2024 World Chess Championship - What a save

 The 7th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship was probably the most exciting game so far. Both players seemed committed to keeping the game unbalanced, which lead to some exciting play, especially before the first time control.

Around move 20 Ding went to win the white a pawn, at the risk of getting his queen shut off from the rest of the board. This gave Gukesh a chance for a clear advantage, but before he cashed in he repeated the position. This decision caused a groan from the audience in the playing hall, but when Gukesh played 29.Rxb5, the mood was somewhat lightened. When Gukesh played 30.Qf4 it looked as if the game was all over, but then Ding played a number of saving moves with both players short of time, and when move 40  was reached (for White), it seemed another draw was on the board. However move 40 for Black was an error, and within a few moves Gukesh was almost certainly winning. But just as quickly as the win appeared, it disappeared again, with Gukesh failing to find the winning line. Although the position was still difficult to play, Ding found the right moves and a draw was reached on move 72.

A real let off for Ding, and the fact that the match is still tied, is putting more pressure on Gukesh. Having predicted that this game would be drawn (to a few people in the media centre), I think there will be a decisive result in one of the next 2 games. The only problem is I am not sure who will achieve it!

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [D78]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (7), 3.12.2024

A different SIO

 Running alongside the 2024 World Championship match is the 2024 Singapore International Open (SIO). Taking advantage of the interest generated by the WCC, the SIO has attracted over 500 players across both sections. The top section is restricted to players over 1800, and used accelerated pairings to improve the norm chances of the players in the top half.

Today is the 2nd double round day of the tournament, with 6 games being played so far, and the 7th in progress as I type this. Almost 40 Australian players are playing across both events, with at least 3 Canberra players among that group.

One of the players in the lead of the Open is GM Zong Yuan Zhao. He is on 5/6, with 4 wins and 2 draws. In today's morning round he beat 14th seed GM Rinat Jumbayev in a game that swung back and forth. He is now on board 3 against 25th seed IM Jan Klimkowski.

Other Australians close to lead include IM James Morris, FM Albert Winkelman, and CM Ben Leong (all on 4/6). Winkelman is quite close to an IM norm based on his current results, although he has attributed this result to his ability in defending a run of bad positions. If he wins his game today, then he will probably only need 1/2 for a norm from this event.

2024 World Chess Championship - A view from the ground

 I had hoped to be watching game 6 of the 2024 World Championship upon my arrival in Singapore last night (or at least the last few moves). But I was grounded in Melbourne by a delayed connection* and so watched the entire game in the terminal, waiting for a 3:25am departure.

Although the game was drawn (the third in a row), there seemed to be a bit more of a fight in this one. Although the minor pieces went by move 20, there was enough play in the major piece ending to keep the spectators engaged. Ding had a small edge (at least according to various engines), but in a practical sense, it might have not been enough to convert, Nonetheless both players tried a few ideas (eg h4-h5 by Ding), before a draw by repetition occurred.

Today is a rest day (and I am typing this in a deserted Media Centre), with Round 7 tomorrow. Along side the World Championship is the 2024 Singapore Open, with a large number of Australian players taking part. GM Zong Yuan Zhao is one of the tournament leaders, and is being featured on the DGT boards. The games can be found at https://lichess.org/broadcast/singapore-international-open-2024/classical-round-5/rpedgvD7#boards

(*The airline concerned starts with a Q and ends with WDGAF)

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783)[A45]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (6), 1.12.2024