Ding Liren, a Chinese Grandmaster, has opened up about his loss against India’s D Gukesh at the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore last week. Ding, the incumbent champion, made a fatal error in the final Game 14, allowing Gukesh to become the world’s youngest champion. Following his defeat against Gukesh, Russian Chess Federation chief Andrei Filatov accused Ding of purposefully losing the match. According to Russian news agency TASS, Filatov has requested that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) launch an investigation into the outcome.
Former champions worldwide Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik had also questioned the amount of chess played throughout the 14-game match between Ding and Gukesh. In response to criticism, Ding has defended himself and Gukesh, claiming that the games were not of poor quality.
“Yes, I did my best in the match, and you could see how I used my time. I spent a significant amount of time in the initial phase because I was unfamiliar with the role. I tried to find out what was happening. Or what’s the premise behind the novelty? Or how to perform my work. And sometimes I played well, and sometimes I didn’t see a clear path to progress,” Ding told ChessBase India.
So I can say that I made some good movements when I had a lot of time. The game’s quality was not that terrible. Even when I was short on time, I managed to make some good moves,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gukesh secured the required 7.5 points, compared to his Chinese opponent’s 6.5, after winning the 14th and last classical time control game of the match, which appeared to be headed for a draw for the most part. As the winner, he will receive a stunning USD 1.3 million (roughly Rs 11.03 crore) from the 2.5 million prize purse.