 years his junior and clearly very hungry for success. I don’t understand.
“…the result of the match will probably affect my emotions during the rest day,” the 32-year-old said candidly after Wednesday’s loss, but it remains to be seen how he will recover. .
Overall, the match looked interestingly calm after Gukesh’s victory, and chess lovers couldn’t have asked for more from the first three matches.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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