Chess World Championship: India's D Gukesh loses to Ding Liren in Game 1

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh lost to defending champion Ding Liren in opening game of World Chess Championship in Singapore on Monday, November 25. 

In Short

• D Gukesh resigned on his 42nd move in Game 1 of the mega event
• Gukesh conceded a 0-1 lead to Ding Liren
• The defending champion ended his 300-day wait for a win in classical format

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh lost to defending champion Ding Liren in the opening game of the World Chess Championship in Singapore on Monday, November 25. It was a special moment for the reigning world champion as he ended a 304-day wait for a classical game of chess, beginning his title defence in style against the young Indian.

It was a tough opening game for Gukesh, who is the youngest challenger for the world championship title at 18.

In the lead-up to the much-awaited World Championship match, Ding Liren's form was the major talking point. The Chinese Grand Master was written off as he struggled on the tour throughout the year. In fact, Ding himself doubted his credentials, especially after Gukesh won the Candidates with a commanding performance.

Gukesh resigned when he was about to play his 42nd move, conceding a 0-1 lead to Ding Liren. Gukesh had less than 40 seconds to play his last seven moves as he felt the pressure at the end.

"It was a tactical oversight by me. It can happen; it’s a long match. About my opponent's form, I expected nothing else. I expected the best version of him, and we have a long match ahead, so it’s only more exciting now," Gukesh told the press on Monday.

For the first time since the 2010 World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, there has been a decisive result in the first game.

Playing with the Black pieces, Ding Liren absorbed the pressure after an explosive opening play from D Gukesh and went for the counterattack to stun the Indian challenger.

Gukesh came up with an early surprise in the opening by pushing his king pawn forward. It's a move that symbolises attacking intentions and the Chinese chose the French defense to combat the situation.

The choice of move had enough impact as Liren spent a lot of time in the opening that was probably not expected by any expert of the game.

By the 12th move, Gukesh had a half-hour advantage on the clock but eight moves later, Liren had a couple of extra minutes to boast off on his clock, giving a clear indication that he had got out of his opening problems and had a decent middle game on hand.

The 32-year-old Chinese displayed peak form after that as Gukesh's middle game crumbled. (With inputs from PTI)