Defending World Champion Ding Liren has started the defence of his title with a win in Game 1. Such a win came as a real surprise to most (including me), but Ding recovered from a cramped opening position to dominate the board in the middlegame. Part of his plan was to push the a pawn down to a3, which meant that Gukesh had to be very careful about any potential queenless endings. Despite have some tactical tricks, Gukesh wasn't able to find a way to attack Ding's king, which remained in the centre for a lot of the game.
Not only does this give Ding a 1-0 lead in the match, it no doubt upsets predictions for the final result, as well as potentially changing how Gukesh approaches the next few game. Following the Russian antidote for a loss (draw the next game) is probably advisable, especially as Gukesh would then have white in game 3. On the other hand, Ding can approach the next few games with confidence, recognising that he held off Gukesh in a position that did not start of well for him.
FIDE World Championship 2024 Singapore, Singapore (1.1), 25.11.2024
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