A Modest Certainty

Dommaraju Gukesh – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 1; Sentosa, November 25, 2024
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 Nc6 7. c3 a5. If 7. ... Qb6 8. Nf3 h5!? (Alexander – Castaldi, West-European Zonal Tournament, Hilversum 1947) then 9. f5!↑ with the initiative.
8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 Be7

10. g4!? A novelty by Gukesh which claims to be better than 10. Qd2 0-0 11. h4 b5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 Be7 16. Kf2 b4 17. Rc1 Qb6 18. g4 Bd7 19. Kg3 Rfc8 20. Bd3 b3 21. a3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Re1 Bb5 24. Bb1 Qc7 25. h5 Bd8 26. Kf2 Qa5 27. Qe3 Qa7 28. Rg1 Bb6 29. f5 Rc4 30. Rd1 exf5 31. gxf5 Rc6 32. f6 Qd7 33. Qg5 1–0 Duda – Caruana, 5th Speed Chess Championship Main Event, chess.com, November 15, 2020, round of 16 match game 9 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move).
10. ... Qa5 11. Bg2 a3 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 Qc7 14. Nexd4 Nb6 15. 0-0 Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7. White has got nothing out from the opening.
17. Qe2 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Nb2 19. Qe3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Qc4

21. f5! Boldly going all out for the attack.
21. ... Qd3! 22. Qe1!? The engines do not like this move, but Gukesh’s decision not to exchange Queens is, from the relative standpoint of a finite human being, both coherent and understandable. On the other hand, 22. Qf4 g5! does not seem any better.
22. ... Bg5 23. Rc2 Rc4 24. h4 Bf4 25. Qb1. Now Rc2xb2 is a not so hidden threat.
25. ... Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 fxe6. Retaking with the Bishop was, nevertheless, the right continuation, because after the text White may still put up a fight.
28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4

30. Qc2?? An absurd move which defies any logic except that Gukesh paid for his inexperience a dear price. Naturally, 30. Bc5! was the only consistent way of justifying White’s sacrificial policy, as after 31. ... Qxg4 32. Rf3! (32. Qxh7?! is spectacular but ultimately ineffective on account of 32. ... Qd4+!) 32. ... Nc4 (32. ... Na4!? 33. Qxh7! Qd4+! 34. Bxd4 Rxh7 35. Bf2 Ke7 36. Rxa3 b5 37. Re3 should hold for White) 33. Qf1 Kd8 34. Qf2! Black, in spite of his three extra Pawns, still has to struggle for his life.
30. ... Qc4 31. Qd2 0-0 32. Bd4
32. ... Nd3! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) concludes brilliantly.
33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5! 35. Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 Be4 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 42. Be6+ Kh8! 0–1. White was still hoping for 42. ... Kh7?? 43. Qxe4+! winning a piece and saving the game. “For sure I was nervous,” Gukesh said afterwards. “And I think it would be surprising if I said I wasn’t nervous. I was surely nervous, but after the game started I calmed down. I obviously surprised him in the opening. I was playing some good chess. But unfortunately then the momentum kind of slipped”.

“I feel very good”, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) said. “I haven’t won a single classical game for a long time and today I managed to do that. But this game, I think to be fair, it’s very lucky for me because I missed two tactics”. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.