The momentum of the 2024 World Chess Championship match changed decisively on Sunday when Gukesh defeated Ding Liren with white pieces in game 11 to take a 6-5 lead. Now there are only three games left.
Under serious time trouble in game 11, Ding Liren made a mistake on move 28 when he moved his queen to c8 (28.Qc8). That move proved decisive as he resigned a step later.
Ding Liren’s predecessor on the world champion’s throne – Magnus Carlsen – predicted after Game 11 that “the most likely scenario was that Ding would be shattered” after the loss.
“We’ll see if Ding has any fight. Will Ding break up now? I think that’s probably the most likely scenario. Will he put any pressure on Gukesh? Hard to say. I doubt it. Gukesh is neutral on Ding with black pieces. Very good. Maybe Ding will make a change in the remaining two games. But I’m not optimistic about him,” Carlson told Tech Tech.
Interactive: Game 11 between Gukesh and Ding Liren
You can check out the move by move action from Game 11 between Gukesh and Ding Liren and also play in the interactive below.
Speaking about some of the decisions Ding Liren made on the board in game 11, Magnus Carlsen said: “It’s all confusing, shocking, confusing. I don’t know what to say… Overall we saw Ding very weak. But as bad as this game from Ding It was a terrible performance we’ve seen all year.”
Karlsson added: “It was ridiculous in Game 11 of the World Championship. Game 11 was as bad as we’ve had. It didn’t deserve a World Championship (match). It should have been a bit tougher than today. But it was a spectacle.”
Speaking exclusively about the mistake with his queen that forced the world champion to retire after a move, Magnus Carlsen said: “(Ding was in) pure panic mode. Think Ding was clearly thinking at this point. He was out of the woods (after the opening). . He spent a lot of time, but he found a common-sense solution to get out of there. It’s weird.”