It seems like all my predictions for this match have been well off the mark. While I was at the match (for games 7,8,9) I predicted that I would see at least one decisive game, which I did not. And having seen yesterdays game (and game ending blunder) I was sure Gukesh was ready to steamroll Ding. He did not.
Instead, Ding recovered from yesterdays disaster with a comprehensive win in Game 12. As White, Ding held a slight edge throughout the opening (basically more space), but around move 16 Gukesh started to make some poor choices. This allowed Ding to target weak points in Gukesh's position and get in the important d4 push in. After that it seemed like Gukesh didn't have a plan to defend the position, and Ding just built up a dominating position. By the end it was so overwhelming that he could afford to miss the strongest computer choices (26.Na7) and still cruise to victory.
So an amazing comeback for Ding, with the match now tied at 6-6. Another rest day today (and one after game 13), so at least Gukesh will have time to recover.
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (12), 09.12.2024
1 comment:
There is no rest day after game 13.
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