The Olympic Champion Gukesh wins game 3 of the World Chess Championship and equalyzes the score in the match! Just before the rest day, Gukesh manages to come back in the match – after losing game 1 and drawing in game 2, Gukesh outplays Ding Liren with white in game 3 – replay Gukesh – Ding Liren 1-0 here
Replay: Gukesh – Ding Liren game 1, 0-1, Ding Liren vs Gukesh game 2, 1/2-1/2 / All Gukesh – Ding Liren games live Reports: Ding Liren strikes first, defeats Gukesh with black in game 1! / Ding Liren and Gukesh with silent round 2 game / Gukesh wins World Chess Championship 2024 game 3! Parallel: Top Chess Engine Championship live
Press conference after round 3
Maurice Ashley: Gukesh Congratulations on the victory today! I guess the simplest question that I can ask is how does it feel to actually win a game in your first World Championship?
Gukesh: Yeah, it feels great! I am quite happy with it, I mean yeah, also the last 2 days I was happy with my play. Today was even better. I feel good at the board and yeah, today I just managed to outplay my opponent which is always very nice.
Maurice Ashley: I am curious how the opening went for you? He spent a lot of time in the opening at one point. Just several minutes for sure. Did you feel like you had exactly the position you wanted to play?
Gukesh: Yeah, I was prepared until the eleventh, sorry the thirteenth move. I guess he was trying to remember something, but maybe he mixed up something. I thought how he reacted was not the precise way and then I think I just got a very nice position after g5. I mean all this f3, e4, it looks really shaky for me.
Maurice Ashley: Liren, you spent a lot of time in the opening. What was the reason for that?
Ding Liren: Because I thought my position was not so comfortable. And my c2 bishop is a weakness and he is going to attack it with Nd2. So, I tried to come up with some idea to save it. First, I saw Ne4 and maybe the other move to play and if he take, I take with bishop, Nd2, Na6. I am not sure. The other line I am not sure. A variation of it, it was between the two lines.
Maurice Ashley: Everyone was analyzing it, of course with the aid of engines and I thought that your response was probably the best under the circumstances. And you seemed to have a good position after Rh8, the way you played. But that Rh5 was a significant error. Did you understand this at the moment or did it take you some time to realise that your bishop is in trouble?
Ding Liren: I think my position already in trouble. Because normal moves Ne6 don’t work due to Rc1. And I saw Be7, but I refuse it due to Rc1 Bf5 e4 Be6 exd5 Bxd5 Nxd5 cxd5 Rc7. But after Ne6, I mean I saw on a computer after game, Ne6 Rxb7 or maybe Nd4 a6
Maurice Ashley: It looks like you are okay. Gukesh, did you see any of these lines, by the way? Because it seemed as though Bishop E7 was problematic for white?
Gukesh: Yeah, I think I just underestimated Ba7. Because I thought if I am getting like rooks on a-file, it should be good. But now that I see it, yeah, it’s quite shaky. But yeah, I guess, during the game, we both thought that white is doing well, which is what it matters.
Maurice Ashley: I guess that doesn’t change things competitively; both of you have to play without the use of engines while you are playing. So for you, it’s just a fight, right? Whoever plays better in the fight?
Gukesh: Yeah. I mean, it’s obviously not pleasant to misjudge a position so badly, but okay, as long as I played better than my opponent, I think it’s good.
Reporter: Great performance! Gukesh, just to know, if you are aware that you were following a game of the 2023 Dusseldorf FIDE World Teams between Kramnik-Erigaisi? Was that part of your preparation? And what do you think of that game, and how you could improve on that?
Gukesh: Yeah, I mean I recall this game very briefly. I think till hxg4 we had the same position, till the 13th move. We had the same position. After that, I think Arjun made some mistakes, and Kramnik had a huge advantage, but it ended in a draw. I remember this detail, but I didn’t remember, I don’t remember exactly how the game went. Yeah, I was aware of it.
Reporter: Hi, Gukesh. Can you talk through the entire thought process of all the moves you made after Rh5? At least on the board, it seemed like you knew that you now had an advantage. Can you talk through the entire process of how you converted that, the calculations you were doing in your mind?
Gukesh: Yeah, after Rh5, I thought of e4. Okay I am winning a piece, but he gets a couple of pawns, and I mean the dark squares are a bit soft. So, I didn’t think I was completely winning. I knew that I should be better or close to winning. And then I think I played quite precisely because I was also considering Ke2 instead of Bf2, but then he can go Kb3. I mean, similar to what happened in the game: Rc2, Kd2, Rd2, Bb4, now the difference is g5. Yeah, Bb4 or direct Rxg5. Yeah something like this. So I thought Bf2 to start with, and then Ke2. Yeah, I just thought I had to be super precise not to give him any drawing chances, and I did not really see where he could really improve actually. Maybe Ke7 was the final mistake, but already I thought I was doing pretty well. And also, in the end, this tactic was really nice that I had calculated in the very end. Yeah, Bh3, Bxf5, I was going to play.
Theo (Lichess): Hi there, I am asking a question on behalf of one of our live stream commentators, GM Felix Blohberger. He wanted to ask Ding Liren if he could share his thinking behind Rh5 and if he considered or evaluated the threat of Nd2.
Ding Liren: Well, before f3, I thought my position was okay or even better. But after f3, I realized maybe it’s not so easy to play, and the move Ne6 doesn’t work, so I had to come up with other ideas. I also saw Be7, but I refused it because the line showed before. That’s why I came up with Rf5 with the idea of Rc1, Bf5, e4, maybe take, take, and Bh3. The rook is protected on h5, but I underestimated e4. In this line, I missed Knight e2 actually. I thought he would have to move the rook, then take on d4 with the bishop, and then I have good compensations.
Maurice Ashley: You missed Ne2?
Ding Liren: Yes.
Maurice Ashley: And you said what did he have to play?
Ding Liren: Rc2 or somewhere like this.
Maurice Ashley: So for you, this was the decisive?
Ding Liren: Yes.
Mike Klien: My question is for Grandmaster Gukesh. This appears to be the first time since Game 1 of 93 Kasparov-Short where someone lost on time, and I am curious, even though your position was objectively always winning, were you having, can you describe your emotions as your opponent was ticking down on time? We could see it on his face, but what was going through your mind as he had one minute left to make six moves?
Gukesh: Um, sorry. Maybe the previous match, like didn’t he lose on time against Nepo?
Mike Klien: It’s my research team’s research. So even if that is incorrect, could you tell us about your emotions when he had so little time to make so many moves.
Gukesh: Yeah, I was pretty confident at that point. I mean, I was just thinking about the position at that time because I knew that I should be winning, especially after I got Rd1, I mean Rc1 Rd1, I thought I should just be winning. So yeah, I wasn’t really playing for time. I just wanted to, I mean, finish it off cleanly.
Mike Klien: I know you weren’t playing for time, but was there an increased heart rate or anything going on inside you as your opponent got so low?
Gukesh: Yeah, sure. I mean, it’s always like a bit exciting when your opponent is so low on time, and also, I mean, when you get a winning position, you generally get a bit excited. So, it was there, but I think I had my emotions under control.
Bangalore Chess Club: Did having a rest day tomorrow have any effect on today’s game approach?
Gukesh: Not really. I mean, I thought since tomorrow is a rest day, I will just put all my energy into this game and then I can rest. So, it did not make much of a difference, but it was nice to know that after today’s game, I can just go and rest.
Ding Liren: Not really, but the results of the game will maybe influence my emotion during the rest day.
Maria Milanova: A bit of a harsh question to Gukesh, but I thought it’s the best day to ask it. Do you agree with what Magnus said after game one, that it’s hard to understand how bad this was from Gukesh? Not a single good decision, everything was wrong. Do you agree with this statement, and, if yes, do you think you changed after that game one?
Gukesh: In game one, you mean? Yeah, I mean, after some point, I think starting from… I don’t know, maybe b4 or Qe2, like, especially this Nd4 move, all these moves were pretty bad. But, I think it’s also understandable since it was my first game in the World Championship. I was a bit nervous. It was a new setting for me, and, yeah, I mean, even for example, Magnus in his first World Championship, he was not at his best at the start. So, I think it’s a very normal reaction. And I was okay with that. It was a bad game, but I was generally feeling good. I thought, even though I was nervous, I was able to, like, not, like what to say, it was not too much to handle. So, I felt good. It was a bad game, but, yeah, I always knew that once I settle, I will get back my rhythm.
Reporter: A question for Ding Liren. What was the point in the opening when you were caught by surprise? Was it move h3 already, or could you say something about that?
Ding Liren: Yes, very early, actually. This line came as a surprise, totally, yes. Maybe after h3, I have no knowledge of this line.
Mike Klein: Another question for Gukesh. By the way, it looks like last year Ding may have resigned with 3 seconds remaining, so I am not sure, we will check on that. But my question is, this is your first classical win over Ding. I know the sample size is incredibly small. Does that mean anything extra to you that you have broken through against him?
Gukesh: Yeah, it’s always nice, nice to win a game. Also, for the first time against such a strong opponent. It’s always nice. I think it means more that I got a win in the World Championship and a very important win, so yeah, I am happy with many things about it.
Aditya: Congratulations on your first World Championship win. But we see you here today exactly as after game one. You are in the same mood, your nerves show the same level. I don’t know how you do it, but congratulations! Could you please tell us, that when we saw you in game one, you were a lot moving around the chair. You were not sitting that much, but today we saw you on the chair, more focused, more concentrated, eyes closed. What changed? Is it something that your coaches or your seconds have given advice on, or is this something you are taking forward in the match?
Gukesh: I think it also depends on, it mostly, I think, just depends on the kind of position. Because the first game I thought I would prep him and, I mean, like, all these g4, it was all my prep and I was feeling more in control. So, and yesterday, I mean, he surprised me in the opening, I had to figure things out. And also, today when he got, like, Qb3, Bc2, I mean, there were a lot of lines to calculate, even though it was my prep, I couldn’t recall many things. So, yeah, I just had many things to figure out on the board, so just sitting.
Maurice Ashley: Before the next question, if I may ask, does the thought ever bubble in your mind that you have fans, big fans, watching from all around the world, particularly in your home country, does that ever affect you when you are actually sitting there playing? Is that, or you are not distracted by these thoughts?
Gukesh: Usually when I am playing, it’s like not really, but, like in a span of four or five hours, you get one or two distracting thoughts from time to time, and I think it’s fine. But, in general, it’s nice that, like fans all over the world, and especially in my home country, are cheering for me in this match, and that is kind of a motivating factor for me.
Question from FIDE social media: Another question for both of you. What are you planning to do for the rest of the day?
Gukesh: No plans as of yet, but, okay, maybe, I don’t know, I will think of something, but okay, the main things will be obviously some rest, preparation, and some relaxation.
Ding Liren: Well, I don’t have a plan for tomorrow. Yeah, will see after getting up.
Maurice Ashley: I do have one final question. You have lost before in a World Championship match. Many people counted you out when you lost before, and you bounced back time and time and time again. What gives you the strength to bounce back, or gave you the strength? And do you feel, I mean, and what’s going to give you the strength now?
Ding Liren: Well, if, just the position itself, I think. If I have a chance in the game, I need to push for a win.
The World Chess Championship 2024 – Gukesh vs Ding Liren takes place between November 25 and December 13, 2024, in Singapore. Here is the full timeline of events:
Timeline of the World Chess Championship
15.08.2024 FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 is in Singapore
16.08.2024 Record in target: Between 100 and 200 million have followed the match Anand – Carlsen on TV every day
25.08.2024 World Chess Championship 2024 and Judit Polgar’s prophecy
12.09.2024 World Chess Championship 2024 is sponsored by Google
15.09.2024 Ding Liren considers Gukesh the favorite for the World Chess Championship 2024
17.09.2024 PH Nielsen: Ding Liren is favorite for the match with Gukesh
24.09.2024 World Chess Championship 2024 tickets are on sale
28.09.2024 India win double gold at the Chess Olympiad
28.09.2024 Gukesh wins individual gold medal
06.10.2024 Ding Liren – Gukesh 2024 – the game that did not happen
22.10.2024 Ding Liren considers the favorite for the World Chess Championship 2024
23.10.2024 Gukesh about the World Chess Championship chances
24.10.2024 Anish Giri about the World Chess Championship
25.10.2024 Happy birthday to Ding Liren
09.11.2024 Gukesh coach: Ding Liren’s bad form ‘does not matter so much’
10.11.2024 Garry Kasparov is the youngest World Chess Champion, Gukesh has a chance to surpass that
16.11.2024 Magnus Carlsen, “Gukesh is significant favorite for World Chess Champion 2024” (VIDEO)
17.11.2024 FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 experts predictions – Gukesh or Ding Liren
18.11.2024 Nielsen, “Ding – Gukesh is NOT the first World Championship
19.11.2024 Gukesh – Ding predictions, Carlsen’s take (take, take)
20.11.2024 Arjun Erigaisi, “Gukesh should focus, Ding Liren is not in good shape”
21.11.2024 Gukesh vs Ding Liren, how and where to follow live the World Chess Championship 2024
21.11.2024 2024 World Chess Championship – the chess table of Gukesh and Ding
22.11.2024 The opening ceremony of Gukesh – Ding in Capitol Theatre
