Not often does a teenaged challenger start as the overwhelming favourite against the experienced champion. D. Gukesh is very much conscious of the fact that most people — including some of the world’s top players — expect him to beat Ding Liren in the World chess championship match, which begins in Singapore on November 25.

During a recent online interaction with select media, including The Hindu, the 18-year-old made it clear that such expectations did not put undue pressure on him. “It doesn’t really add pressure,” he said. “I am glad that people say this about me and, in general, I am happy with my form. The pressure is just playing in the World championship. But there is no additional pressure because of what people are saying [about my chances].”

Contrasting runs of form

People are saying so because of two factors: Gukesh enters the World title match after playing some remarkably solid chess for quite some time, including a superlative display at the Chess Olympiad, where he led India to the team gold in the most convincing of manners; Ding, on the other hand, has been in awful form and questions have been raised about his mental health.

The 32-year-old revealed that he had consulted a psychologist. “It doesn’t seem like I’ve been playing the way I used to,” Ding said in a recent interview to Singapore’s TheStraits Times. “The assessment is correct and I don’t know if I will ever reach that level again.”

He had taken a nine-month break after becoming only the second Asian to win the World chess championship last year, defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. “I feel as per normal, the doctor has given some advice,” he said. “Recently, I have been playing basketball after dinner, trying not to give myself too much stress.”

He said he was feeling okay. “Neither good nor bad,” he elaborated. “I’m not at my lowest and have walked out of the darkness from the last one and a half years… I have moved past that now and I feel like I have been playing decent chess but have not been winning.”

If you are a fan of Ding, all of that will not make for easy reading. But it may not be wise to write him off easily. 

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura has gone on record saying that Gukesh’s chances against Ding at the World championship are 80-20. World No. 1 Carlsen has said Gukesh has a significant advantage and that if he strikes first, he will win the match without trouble. The five-time World champion from Norway, whose abdication led to the crowning of Ding, believes that denying that first strike could work for the Chinese.

The World championship is a long affair, especially by today’s standards. But back in 1984-85, reigning champion Anatoly Karpov took on Garry Kasparov in an all-Soviet Union battle that didn’t produce a winner even after five months and 48 games. It took another 24 games in late 1985 before Kasparov began his long reign as the World champion.

That two-year-long World championship match was a classic; it was a thriller even, of the slow-burning variety. Kasparov, in the first stage of the match, was trailing 0-5, and Karpov needed only one more win. But, the younger man fought back from the brink of defeat and staged an astonishing fightback.

Down but not out: Ding Liren acknowledges that he isn’t ‘playing the way I used to’, but it isn’t wise to write off his chances. | Photo credit: Getty Images

The games played by the two Ks from those historical matches are still savoured by fans of classical chess. The Singapore match will be of much shorter duration.

Rules of engagement

It will be played over 14 games: the player who scores 7.5 points will be crowned the champion. If the score remains 7-7, the title will be decided by tie-breakers, by playing games of shorter time controls.

Most people reckon Gukesh might not need those tie-breakers. The Chennai lad, however, insists he sees it as a match against a strong player.

“And I’m sure he will be coming to the match with the right spirit and he’ll be trying his best,” he said during the online chat. “My approach is to treat every game with the utmost respect and energy and give it my best.”

He said he had prepared for a possible clash with Ding at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, as India was drawn to play China in the seventh round. But, China chose to rest Ding for that match and thus the most anticipated game at the Olympiad did not happen at all. It would have been a teaser for the World title match.

“On the rest day before the match against China, we thought it was very likely he would play but there was a slight chance that he might not want to because he lost the previous round,” said Gukesh. “I was ready for both scenarios, and it was not a huge surprise when he decided to rest that game. It doesn’t make a huge difference. Obviously, it’s tough for anyone to play after a loss, and it’s very understandable that he didn’t want to play. We already played in the Sinquefield Cup, so we got a bit of a teaser before the match.”

That game in the Sinquefield Cup had ended in a draw. It was the fifth classical game they were playing against each other. Two other games had been drawn, while Ding won twice. Yes, that means Gukesh hasn’t beaten Ding yet in a classical game of chess.

In Budapest, China had fielded Wei Yi instead of Ding for the top board clash against Gukesh. The way he won that end-game, converting the small advantage he had slowly into the full point, is an excellent example of the progress Gukesh has made as a player. That was Carlsenesque.

Adding a layer

Former World No. 3 Anish Giri told The Hindu that Gukesh was now a different player. “He has added a solid layer to his play because he was always good at generating chances, at going for uncompromising chess but he didn’t have a solid backup,” he said. “So now Gukesh is this player who has two modes. He can create a fight and try to do this sort of dogfight type thing, but he can also, if he needs a draw, shut you down. That makes him very strong.”

Carlsen’s take: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen feels Gukesh will win the match without trouble if he strikes first but denying that first strike could work for Ding. | Photo credit: Getty Images

Gukesh’s strength was very evident when he won the Candidates tournament — the qualifying event for the World title match — at Toronto earlier this year. After making it to the event at the last minute, following the Chennai Grand Masters, he played superbly to win the Candidates that featured the likes of Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Nepomniachtchi and compatriots R. Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.

Gukesh had become the youngest to win the Candidates. In Singapore, he has an opportunity to become the youngest World chess champion in history — that too, by beating Kasparov’s record by four years.