Replay: Ding Liren in World Champion 2023

Currently India and China are 2nd and 3rd in the FIDE ratings list by federation, boasting average rating of top players 2710 and 2684 ELO respectively. USA is first with 2725 ELO, but part of that is due to influx of foreign players like Dominguez, Aronian, Oparin, Antipov, Bruzon, Akopian, Corrales Jimenez, Akobian, Moradiabadi, etc. With the rate of rise of India’s young generation, USA’s first position is certainly in danger.

First things first, Gukesh and Ding Liren will fulfill Judit Polgar’s prophecy and India and China will have a direct clash for the World Chess Championship 2024 title. In just a few days major coverage of the World Championship and events around it starts on Chessdom.com, tune in for the latest developments around the match.

Gukesh comments on his game with Ding Liren, “It was an interesting game. I was not thinking too much about the match, I just wanted to play. […] Ding Liren had advantage after d4, but luckily he did not spot it”. More from Gukesh in the video below

All news about Gukesh / All news about Ding Liren / World Chess Championship 2024

Replay round 1: Vincent Keymer – Nils Grandelius / Boris Gelfand – Arjun Erigaisi / Peter Svidler – Abhi Mishra / Jorden Van Forest – Gukesh D

Round 4 pairings:

Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen
Ding Liren – Praggnanandhaa
Richard Rapport – Fabiano Caruana
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Parham Maghsoodloo
Wesley So – Levon Aronian
Vincent Keymer – Arjun Erigaisi
Jorden van Foreest – Gukesh D

The 24-year-old also goes into the next phase having moved up to second in the overall Meltwater Champions Chess Tour rankings. He is now the only player left who can catch World Champion Magnus Carlsen. In typically understated fashion, Duda – the only player left capable of catching Carlsen – said afterwards: “I’m fairly satisfied.”

Aimchess Rapid all information / Pairings & Schedule / LIVE games

Meanwhile, Dutch No.1 Giri suffered the heartbreak of a last-gasp loss that killed his chances of making the cut. Giri went into the final prelim round needing just a draw to secure his passage. Only India’s No.2 Vidit Gujrathi could stop him with a win and Giri losing.

But Giri collapsed against Arjun Erigaisi and then had to endure seeing Vidit crash through against David Anton and leapfrog him into eighth place. Vidit finished having won three of his last four games.

It was an unexpected turn of events and came after Giri had accepted a series of cautious draws, notably against the American Daniel Naroditsky in Round 12, when he could have pushed harder for wins. Giri admitted afterwards that he “should have played more ambitiously with both colours”.

Vidit, playing from Nashik in northern India, was overjoyed with his first knockout appearance in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

“It’s good to know how it feels,” he said. “I’m thrilled that I’m in the quarter-finals. Actually, it was completely unexpected. In fact, I had already made some plans for tomorrow that were not related to chess, so thanks to Arjun!”

Apart from the battle between Giri and Vidit for the final spot, results elsewhere had meant the final round was relatively straight forward with seven spots already decided. 

Gukesh D, the 16-year-old Indian wonderkid who stunned Carlsen in Round 9, finished second on 27/45 edging out the more experienced Shakhriyar Mamedyarov by virtue of having beaten him in their head-to-head and Arjun Erigaisi, who also beat Carlsen.

The World Champion, meanwhile, finished a lowly fifth on 26/45, but will no doubt regroup for the quarter-final stage where he faces Erigaisi. The teenager Nordibek Abdusattorov, who led the first two days, and Richard Rapport complete the quarter-final line-up.

The award-winning Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the world’s leading year-round chess circuit, reaches its penultimate tournament with the Aimchess Rapid. The event features 16 players in a round-robin prelim stage before the field is cut to eight and knockouts begin. The Aimchess Rapid is the last “Regular” tournament of the 2022 season with a prize pot of $150,000 before the end-of-season final event starts on November 14. Every move will be streamed live and for free on chess24.com/tour and on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Commentating, International Master Lawrence Trent said: “The opening actually went very well for Magnus and he was kind of cruising. “But this move came out of nowhere, literally it was completely unexpected.” Speaking of Carlsen, Trent said: “He’s a man who, let’s put it this way, he doesn’t like to lose so he’s going to have to regroup quite quickly.”

Gukesh was 16 years 4 months 20 days while the previous record before Gukesh’s win was Praggnanandhaa’s 39-move victory over Carlsen in the Airthings Masters in February. Pragg, who is not playing in this event, was 16 years 6 months and 10 days old. Despite the win, Gukesh wasn’t impressed with his own play. “Obviously, beating Magnus is always special but I was not really very proud of that game,” he said.

However, he did crack a smile when told he was the youngest player to beat Carlsen as World Champion. But the chess gods are always cruel. In the next game, Gukesh immediately came back down to earth when he lost in 42 moves to the high-flying Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who ended the day on top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, in Round 11 Carlsen came up against another wonderkid, the 18-year-old Uzbek World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov who led the first two days. After a crazy game, which IM Trent described as “alien chess”, it ended in a draw. With a loss and two draws, it took until his last game of the day for Carlsen to record his first win, over the Swede Nils Grandelius. Carlsen, who finished with 21/36pts, is woefully out of form by his own high standards.

On his losses to young Indian’s Carlsen said: “Pragg is the only one I’ve lost multiple times to. As for Arjun and Gukesh: Arjun I’ve generally beaten; Gukesh very similar. “I think Gukesh has been extremely impressive in classical chess recently. Perhaps this rapid win wasn’t his proudest effort, even though getting a win is always nice.”

Going into the final round, Round 12 of 15 in the prelim stage, it was Duda making the running 3pts ahead of the pack after three straight wins. That run was brought to an end by Abdusattorov, and a loss against the Uzbek left Duda one point ahead of the on-form Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Both Duda and Mamedyarov are sure to progress into the event’s knockout.

Going into tomorrow’s final three rounds of the prelim, the stage is set for a big battle to make the top eight and avoid the cut. Abdusattorov, Anish Giri, Richard Rapport, Daniel Naroditsky and Vidit Gujrathi are right in the thick of it.

Rankings after Day 3:

The award-winning Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the world’s leading year-round chess circuit, reaches its penultimate tournament with the Aimchess Rapid. The event features 16 players in a round-robin prelim stage before the field is cut to eight and knockouts begin. The Aimchess Rapid is the last “Regular” tournament of the 2022 season with a prize pot of $150,000 before the end-of-season final event starts on November 14. Every move will be streamed live and for free on chess24.com/tour and on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

The field includes World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri, Richard Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, David Anton Guijarro, Pentala Harikrishna, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Nils Grandelius, Eric Hansen, Daniel Naroditsky, and a trio of Indian wonderkids Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh D and Aditya Mittal. Aimchess Rapid – LIVE games

Pairings & Schedule:

Round 1, Friday, October 14, 18:00 CEST
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Anish Giri
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Magnus Carlsen
Eric Hansen – Daniel Naroditsky
Vincent Keymer – Nils Grandelius
Aditya Mittal – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Richard Rapport – Pentala Harikrishna
David Anton Guijarro – Gukesh D
Arjun Erigaisi – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi

Round 2, Friday, October 14, 19:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Gukesh D – Arjun Erigaisi
Pentala Harikrishna – David Anton Guijarro
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Richard Rapport
Nils Grandelius – Aditya Mittal
Daniel Naroditsky – Vincent Keymer
Magnus Carlsen – Eric Hansen
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

Round 3, Friday, October 14, 20:00 CEST
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Anish Giri
Eric Hansen – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Vincent Keymer – Magnus Carlsen
Aditya Mittal – Daniel Naroditsky
Richard Rapport – Nils Grandelius
David Anton Guijarro – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Arjun Erigaisi – Pentala Harikrishna
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Gukesh D

Round 4, Friday, October 14, 21:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Gukesh D
Pentala Harikrishna – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Arjun Erigaisi
Nils Grandelius – David Anton Guijarro
Daniel Naroditsky – Richard Rapport
Magnus Carlsen – Aditya Mittal
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Vincent Keymer
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Eric Hansen

Round 5, Saturday, October 15, 18:00 CEST
Eric Hansen – Anish Giri
Vincent Keymer – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Aditya Mittal – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Richard Rapport – Magnus Carlsen
David Anton Guijarro – Daniel Naroditsky
Arjun Erigaisi – Nils Grandelius
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Gukesh D – Pentala Harikrishna

Round 6, Saturday, October 15, 19:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Pentala Harikrishna
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Gukesh D
Nils Grandelius – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Daniel Naroditsky – Arjun Erigaisi
Magnus Carlsen – David Anton Guijarro
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Richard Rapport
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Aditya Mittal
Eric Hansen – Vincent Keymer

Round 7, Saturday, October 15, 20:00 CEST
Vincent Keymer – Anish Giri
Aditya Mittal – Eric Hansen
Richard Rapport – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
David Anton Guijarro – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Arjun Erigaisi – Magnus Carlsen
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Daniel Naroditsky
Gukesh D – Nils Grandelius
Pentala Harikrishna – Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Round 8, Saturday, October 15, 21:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Nils Grandelius – Pentala Harikrishna
Daniel Naroditsky – Gukesh D
Magnus Carlsen – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Arjun Erigaisi
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – David Anton Guijarro
Eric Hansen – Richard Rapport
Vincent Keymer – Aditya Mittal

Round 9, Sunday, October 16, 18:00 CEST
Aditya Mittal – Anish Giri
Richard Rapport – Vincent Keymer
David Anton Guijarro – Eric Hansen
Arjun Erigaisi – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Gukesh D – Magnus Carlsen
Pentala Harikrishna – Daniel Naroditsky
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Nils Grandelius

Round 10, Sunday, October 16, 19:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Nils Grandelius
Daniel Naroditsky – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Magnus Carlsen – Pentala Harikrishna
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Gukesh D
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Eric Hansen – Arjun Erigaisi
Vincent Keymer – David Anton Guijarro
Aditya Mittal – Richard Rapport

Round 11, Sunday, October 16, 20:00 CEST
Richard Rapport – Anish Giri
David Anton Guijarro – Aditya Mittal
Arjun Erigaisi – Vincent Keymer
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Eric Hansen
Gukesh D – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Pentala Harikrishna – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Magnus Carlsen
Nils Grandelius – Daniel Naroditsky

Round 12, Sunday, October 16, 21:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Daniel Naroditsky
Magnus Carlsen – Nils Grandelius
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Pentala Harikrishna
Eric Hansen – Gukesh D
Vincent Keymer – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Aditya Mittal – Arjun Erigaisi
Richard Rapport – David Anton Guijarro

Round 13, Monday, October 17, 18:00 CEST
David Anton Guijarro – Anish Giri
Arjun Erigaisi – Richard Rapport
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – Aditya Mittal
Gukesh D – Vincent Keymer
Pentala Harikrishna – Eric Hansen
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Nils Grandelius – Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Daniel Naroditsky – Magnus Carlsen

Round 14, Monday, October 17, 19:00 CEST
Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Daniel Naroditsky
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Nils Grandelius
Eric Hansen – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Vincent Keymer – Gukesh D
Richard Rapport – Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
David Anton Guijarro – Arjun Erigaisi

Round 15, Monday, October 17, 20:00 CEST
Arjun Erigaisi – Anish Giri
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi – David Anton Guijarro
Gukesh D – Richard Rapport
Pentala Harikrishna – Aditya Mittal
Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Vincent Keymer
Nils Grandelius – Eric Hansen
Daniel Naroditsky – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Magnus Carlsen – Jan-Krzysztof Duda