Analysis of Game 6: “I just wanted to see what happened”

“I just wanted to see what happened”

Find below expert video analysis by GM Daniel King.

Fighting chess continues to define the World Chess Championship in Singapore, though the match remains deadlocked. Since Gukesh D’s victory in game 3, every encounter has ended in a draw, with game 6 extending the streak. As the players head into the second rest day, the score remains tied, reflecting the intense, balanced nature of the contest so far.

For the second consecutive World Championship, Ding Liren opted for the London System in game 6. This choice, which earned him a crucial win against Ian Nepomniachtchi last year in Astana, made its return in Singapore. Notably, Ding’s 2023 game was the first time the London System was used in a World Championship match.

Ding showed slightly superior preparation, introducing the novelty 16.dxe5 and gaining a significant time advantage by move 19. While engines suggested a small edge for White, commentators remained sceptical, noting the practical challenges of converting Ding’s strategic advantage. Gukesh himself appeared unfazed, later explaining:

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

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I thought I might be slightly worse out of the opening, but I wasn’t even sure.

As the game progressed, Ding missed opportunities to maintain his advantage, while Gukesh found resourceful moves to counter his opponent’s plans. Remarkably, Gukesh declined a chance to force a draw through triple repetition, opting instead to keep the game alive. While this decision briefly left him in a worse position, his precise play ensured the balance was preserved as time trouble loomed.

The draw was agreed on move 46 after another gripping battle. Gukesh explained his decision to avoid the repetition:

With the files open in front of his king, I thought I would always have counterplay, and I didn’t see a reason to take the draw repetition. Obviously, I wasn’t playing for a win, I just wanted to play a few more moves and see what happened.

Following the second rest day of the three-week confrontation, game 7 will take place on Tuesday, with Gukesh getting the white pieces.

This was the fourth draw of the match | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

The contenders blitzed out almost all of their moves until Ding played 16.dxe5 out of the fashionable London System that appeared on the board.

Gukesh spent 6 minutes before replying by the strong 16…Rb8, and the game continued with 17.Nc4 Be6 18.Rd2 Qf3 19.Re1

Remarkably, Gukesh mentioned in the press conference that he was not worried at all in this position, as he knew that grabbing the knight with 19…Bxc4 would give White a slight edge, but nothing more than that.

Besides trading minor pieces, the pawns on c6 and e5 soon left the board as well. Only major pieces were still in play, and the manoeuvring battle began.

By move 26, it seemed like the game would end in a rather quick draw, as both players still had more than one hour on their clocks and a natural-looking repetition of moves appeared to be all but inevitable.

Unexpectedly, though, Gukesh here went for 26…Qh4, allowing his opponent to look for winning chances in the ensuing position. The black queen was simply placed on a subpar square just to avoid the repetition.

It was clear that this decision had surprised Ding, who started looking for ways to make the most of his newfound – yet small – advantage. The reigning champion continued to find strong moves, until he erred by playing the imprecise 34.Kc2

Here 34.Qg5 would have been stronger, as after the text Black got to trade queens in favourable conditions via 34…Qxf4 35.exf4 f5, and Black is no longer in danger.

Eleven more moves were played before the players agreed to a draw. Ding later confessed:

I feel like I am letting my advantage slip away at the critical moment. I have to improve this in the following games.

Gukesh D on his way to the playing hall amid chess enthusiasts looking to get a glimpse of the protagonists | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

The winner’s trophy | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

Expert analysis

Commentary by GM Daniel King

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