Grandmaster Richard Rapport, who finished second to Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship, said the Chinese grandmaster played better chess than his rival Di Gukesh in the 14-game title match.
Speaking to the Chinese Chess Association’s social media channel, the Hungarian said: “I think he played better chess overall than his opponent (Gukesh). Losing the final game like this is painful for him. I can only imagine how he feels.”
Before the final match, the scores were tied at 6.5 each and both players won two games each. As the match progressed to an easy draw with 14 tie-breaks, Ding, playing with the white pieces, made a fatal mistake in the final game in which the 18-year-old Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion. Remember, Ding was rated as the favorite if the match went to a short format tiebreak.
considered by @rjrapport in #Dinggukesh match:
“Of course losing the last game like that is very painful. I can only imagine how I (Ding) feel… I’m so glad he trusted me. pic.twitter.com/xgYpqlNMNU
— Mike Klein (@ChessMike) December 14, 2024
“I’m proud of him and the way he played. He had two wins that are hard to achieve (at the World Championships). Those two wins were at a very high level, completely outplaying the opposition in both matches.
“Experts were skeptical based on his performance (in the lead-up to the event). We (his team) managed to keep him in good shape where he had many good fighting opportunities until the end,” said Rapport, who also finished second to Ding at the 2023 World Championships.
After winning the title against Ian Nepomniacchi in 2023, Ding struggled to cope with the pressure of becoming a world champion. His performance declined throughout the year and in the classical format, Gukesh was picked as the favourite. However, Ding showed great character to fight against Gukesh even when the chips were down. Losing game 11, the odds took him out, but he bounced back with a real performance to win the next game in commanding fashion.
“It’s a bit of a mixed feeling. He played better than in the previous tournament. This time the quality was better, but the result was worse,” the report said.
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