Bengaluru: Right after losing Game 3 in the World Championship, Ding Liren, looking sullen, was asked how he planned to spend the rest day (Thursday). “I’ll wake up and see… The result of this game will maybe influence my emotions on the rest the day,” he said.
He may not have said it in as many words, but perhaps the world champion was alluding to a bit of self-flagellation, apart from preparation. In the years he played the World Championship, five-time champion Viswanathan Anand hated losing before rest days – “it’s the best way to spoil it”. Former world champion Garry Kasparov spoke about his “emotional style” not allowing for logical expediency after a loss. “I relied on a tremendous store of energy to get me back on track for the next game, expelling all my anger and regret in a burst before recharging again.”
It couldn’t have been an easy rest day for Ding. The World Championship between him and challenger D Gukesh stands at 1.5-1.5. Though it’s still early to be kicking himself, Ding must hate how he got here.
Ding chose a quick draw in a slightly better position in Game 2 and crumbled in Game 3 – under time pressure and angst at being down material and not being able to improve his pieces. It was all the room Gukesh needed to level things.
In Game 3, Ding’s grievous mistake of sending out his light-squared bishop to the c2 square behind enemy lines could haunt him and make its way to cautionary lessons in chess training classes. Material is the most elementary part of evaluation of a position. How many pieces each player has on the board gives you an idea of how they’re faring in the game. Each piece has an assigned value and a bishop, for instance, is considered to be worth three pawns. Ding couldn’t find a way to rescue his bishop or find compensation for it. It ended up being captured, he was down a piece and Gukesh went on to convert his advantage into a win.
“As a former participant, it is frustrating to see how easily people are getting chances (in this match),” five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen said on his Take app after Game 3, “If this is supposed to be the hardest test in chess, it isn’t supposed to be this easy to win games. Like you’re not supposed to pick up a piece at move 15 or whatever and then convert it…In order to win a game in the World Championship, you should be well prepared, show good middle game understanding and overcome fierce resistance in the endgame. That’s sort of the ideal win.”
Gukesh, who appears to have shaken off the nerves and opening game loss, has seized the momentum with the win. His natural style favours sharp positions and in two White games, he has already switched between the aggressive king-pawn opening and the more positional queen-pawn opening.
Ding will have the White pieces in Game 4 on Friday and he might well have an opening surprise. He perhaps realises that he cannot afford to let his opponent off the hook like he did in Game 2 or the horror time management of Game 3.
During last year’s match, going into Game 4, Ding was trailing Ian Nepomniachtchi by a full point – with two draws and a loss. The scores in the classical portion were tied and the match, which Ding eventually won, was decided in the rapid playoff. This time, should he not recover, stay alert and strike back, the match may not stretch beyond the classical games.
The mind will play a bigger role as the match wears on, and the ability to handle pressure, setbacks, and maintain composure is what will decide the outcome. Gukesh handled the Candidates tournament remarkably well – particularly the manner in which he bounced back after the gutting loss on time to Alireza Firouzja in Round 7. In this match, after the early nerves of Game 1, he did a good job of calming himself down and found a win when the opportunity arrived.
A lot of what happens next, from Game 4 onwards, might hinge on how the reigning world champion recovers. It’s not a crisis yet, unless he believes it is.
