World Chess Championship 2024 Highlights, Game 1: Defending champion Ding Liren beats Gukesh in the first round with Black to take 1-0 lead

So, this will be it guys from our side on today’s coverage of the Gukesh vs Ding Liren World Chess Championship 2024 first round game. With Ding having the White tomorrow, it’ll be an interesting round to follow and see how Gukesh will make a comeback. Join us for the coverage of the 2nd round which starts at 12:00 PM. 

Gukesh resigns on 42nd move which means the defending champion Ding Liren gets a 1-0 lead over the Indian challenger. First win for Ding in 304 days. 

Gukesh had less than 40 seconds to play his last seven moves and when he reached the 40th move, it has already been a lost position. Wow, what a turnaround by the Chinese GM.

Ding tries to trade his queen once again and Gukesh denies it for the second time but now the Indian prodigy has 3 minutes 39 seconds to play nine more moves to reach 40th move. 

Oh dear lord, Gukesh has less than five minutes left on the clock and he still needs to play 11 more moves before 30 additional moves will be allotted for the remainder of the game. 

Gukesh’s accuracy has dropped down to 92.7 whereas Ding has maintained his accuracy at 97.1. The Indian teenager has only 12 minutes to make the next 13 moves. 

Gukesh plays queen to e1, which the engines are clearly not liking. This also gives Ding a fairly better position on the board. 

Ding is offering queen’s trade which can give him a favourable position according to the engines as Gukesh will find it difficult to save his h-file pawn later on. Tough choice for Gukesh at the moment who is also down on the clock now. 

Credit: Take Take Take

For Ding’s 36 minutes, Gukesh has an hour and 20 minutes on the clock. 

Credit: FIDE

Gukesh now has nearly 40 minutes advantage over Ding at the moment. The Chinese will have to play 30 more moves in just 60 minutes. 

After the first 10 moves, both Gukesh and Ding Liren is playing with an accuracy of 98.1 according to chess.com. 

Gukesh is still in his opening prep and Ding has already used his first 44 minutes. 

The World Chess Championship match will consist of 14 classical games. Each game will adhere to a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move 41.

The 2024 World Chess Championship match between D. Gukesh and Ding Liren consists of 14 games. The first player to score 7.5 points will be crowned the World Champion. If the match ends in a tie after all 14 games, a tiebreak will be held the following day to determine the winner.

With 1. ... e6 black wants to support the pawn push to d5 next move. Wanting to establish d5 as a secure and stable anchor in the center.

However, the French Defense does come with two major concerns for the Black player. First, the Bishop on c8 may end up as a “French Bishop”, finding itself trapped behind blacks own pawn chain; f7, e6, d5. Thus not contributing it’s full power to the battle. Secondly, white can neutralize most of the long term plans for black’s opening by entering the Exchange variation. There White responds to d5, by playing exd5. With a symmetric position on the board, the game may continue into a unceremoniously draw, with neither player being properly challenged.

Despite that, French does have considerable appeal. With either c5 or f6 it’s possible for black to put increasingly more pressure on White’s center. Thus, the opening is well worth study, the fight for the center will bring plenty of instructive moments. From White’s perspective, it may also be tempting to move the e4 pawn, to e5. By having the white pawn on e5, Black’s knight is prevented from occupying f6. Consequently, there may be good opportunities to attack the Black kingside.

-Lichess

Gukesh starts with 1. e4

Game 1 - November 25, 2024 - Monday 

Game 2 - November 26, 2024 - Tuesday 

Game 3 - November 27, 2024 - Wednesday 

Rest Day - November 28, 2024 - Thursday 

Game 4 - November 29, 2024 - Friday 

Game 5 - November 30, 2024 - Saturday 

Game 6 - December 1, 2024 - Sunday 

Rest Day - December 2, 2024 - Monday 

Game 7 - December 3, 2024 - Tuesday 

Game 8 - December 4, 2024 - Wednesday 

Game 9 - December 5, 2024 - Thursday 

Rest Day - December 6, 2024 - Friday 

Game 10 - December 7, 2024 - Saturday 

Game 11 - December 8, 2024 - Sunday 

Game 12 - December 9, 2024 - Monday 

Rest Day - December 10, 2024 - Tuesday 

Game 13 - December 11, 2024 - Wednesday 

Game 14 - December 12, 2024 - Thursday 

Tie-breaks (If needed) - December 13, 2024 - Wednesday

It does not matter if Ding Liren is struggling for form or is at his best, D. Gukesh knows he needs to be the “best version of himself “ in every game against the Chinese during the World Chess Championship clash, starting Monday.

While Gukesh has been in fine touch, Liren has struggled in the lead-up to the prestigious event.

“For me, it’s pretty clear who I’m going to face. I’m going to face Ding Liren, who has been one of the best players in the world for more than a decade,” Gukesh said at the pre-tournament press conference.

“My job is also pretty clear — just go into every game as the best version of myself and play the best moves in the position. If I do that, if I keep playing good chess and stay in the right spirits, even with his recent form dip or even at his best, I don’t think it really matters.

“If I do the right things, I’m confident I have all the chances in the world,” he added.

Where to watch the D. Gukesh vs Ding Liren World Chess Championship 2024 matches?

The World Chess Championship 2024 match between Gukesh and Ding will be streamed on FIDE social media handles (YouTube, Twitch), Chess.com social media handles (YouTube, Twitch) etc. 

You can follow all the live action, commentary, moves and live chess board widgets on Sportstar’s daily match blog.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the World Chess Championship where India’s D. Gukesh will take on reigning champion China’s Ding Liren in the Game 1 at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore on Monday.