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Gukesh Blunders But Ding Lets Him Off Easily In Game 5
Ding Liren got an unexpected chance to win Game 5, but ultimately Gukesh escaped easily. Photo: Eng Chin An/FIDE.

Gukesh Blunders But Ding Lets Him Off Easily In Game 5

Colin_McGourty
Colin_McGourty
Staff
| 68 | Chess Event Coverage

World Champion Ding Liren was unable to punish GM Gukesh Dommaraju after the Indian star blundered in game five of the 2024 FIDE World Championship, leaving the scores tied at 2.5-2.5 with nine games to go. Gukesh surprised observers by picking the quiet Exchange French, went for a risky g4-push, and later blundered. Ding pounced and looked to have the perfect chance to push for a win at no risk, but he let the game fizzle out into a 40-move draw shortly afterward. 

Game six starts Sunday, December 1, at 4:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET / 2:30 p.m. IST / 5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore.

Match Score

Name Rating 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Score
  Ding Liren 2728 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ . . . . . . . . . 2.5
  Gukesh Dommaraju 2783 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ . . . . . . . . . 2.5
How to watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship
You can watch the 2024 FIDE World Championship live on Chess.com/TV and on the Chess24 Twitch and YouTube channels, while GM Hikaru Nakamura is streaming on Kick. IM Andras Toth is analyzing the games in a Chessable course. 
Watch the live broadcast, hosted by GM Judit Polgar, GM Robert Hess, and John Sargent.
They may be playing a match for $2.5 million, but both Ding and Gukesh have been resetting the pieces after each game. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao

GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed game five of the match below.

The French, But The Exchange French

One of the big questions before game three of the match had been whether Ding would repeat the French Defense that got him into some trouble—and then gave him a win—in game one. Instead Gukesh played 1.d4 and went on to score his first-ever classical win against his Chinese opponent.

Ding arrives for game five. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Ding's second, Richard Rapport, got to sign a chessboard almost the color of his shorts. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

In game five, however, we did get 1.e4, and Ding showed that the French wasn't a one-hit wonder as he played it again. Another sharp, complex battle loomed, but on move three Gukesh opted for 3.exd5, the somewhat infamous Exchange Variation. 

The opening's reputation is as a quiet line that almost inevitably ends in a draw, which was why GM Judit Polgar was so shocked that a young, incredibly gifted tactician such as Gukesh would pick it. 

Modern computers have tended to defuse more tactical variations, however, and quiet openings have shown hidden venom. Gukesh explained in the press conference, "It’s just a good opening which is also quite topical these days," while later adding, "This time it didn’t work so great, but I don’t think it was the opening’s fault."   

Gukesh didn't blame the opening for the trouble that followed. Photo: Eng Chin An/FIDE.

Ding Equalizes With Black

Ding reacted calmly and well, however, with a certain GM Anish Giri standing by the verdict given in his Chessable course on the French.

9...Kxe7! is a Giri-approved detail, preparing to develop the h8-rook to e8 before the king drops back to f8.

Ding said he hadn't seen the course, though he approved!

That didn't mean there was no tension or problems to solve, however. Gukesh had also swapped queens off early in the game he'd won, while Ding's 33-minute think on move 14 raised some questions. He'd later explain, however, that he was thinking about precisely the sequence of moves that followed in the game. 

Gukesh Plays g2-g4 For 3rd Game In A Row

Gukesh commented at the post-game press conference, "It’s cool that this was the third game in a row I’m playing g4!"

It's cool that this was the third game in a row that I'm playing g4.

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh's g4-pushes have had mixed success so far. Photo: Eng China An/FIDE.

Polgar, a g4-aficionado herself, spotted the move, but didn't believe it would follow.

It did, with Gukesh later explaining he'd looked at quieter moves such as 17.Nf1, but thought the pawn push was critical. Polgar felt it was Gukesh's true nature breaking out of the shackles of team tactics...

...but Ding had also considered it "maybe the only way to play."

The game had sharpened up, but both players were playing well. Ding was happy to find 18...Nb6!, an improvement on his originally-planned 18...Nf6, while Gukesh's 19.g5!, was a good move that caught Ding somewhat off-guard, as he'd only expected the alternative 19.Ne5. The game was equal until a dramatic twist on move 23.   

Gukesh Blunders

It all happened so fast that spectators, and more importantly Ding, had little time to adjust to the new situation. Instead of capturing the black bishop on e5 with his rook, Gukesh captured with his pawn. 23...Nd3!, "a cold shower" according to Polgar, followed almost as fast, and White was in trouble. 

Gukesh saw his mistake instantly:

Once I saw Nd3 I realized I just blundered with dxe5. I didn’t know how bad it was, really, but of course I should have played Rxe5. It would have been a draw anyway, but dxe5 Nd3 I kind of just hallucinated.

He explained that he'd seen the option of 23...Nd3 but thought he could play b3 after capturing on d3, only to realize then that with rooks still on the board a black rook would come to c8 and attack the weak c3-pawn. 

Gukesh got a shock mid-game but soon managed to readjust. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

It had become an exercise in survival, but Gukesh, who identified Novak Djokovic as a sportsman he admires when asked in the post-game press conference, is nothing if not resilient. He also realized, correctly, that all was far from lost:

I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t play Rxe5, but honestly during the game I thought it should more or less be quite holdable because I have some squares. Surely unpleasant, but I was pretty confident that I could hold it. 

Surely unpleasant, but I was pretty confident that I could hold it.

—Gukesh Dommaraju on his position after blundering 

Ding said in the press conference that he'd only briefly considered his opponent's better option, since 23.dxe5 was played so quickly, and it felt like he never fully grasped the opportunity he'd been given. 

Ding Lets Gukesh Escape Without A Fight

Ding had played an excellent game and had almost 50 minutes on the clock, but he wouldn't spend more than five minutes on any of the critical decisions that followed. Twice he would put a bishop on c6, and together those moves killed off any winning chances. The first came after 27.Re4.

Here 27...Bc6?! at least had the virtue of winning the pawn on f3 (28.Rxc4?? Rd8! would be a terrible mistake, as the d-pawn is unstoppable), but Ding had better options. Gukesh pointed out 27...Be6 followed by ...Rc8, and admitted, "I was very worried about this position." It came as a revelation to Ding: "I didn’t see the idea of Rc8, Rc5 and move the king to the kingside [Kf8-g8-h7-g6, etc.], and some kind of Berlin pawn structure—I didn’t realize it’s a big advantage for me."

It was something Ding would surely have understood if he'd spent some more time, but he was unable to force himself. Asked if his mindset before the game had been to play for a draw with Black, he denied it, commenting, "I just tried to play my best, but somehow I settled for the draw."

I just tried to play my best, but somehow I settled for the draw. 

—Ding Liren

In a way, the second time the bishop went to c6 was even stranger. 

"29...Bc6 is basically a draw offer," said Ding, but he could have played on with 29...Bh5 and some small chances of scoring a hugely important win. The point is that after 29...Bh5 30.Rxc4?? Rd8! the bishop is stopping the white king from approaching the pawn and Black wins.

In the game, however, the c4-pawn could be taken, and the d3-pawn soon after. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi summarized the finish that followed:

The draw was swift in coming. 

Polgar was doubly speechless:

I was speechless at the very beginning when Gukesh played the exd5 Exchange Variation, and I can repeat myself, I’m speechless now at what has happened. The last several moves and the decision of Ding Liren, because it seems like the mindset of Ding Liren was to come to the game and make a draw, and whatever happens, he takes that. 

As we saw, Ding denied that, but with over a third of the match gone, his performance has been erratic.

The players made a shockingly quick draw, given a long torture looked in the cards. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Ding isn't happy with the 2.5-2.5 scoreline: 

The results are not ideal because I had some chances in some games and I would lead by some points, but it’s even. Also today, after some quick check I have some advantage, which I didn’t realize. There are some things to improve! 

There are some things to improve! 

—Ding Liren

Gukesh, meanwhile, also has work to do but was happy to have recovered from the worst possible start.

I think it’s still early to say, not even close to halfway through the match. Considering I was trailing this match after the first game, it’s nice to be here, but there’s a lot more important games to come, and I’m just trying to play one game at a time and give my best. 

Ding will have the white pieces in Sunday's game six, the last before the second rest day. Game six has been big in recent years, with GM Magnus Carlsen breaking through against Nepomniachtchi in 2021, while Ding scored a second comeback win over Nepomniachtchi in the same game in 2023. Will we get more decisive action?

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The 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore decides the next world champion. 18-year-old Indian Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju takes on Chinese Defending Champion Ding Liren in a 14-game match, with the first to 7.5 points winning. The players have two hours for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with 30 seconds added each move from move 41 onwards. The prize fund is $2,500,000, with $200,000 for a win and the remaining money split equally. If tied 7-7, a playoff will take place, starting with four games of 15+10 rapid chess.

Previous world championship coverage:

Colin_McGourty
Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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