SINGAPORE: Defen­ding champion Ding Liren bounced back strongly on Monday to beat his teenage challenger in the 12th game and level the score in the World Chess Championship match.

India’s Gukesh Domma­raju was forced to resign after finding his king cornered by the Chinese title holder’s white pieces which had advanced dee­ply into enemy territory.

Ding’s victory put both players at six points apiece, with only two more games to go in the classical format chess.

“It’s maybe the best game I played in recent times,” Ding said.

Ding, 32, took control of the board early on as he dominated throughout.

Gukesh seemed to gain the momentum for the title when he forced Ding to resign in the eleventh game to take the lead.

Next games will be played on Wednesday after a rest day on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it’s not pleasant to lose this game,” said a dejected Gukesh.

“At least the score is still tied and there are two more games remaining. So let’s see.”

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2024