World Championship, Game 13
The match remains tied heading into the last game after Ding escapes from a lost position.
While Gukesh Dommaraju has been considered the favorite in the match with Ding Liren, that status was based largely on their classical ratings and performances in 2024. When it comes to rapid & blitz, the champion is a significant favorite, so with the match knotted at 6-all going into the penultimate game, it was important for the challenger to make something of his last white game.
As far as the opening was concerned, he succeeded admirably. He succeeded in surprising Ding (well, that’s something he has done in almost every game) and stood clearly better after 10 moves. Things were going smoothly until move 12, when he rejected the better 12.Qg4 for the more cautious 12.Nge2.
Opportunity knocked a second time after Ding’s inaccurate 23rd and 24th moves, but Gukesh didn’t open the door this time, either. Had he played 25.Rfe1, threatening 26.d5, Black would have been in a lot of trouble. Maybe not quite lost, but close.
No matter: after Ding’s terrible 30th move, all Gukesh had to do was trade rooks and then play 32.Ne4, and the game would be his. The match wouldn’t be over, but he’d be in great shape, leading by a point with just one game remaining. Instead, he played 31.Ne4 without trading rooks, and that final winning chance went away. He remained slightly better to the end of the game, but Ding’s accurate defense gave him no further chance to play for a win.
There’s only one game left - or rather, one classical game left - and it will be played in a few hours. If it’s drawn, there will be a rapid tiebreak on Friday; if there’s a winner, that player is the world champion - at least until the next match.
Predictions?
In the meantime, here’s game 13, with my annotations.
I predict that Dommaraju, dejected by his lost win, will lose the last game and the match to a rejuvenated Liren.
This feels just as unpredictable as Ding-Nepo a year ago. Here's hoping that players can play a similarly exciting Game 14.