[Event "Round 1.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.11.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Crowther, Mark"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. e4 e6 {This was Ding's attempt to surprise Gukesh in game one. Possibly this is a one shot deal rather than his main defence for the match.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 {Ding started to look perturbed around here. It turned out that he wasn't 100% sure he remembered the entirety of his preparation, so he started to look for alternatives.} (6. Nf3 {This is far and away the most popular move. roughly 28,000 games compared to around 430 in Megabase.}) 6... Nc6 7. c3 a5 {Played after 20 minutes thought.} (7... Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. a3 f6 10. g3 cxd4 11. Nexd4 Nxd4 12. cxd4 fxe5 13. fxe5 Qb6 14. Be2 Nb8 15. b4 Bd7 16. O-O Bb5 17. Bxb5 Qxb5 18. a4 Qe8 19. Bd2 Nd7 20. a5 a6 21. Qb3 Nb8 22. Rac1 Nc6 23. b5 axb5 24. Qxb5 Nxe5 25. Qxe8 Nxf3+ 26. Rxf3 Raxe8 27. Rb3 Bf6 28. Be3 Rf7 29. Kg2 h5 30. Rb6 e5 31. dxe5 Rxe5 32. Rb3 d4 33. Bxd4 Re2+ 34. Kf3 Rxh2 35. Bxf6 Rxf6+ 36. Ke4 Re2+ 37. Kd3 {0-1 Caruana,F (2804)-Kramnik,V (2753) Titled Tuesday intern op 05th Mar Late Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (6)}) 8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 Be7 {[#]} 10. g4 $146 {A new move played very quickly but this move ups the stakes for both sides.} (10. Qd2 O-O 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,J (2743)-Caruana,F (2823) Chess.com Speed Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (1.19)}) 10... Qa5 $11 {Ding reached a satisfactory position out of the opening but was about 40 minutes behind on the clock. It's perhaps here that Gukesh starts to go wrong.} 11. Bg2 {Maybe not the most accurate.} (11. Qc2) 11... a3 {This move turns out very well for Ding but it perhaps isn't the most accurate.} (11... Nb6) 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 $1 {an important finesse.} Qc7 14. Nexd4 Nb6 {Heading for the c4 square where it becomes the best piece on the board.} 15. O-O {Again probably not the best.} (15. Nb5 Qd8 16. Bf1 {fights against the appearance of the knight on c4.}) 15... Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7 {After this move Ding started to play quickly and confidently.} 17. Qe2 {The position is balanced but clearly Gukesh wasn't happy. Qe2 was OK but he spent 30 minutes on it.} Nxd4 18. Nxd4 (18. Bxd4 {Definitely should have been considered.} Nb2 19. Nd2 {shows the difference to the game.}) 18... Nb2 $1 19. Qe3 (19. Qf3 {Might have been preferred.}) 19... Rc8 20. Rac1 $2 {After this white's position becomes very difficult.} (20. Be1 $1 {maintains something like equality. Whilst this move isn't the most obvious, once you look at it the merits are there to be seen.}) 20... Qc4 21. f5 $2 {Missing an important detail.} (21. Rfe1) 21... Qd3 22. Qe1 $2 {A sad retreat.} (22. Qf4 g5 {Gukesh said he missed this, but it's still better than Qe1.} 23. Qg3) 22... Bg5 $1 {Ding plays the best move.} 23. Rc2 (23. Nb3 Bxc1 {doesn't seem like something you'd want to play.}) 23... Rc4 {Played quickly and with many threats, but maybe the calm castles was cleaner.} (23... O-O) 24. h4 $1 {At least finding a way to fight. Gukesh hasn't played anywhere near his best so far but he does get a saving chance.} (24. Qb1 Rxc3 25. Rxc3 Qxc3 26. fxe6 fxe6 27. Bxd5 exd5 28. e6 g6 {is a computer line that doesn't work for white.}) 24... Bf4 $1 {The bishop is vulnerable here but this move is still correct.} 25. Qb1 Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 $1 {Asking Ding a question.} fxe6 $2 {Definitely inferior to Bxe6. White now gets a chance to fight back.} (27... Bxe6 28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4 30. Bc5 Qxg4 31. Rf3 Nc4 {is just winning.}) 28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4 30. Qc2 $2 {The losing move.} (30. Bc5 Qxg4 31. Rf3 {Perhaps Gukesh didn't look any further after seeing that the Qxh7 tactic didn't work but he's really fighting with this move.} (31. Qxh7 {After the game Ding pointed out this line saying that he was a bit lucky this didn't work as he didn't spot it in advance.} Qd4+ $1 {is the saving and indeed winning idea.}) 31... Nc4 32. Qf1 Kd8 33. Qf2 Kc8 34. Ba7 {is a sample line, what a mess.}) 30... Qc4 $1 {There are no more mistakes as Ding cleans up efficiently.} 31. Qd2 O-O 32. Bd4 Nd3 $1 {Surprisingly this is the only winning move and it requires a small piece of calculation.} 33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5 $1 35. Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 Be4 {Black's pieces completely dominate the board.} 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 {There is going to be no stopping the a-pawn, especially considering the weakness of white's King.} 42. Be6+ {Ding was critical of himself for missing this ahead of time. Fortunately for him he's still winning.} Kh8 $1 {There are no more tricks to play for.} (42... Kh7 43. Qxe4+ $1 $11) 0-1 [Event "Round 2.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.11.26"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 {It has been strange to see the rise of this kind of position in elite chess. For years it was regarded as too simple, now it's apparent the subtleties are almost infinite. That said these positions do still have the potential to become dull. I'm really not qualitied to provide anything but a summary of this game, this is high level stuff.} (4. O-O {was a previous game between the players.} Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Be6 9. Bb5 Ba7 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Ne7 12. d4 Ng6 13. Bf1 d5 14. Nbd2 Nxe4 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 c5 18. Rg3 d4 19. Qh6 g6 20. Bd3 c4 21. Be4 d3 22. Bxg6 fxg6 23. Rxg6+ hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Qg6+ {½-½ Ding,L (2745)-Gukesh,D (2766) Sinquefield Cup 11th Saint Louis 2024 (1)}) 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 {Already a slightly less regular option, there are three more common moves than this.} (6. Bg5) (6. Be3) (6. O-O) 6... d6 7. O-O h6 8. Be3 Be6 {[#]} 9. a5 $146 {Here we have white's idea, an attempt to fix the queenside and then exploit it.} (9. Bxc5 dxc5 10. Nd2 Qd6 11. Bxe6 Qxe6 12. Nc4 O-O-O 13. Ne3 Nb4 14. b3 h5 15. a5 Kb8 16. Qe1 Ng4 17. Qd2 g6 18. Na4 Qd6 19. h3 Nf6 20. Nc4 Qe7 21. Rae1 Nc6 22. f4 Nd7 23. Qf2 f6 24. Nc3 Qe6 25. fxe5 Ncxe5 26. Nd5 Rhf8 27. Qg3 g5 28. Nxe5 Nxe5 29. Rf2 h4 30. Qe3 c6 31. Nb6 g4 32. Ref1 Rf7 33. Rf5 Rg8 34. hxg4 Rxg4 35. Qxc5 h3 36. R1f2 hxg2 37. Rh5 Rg8 38. Rh4 Rfg7 {1-0 Abdusattorov,N (2731)-Caruana,F (2764) Norway Masters blitz 11th Stavanger 2023 (3)}) 9... Bxc4 10. dxc4 O-O {Ian Nepomniachtchi commented on twitter during the game: "Bxc4 and 0-0 is a bit strange. If you don't want to get this structure you normally take on e3 and play 0-0. If you don't want to take a tough decision, you just castle and see what happens. But to accept such an unpleasant structure voluntarily... not practical to say the least."} 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. b3 {Ding said he remembered his second telling him that the evaluation of this position was +0.2} Qxd1 13. Rfxd1 Rad8 14. Rdc1 {Ding confessed to being out of book here. It doesn't suggest he's overburdened with preparation for this match. Ding said: “The move Rc1 is a typical idea in this kind of structure but I don’t think it’s a good move in the game, because I didn’t know how to develop while he has such a strong knight on d4. In fact, later on, I moved the rook back to d1, which means I am not happy with rook to c1”.} (14. Ne1 {Seems like the try.}) 14... Nd4 15. Ne1 Rd6 16. Kf1 g6 17. Rd1 {Back the rook comes, as Ding said, he was unhappy with the original decision.} Rfd8 18. f3 Kg7 19. Kf2 (19. Rab1 $5 {might have led to complications.} Nc6 20. Nd3) 19... h5 20. Ne2 $11 {White now doesn't even have a symbolic advantage.} (20. h4 $5) 20... Nc6 21. Nc3 Nd4 22. Ne2 Nc6 23. Nc3 Nd4 {Both players were happy with a repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 3.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.11.27"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. h3 {Kramnik seems to be the first player to have chosen h3 with the idea of g4 as seen in the game, this was a rapid game in August 2023. Yu Yangyi and Maghsoodloo. soon followed. With these names it surely didn't escape other leading player's notice. But it is a bit strange that Lela Javakhishvili is the only other player to try it in an important game. White needs a new idea in this position and this is it. h3 is not mentioned by the many Queen's Gambit courses I own on Chessable who do in fact recommend this line as being a good one for black.} (7. Bg5 {Is by far and away the most common move and black is scoring well these days.}) 7... Bf5 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. g4 Qxb3 (9... Be6 10. Bf4 h5 11. g5 Nfd7 12. e3 Na6 13. Qc2 Bf5 14. Qd2 Be7 15. Bg2 O-O 16. Nh4 Be6 17. O-O Qd8 18. e4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Nc7 20. Rfe1 Nd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 23. Qd3 Bxg5 24. Nxg6 Bxf4 25. Nxf4 Qg5+ 26. Qg3 Qxg3+ 27. fxg3 Nf6 28. Re5 Rfd8 29. Rf1 Rd6 30. Nxh5 Nxh5 31. Rxh5 Rc8 32. Rhf5 Rd7 33. Kg2 Rc2+ 34. R1f2 Rc1 35. h4 Rd1 36. R5f4 Rc7 37. Rg4+ Kh7 38. h5 Kh6 39. Rh4 Re7 40. Rf6+ Kg7 41. Rf2 Kh6 42. b3 b6 43. Rc2 Ree1 44. Rf2 Rg1+ 45. Kf3 Rd3+ 46. Ke2 Rdxg3 47. Rxf7 R1g2+ 48. Rf2 Rxf2+ 49. Kxf2 Rc3 50. Rf4 Kg5 51. Rf7 Rc2+ 52. Ke3 Rxa2 {½-½ Javakhishvili,L (2451)-Assaubayeva,B (2470) Tbilisi FIDE GP (Women) 2024 (2)}) 10. axb3 Bc2 11. Bf4 h5 12. Rg1 hxg4 13. hxg4 {[#]} Nbd7 $146 {A novelty but the way things go it's extremely likely that Ding Liren had seen this line and knew it was OK. He was just struggling to remember how to get there.} (13... Bxb3 14. Nd2 Bc4 15. Nxc4 dxc4 16. e3 Bb4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bb3 a5 19. Ke2 Nbd7 20. Na2 Be7 21. Nc1 Ne4 22. Bc2 Ng5 23. Bxg5 Bxg5 24. Be4 Ke7 25. Bxc6 Rac8 26. Bxd7 Kxd7 27. Nd3 a4 28. Nc5+ Ke8 29. b3 axb3 30. Rh1 Rxh1 31. Rxh1 b2 32. Kd2 f5 33. gxf5 gxf5 34. Kc2 Kf7 35. Kxb2 f4 36. Ne4 Be7 37. Rh7+ Ke8 38. Rh8+ Kd7 39. Rxc8 Kxc8 40. Kc3 fxe3 41. fxe3 Kc7 42. Nf2 Kd6 43. e4 {½-½ Kramnik,V (2753)-Erigaisi,A (2681) World-chT Rapid Duesseldorf 2023 (12)}) 14. Nd2 {Gukesh took some time here. He realised that likely he wasn't going to get a knockout and Ding would play the correct next move. Spending time here, rather than continuing to blitz as he did in game one was extremely smart.} Rg8 $1 {The position remains complicated and Ding was way down on the clock. Gukesh has now to choose Ding's poison.} 15. g5 (15. Rc1 g5 16. Be3 Be4 {is probably the main line.}) 15... Nh5 16. Bh2 {Black is equal but he has to find a proper setup and this Ding fails to do quite quickly.} Rh8 17. f3 {It's impossible to believe this isn't prep. Stockfish doesn't like it too much but it contains threats that need to be met.} Ng7 $1 18. Bg3 Rh5 $2 {Ding's obviously knew his light squared bishop is still in trouble but miscalculated. There was a relatively simple line with 18...Bf5 he could have played. There was also perhaps the even better 18...Be7.} (18... Bf5 19. e4 Be6 {is fine for black.}) (18... Be7 {is perhaps the cleanest.} 19. e4 Bxg5 20. exd5) 19. e4 dxe4 (19... Ne6 20. Rc1 Nxd4 21. Bf2 Bc5) 20. fxe4 Ne6 21. Rc1 Nxd4 (21... Bg7 22. Bf2 Rh2 23. Rxc2 Rxf2 24. Kxf2 Bxd4+ 25. Kg2 Bxg1 26. Kxg1 Nxg5 {is still a piece for two pawns.}) 22. Bf2 Bg7 23. Ne2 $1 {And Gukesh wins a piece with a decisive advantage already.} Nxb3 24. Rxc2 Nxd2 25. Kxd2 Ne5 {Ding doesn't defend very well but the position is busted.} (25... a5) 26. Nd4 Rd8 27. Ke2 Rh2 28. Bg2 a6 29. b3 Rd7 30. Rcc1 Ke7 31. Rcd1 Ke8 32. Bg3 Rh5 33. Nf3 Nxf3 34. Kxf3 Bd4 $2 {Causing a further deterioration.} 35. Rh1 Rxg5 36. Bh3 $1 {Funny that it's the only winning move here but kind of obvious too.} f5 37. Bf4 Rh5 {and black lost on time with three moves to make in a completely resignable position.} 1-0 [Event "Round 4.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.11.29"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 Bf5 (3... Bg4 {is the most played move in this position but really because white hasn't played sharply almost any sensible move is playable.}) 4. Be2 h6 5. Ba3 {This is the top choice in the position. There are 12 games, all at a high or reasonably high level.} Nbd7 (5... c6) 6. O-O (6. c4 {So, Niemann and Eljanov all played this in rapid games. White lost a couple of these, again probably nothing too critical here.}) 6... e6 7. Bxf8 Nxf8 8. c4 N8d7 9. Nc3 (9. Qc1) 9... O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 c6 12. Nd4 Bh7 {The position is still equal but black will have to show some accuracy to defuse white's plans.} 13. Qb3 $146 (13. Nb3 Qe7 14. a3 Rfc8 15. d4 Bf5 16. Rc1 Ne8 17. Re1 Nd6 18. Bf1 Nf6 19. Qf3 Re8 20. h3 Nfe4 21. Na4 Ng5 22. Qf4 Rad8 23. Nac5 Bc8 24. a4 b6 25. Nd3 Nc4 26. e4 Ne6 27. Qg3 dxe4 28. Rxe4 Nd6 29. Ree1 Nf5 30. Qg4 Qg5 31. Qe4 Re7 32. f4 Qf6 33. Rxc6 Bb7 34. Ne5 Ng3 35. Qf3 Qxf4 36. Qxf4 Nxf4 37. Rc3 Nxf1 38. Rxf1 Ne2+ {0-1 Salomon,J (2502)-Holm,K (2450) NOR-ch Oslo 2021 (8)}) 13... Ne5 $1 {Very concrete and black had to work out if f4 for white was bad for him.} 14. a4 Rc8 15. a5 (15. f4 Ned7 16. a5 {was the first thing mentioned by Ding as an alternative.}) 15... b6 16. Nf3 {This is giving up on the advantage.} (16. f4 Nc4 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 c5 {is a key line talked about in commentary and volunteered by Ding after the game.}) (16. Ba6 $5 Rc7 17. f4 Ng6) (16. axb6 axb6 17. f4 Nc4 18. Ra2 $11) 16... Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 d4 18. Ne2 dxe3 19. dxe3 Be4 {Already a draw is the only conceivable result.} 20. Rfd1 Qe7 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. axb6 axb6 23. Nc3 Rfd8 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. h3 c5 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Rc1 Qe5 29. Qc2 Rd5 {There's nothing risky about this but it's not the most straightforward. It seems Gukesh was very mildly suggesting he might push if white isn't accurate.} 30. g3 f5 $5 31. Kg2 Kh7 32. Qc4 Qd6 33. e4 {Even the mildest of intrigue is now over.} Re5 34. exf5 Rxf5 35. Qe4 Qd5 36. Qxd5 Rxd5 37. Kf3 Kg6 38. Ke4 {and the players find a way to repeat.} Rd4+ 39. Ke3 Rd5 40. Ke4 Rd4+ 41. Ke3 Rd5 42. Ke4 Rd4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 5.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "5.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.11.30"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 {There's been a roughly decade long reassessment of the Exchange French as a winning weapon, the positions share a lot in common with the Petroff Defence. In such symmetrical positions even tiny advantages can be magnified. The trouble is you have to be terribly accurate and such positions really aren't for everyone.} 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 {This is a fighting response and black does well with this move.} 6. c3 (6. O-O c4 7. Re1+ Be7 8. Bf1 {is another popular way to go.}) 6... c4 {Certainly not the only move in the position.} (6... Nc6) (6... Be7) 7. Bc2 Bd6 8. Qe2+ (8. O-O {is the slightly more popular continuation.} O-O 9. h3 Nc6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bxg3 13. fxg3 Nh5 14. Kh2 Qd6 15. Ne5 Nxg3 16. Kxg3 f6 17. Na3 fxe5 18. Nb5 Rxf1 19. Qh5 Qf6 20. Rxf1 Qxf1 21. Qg6+ Kf8 22. Qxh6+ Ke7 23. Qd6+ Kf7 24. Qg6+ Kf8 25. Qh6+ Ke7 26. Qd6+ Kf7 27. Qg6+ Ke7 28. Qd6+ Kf7 29. Qg6+ Ke7 30. Qd6+ Kf7 {½-½ Grandelius,N (2653)-Shirov,A (2666) Olympiad-45 Budapest 2024 (4.8)}) 8... Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8 {Castling by hand.} 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Bg5 Nbd7 14. Nbd2 {Ding can't be upset by the result of this opening.} h6 {This plan took Ding a long time to find, he was mostly evaluating the consequences of g4 by his opponent.} 15. Bh4 Nh5 16. Re1+ Kf8 17. g4 $146 {Not the only move, but certainly a critical one.} (17. Nf1 {is the main alternative.} g5 18. Bg3 Nxg3 19. Nxg3 Bxg3 20. hxg3 Nf6 21. a4 Bd7 22. Ne5 Be8 23. Nf3 Rc8 24. Nd2 b6 25. Nf1 Bd7 26. Ne3 Rb8 27. Ra1 Ke7 28. f3 h5 29. Kf2 Kd6 30. Ke2 Re8 31. Kd2 Rg8 32. Ke2 Re8 33. Kd2 Rg8 34. Ke2 Re8 {½-½ Damjanovic,V (2364)-Kramer,J (2503) EU-ch 24th Petrovac 2024 (10)}) 17... Nf4 18. Bg3 Nb6 (18... g5 19. h4 Nf6 20. hxg5 hxg5 21. Nxg5 Bxg4 $11) 19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5 Bd7 21. Ngf3 Re8 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 $2 (23. Rxe5 $11) 23... Nd3 $1 {And now Gukesh realised he was fighting for the draw.} 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. f3 (25. Bf4 Re6 26. f3) 25... Nc4 26. Nxc4 dxc4 27. Re4 Bc6 $2 {Such a pity. As Gukesh pointed out after the game Be6 would have put him under tremendous pressure.} (27... Be6 28. Rd4 Rc8) (27... Rc8) 28. Rd4 $1 {Ding must have missed the power of this move.} Bxf3 29. Kf2 Bc6 $6 $11 (29... Bh5 30. Ke3 b5 31. b3 Rc8 32. Rh4 g6 33. Rd4 g5 34. h4 g4) 30. Rxc4 (30. b3) 30... Rd8 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. cxd4 Bd5 33. b3 {Ding has gone from pressing for a win to being a pawn down. But there's no excitement, this is about as drawish as it gets.} Ke7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kxd3 g6 36. Kc3 a6 37. Kd3 Kf5 38. Ke3 Ke6 39. Kd3 Kf5 40. Ke3 Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 6.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "6.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.01"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Bd6 6. Bb5+ {A known testing line in the London System.} (6. Ne5 O-O 7. Bd3 Qc7 8. Nd2 b6 9. h4 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. h5 h6 12. Rh3 cxd4 13. exd4 Nc5 14. Kf1 Nfe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qg4 Nf6 17. Qe2 Ne4 18. Qg4 Nf6 19. Qh4 Ne4 20. Re3 Bxe5 21. Bxe5 Qd7 22. Kg1 f6 23. Bh2 Rae8 24. Qg4 Qb5 25. Qe2 Qxe2 26. Rxe2 f5 27. Be5 Nf6 28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. a4 Kf7 30. f3 Rg8 31. Kf2 Rg5 32. Rh1 Reg8 33. Rh2 f4 34. Re1 e5 35. a5 bxa5 {½-½ Erigaisi,A (2762)-Keymer,V (2726) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2024 (7)}) 6... Nc6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Qa4 O-O 10. Qa3 {Ding departs from his game against Magnus Carlsen.} (10. O-O cxd4 11. cxd4 c5 12. Rc1 c4 13. b3 Bd7 14. Qa5 cxb3 15. axb3 Rfb8 16. Nbd2 Rb5 17. Qc7 Ne8 18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19. Ne5 Be8 20. Nd3 a5 21. f3 Rb7 22. Ra2 Rba7 23. Kf2 a4 24. Rca1 Nc8 25. h4 Kf8 26. g4 axb3 27. Rxa7 Rxa7 28. Rxa7 Nxa7 29. Nxb3 Nb5 30. Nbc5 Ke7 31. Nf4 h6 32. g5 hxg5 33. hxg5 Nc7 34. Nh5 Kf8 35. Nf4 Ke7 36. Nh5 Kf8 37. Nf4 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2859)-Ding,L (2811) Tata Steel-A 85th Wijk aan Zee 2023 (3)}) 10... Ne4 11. Nfd2 e5 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxc5 Qg6 14. Nd2 Qxg2 15. O-O-O Qxf2 16. dxe5 Rb8 17. Nc4 {All this must have been Ding's preparation.} Be6 $146 {Not by any means a bad move.} (17... Qf3 {is the computer suggestion, but Anand for one seemed to know the secret was to harrass the rooks.} 18. Rhf1 {½-½ Martin,S (2144)-Chronopoulos,A (2144) LSS SA-2022-0-00792 LSS email}) 18. Rd2 Qf3 19. Re1 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Qf5 21. Qxc6 Qxe5 22. Qd5 {Here it became apparent that Ding didn't think much of his winning chances.} Qe7 23. Qd6 Qg5 24. Qd5 Qe7 25. Qd6 Qg5 26. Qd5 Qh4 {Gukesh always intended to avoid the repetition. On the one hand this seems a bit risky here, that it clearly shook Ding a bit was however a plus and Ding never came close to exploiting this.} 27. Red1 g6 28. Qe5 Rbe8 29. Qg3 Qh5 30. Qf4 Qa5 31. a3 (31. Kb1 {was the alternative.}) 31... Qb5 32. Rd4 Qe2 $1 {Very alert.} 33. R1d2 Qf3 34. Kc2 (34. Qg5 {is the only way to play for an edge here.} Qh1+ 35. Kc2 Qe1 36. Qf4) 34... Qxf4 35. exf4 f5 36. h4 e3 (36... Kg7 {was perhaps a more testing way to go as discussed after the game.}) 37. Re2 Re7 38. Kd3 Rfe8 39. h5 gxh5 40. Rd5 h4 41. Rxf5 Rd7+ 42. Kc2 Kg7 43. Rg2+ {There is no reaason for either side to play on here.} Kh8 44. Re2 Kg7 45. Rg2+ Kh8 46. Re2 Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 7.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "7.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.03"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 {This was Gukesh's main opening in his early years.} g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. c4 c6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 {A move order trick tried many times in online blitz by Rasmus Svane.} dxc4 (7... Be6) (7... Bf5) 8. e4 {White will get plenty for the pawn, assuming black even tries to hold on to it.} Bg4 9. Nbd2 c5 {Black has quite a few tries here. Ding identified this as the moment he realised he might be in trouble.} (9... b5 $5) 10. d5 e6 11. h3 {Over the next few moves it seems Ding has solved most of his problems.} (11. Nxc4 exd5 12. exd5) 11... Bxf3 12. Bxf3 exd5 13. exd5 Nbd7 14. Nxc4 b5 15. Na3 Qb6 16. Bf4 Rfe8 17. Qd2 Rad8 18. Nc2 Nf8 $6 {This is where Ding starts to get into trouble again, the knight has no prospects here.} (18... Rxe1+ $1 19. Rxe1 Ne8 20. Bg5 Ne5 21. Bh1 Rc8) 19. b4 c4 (19... cxb4 20. Nxb4 Ne4 {was a sequence Ding considered.}) 20. Be3 {A bit of a funny move and the computer thinks things are all leveled up after this.} (20. Rad1) 20... Qa6 21. Bd4 Rxe1+ $6 (21... N8d7 {Correcting the position of the knight seems the right thing to do.}) 22. Rxe1 Qxa2 $6 {Highly risky.} (22... Re8) 23. Ra1 Qb3 $2 {Now black is in big trouble.} (23... c3 $1 {Actually comes close to equalising.}) 24. Ra3 Qb1+ 25. Kg2 Rd7 {White is close to winning here.} (25... N6d7 26. Rxa7 Bxd4 27. Nxd4) 26. Ra5 Qb3 27. Ra3 Qb1 28. Ra5 Qb3 29. Rxb5 Qd3 30. Qf4 (30. Be3 Qxd2 31. Bxd2 Ne8 32. Ra5 Bf6 33. Ra6 Kg7 34. Be3 {is winning.}) 30... Qxc2 31. Bxf6 Qf5 32. Qxf5 (32. Bg5 $1) 32... gxf5 33. Bxg7 $6 (33. Bg5) 33... Kxg7 34. Rc5 Ng6 35. Rxc4 Ne5 36. Rd4 Nc6 $1 37. Rf4 (37. Rc4 Ne5 38. Rd4) 37... Ne7 $1 {Somehow black has survived into a savable endgame.} 38. b5 Kf6 39. Rd4 h6 40. Kf1 Ke5 $2 {Played with only 7 seconds left.} (40... Nc8 {and black should hold with the knight finding beautiful blockading squares.}) 41. Rh4 Nxd5 42. Rxh6 Nc3 43. Rc6 Ne4 44. Ke1 {Not the best.} (44. h4 $1 {Leads to a winning position.} Nd6 45. Kg2 Kf6 46. Ra6 Ke5 47. Bc6 Re7 48. Kf3 Nc4 49. h5) (44. Ra6) 44... f6 (44... Rd5 45. Be2 Rd4 46. h4 Rb4 47. Bd3) 45. h4 (45. Ra6) 45... Rd3 $1 {Gukesh seemed to have missed this and plays a bad move.} 46. Bd1 $2 {The game is back equal again. Gukesh admitted he missed Rh3 in a key line.} (46. Ke2 {is the only move to keep the advantage.} Rd5 47. b6 axb6 48. Rxb6 Ra5) 46... f4 47. gxf4+ Kxf4 48. Bc2 (48. Rc4 Rh3 $1 {was what Gukesh missed when playing Bd1.}) 48... Rd5 49. Rc4 {Gukesh may have been relying on this but it doesn't win.} f5 {[%eval 0,0] The evaluation of the engines is equal now.} 50. Rb4 Kf3 51. Bd1+ Kg2 52. Rb3 Re5 53. f4 Re7 54. Re3 Rh7 55. h5 Nf6 56. Re5 Nxh5 {Forced.} 57. Rxf5 Ng3 {Again forced.} 58. Rf8 Rb7 59. Ba4 Kf3 60. f5 Kf4 61. f6 Ne4 62. Bc2 Nd6 {This is accurately done by Ding, now the game will end in a draw without even the drama of a Rook and Bishop vs Rook endgame.} 63. Rd8 Ke5 64. Bb3 Nf7 65. Rd5+ Kxf6 66. Kd2 Rb6 67. Bc4 Rd6 68. Kc3 Rxd5 69. Bxd5 Nd6 70. Kb4 Nxb5 71. Kxb5 a6+ 72. Kxa6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 8.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "8.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.04"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Be7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 (5. d4 Nd7 6. e4 Ngf6 7. Bd3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nc5 9. O-O Nxd3 10. Qxd3 O-O 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. f3 Nd7 13. b3 Nc5 14. Qc2 a5 15. Bb2 f6 16. Rae1 Bd7 17. Qd2 b6 18. Nc2 Qf7 19. Ne3 Rae8 20. g4 b5 21. Nd5 bxc4 22. bxc4 Be6 23. Rc1 c6 24. Ne3 Rd8 25. Rfd1 Qc7 26. Bc3 Rd7 27. Bxa5 Qa7 28. Bc3 Ra8 29. Bd4 Qa3 30. Rc2 Rb7 31. Kf2 Kf7 32. h4 Nd7 33. Qe2 h6 34. Rd3 Qa4 {1-0 Yakubboev,N (2666)-Deac,B (2680) Julius Baer GenCup P/I m D2 Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (2.4)}) 5... c6 6. Nxe7 Nxe7 7. Bg2 {[#]} f6 $146 {An excellent idea that puts Ding under pressure from the start.} (7... O-O 8. O-O c5 9. b3 Nbc6 10. Bb2 h6 11. e3 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. d4 f6 15. Nh4 Bh7 16. Qd2 Qe8 17. d5 Nb8 18. f4 g5 19. Nf3 Nd7 20. f5 h5 21. e4 Kh8 22. Ne1 Qf7 23. Bf3 h4 24. Nd3 Rfc8 25. Rfc1 Bg8 26. a3 Qe8 27. Be2 Bf7 28. Ne1 Qg8 29. Nf3 Be8 30. Bc3 a6 31. a4 b6 32. a5 b5 33. cxb5 axb5 34. Bxb5 Nb8 35. Bc4 Na6 36. Nxh4 Qh7 37. Nf3 {½-½ Vakhidov,J (2599)-Caruana,F (2794) Wch Blitz Samarkand 2023 (8)}) 8. O-O Be6 9. b3 d5 10. Ba3 O-O (10... dxc4 $2 {Opens things up when black isn't ready.} 11. bxc4 Bxc4 (11... Nd7 12. Rb1) 12. d4 exd4 13. Nxd4 O-O 14. Rb1 {+3.3}) 11. Rc1 a5 12. Ne1 $5 Re8 13. f4 exf4 14. Rxf4 dxc4 15. bxc4 Ng6 16. Re4 {This rook is very awkwardly placed.} Na6 17. Nc2 {It's hard to say whether this move is bad, but it wasn't the first choice of the engines.} (17. Bb2) (17. Qb3) 17... Qc7 18. Nd4 Bf7 19. d3 Ne5 20. Nf3 Nd7 (20... Bg6 $5 21. Rf4 Nb4 {and black is beginning to get traction.}) 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Rb1 $6 {This leads to trouble for white.} (22. Qd2) 22... b5 23. cxb5 (23. Qd2) 23... Qb6+ 24. Kf1 cxb5 25. Bb2 {This is based on a miscalculation, but Gukesh doesn't find the best either.} (25. Qd2 {Keeping the a-pawn.}) 25... Bxa2 26. Bd4 Nac5 (26... Ndc5 $1 {Gukesh thought this reply looked weird. But also even when he looked at the line it wasn't immediately clear to him why it was so strong.} 27. Rc1 Bd5 28. Nh4 Rd8 29. e3 Bxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qb7+ 31. Kg1 Ne6 {and black has consolidated and his queenside pawns will just win.}) 27. Rc1 Bb3 (27... b4 {and black is still a bit better.}) 28. Qe1 $1 (28. Qd2 {was what Gukesh expected.}) 28... Be6 $2 {and now the game completely turns around.} (28... a4) 29. Qf2 Rc8 30. Be3 Rc7 31. Nd4 (31. Ne1 {turns out to be a cleaner solution.} Bf7 {was Ding's objection over the board.}) 31... Bf7 32. Nc6 Rxc6 33. Bxc6 Qxc6 34. Bxc5 h6 35. Ke1 (35. Be3 Qe6) 35... b4 36. Qd4 {this position is still very difficult but now white starts to go wrong.} (36. Kd2) (36. Qe3) 36... Ne5 37. Kd2 Qg2 38. Qf2 Qd5 39. Qd4 Qg2 (39... Qa2+ 40. Rc2 Qe6) 40. Qf2 Qd5 {White is better here at first time control.} 41. Qd4 $2 $11 {This loses white all his winning chances. It wasn't clear to either player that white was supposed to be better here.} (41. Bd4) 41... Qa2+ {Turning down the draw offer.} 42. Rc2 Qe6 43. Qd8+ Kh7 44. Qxa5 b3 45. Rc1 Qd5 46. Qb4 Qg2 47. Qe4+ Qxe4 48. dxe4 b2 49. Rb1 Ba2 50. Rxb2 Nc4+ 51. Kc3 Nxb2 {and the endgame is an obvious draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 9.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "9.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.05"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Rd1 b6 (9... a5 10. Bf4 b6 11. Nbd2 Nh5 12. Be5 Ba6 13. e4 Rc8 14. Rac1 Bb7 15. Qb3 f6 16. Bf4 f5 17. exd5 Nxf4 18. gxf4 cxd5 19. Ne5 Bb4 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. cxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 Qxd5 23. Qxd5 exd5 24. Nf3 Kf7 25. Kg2 Ke6 26. a4 Bd6 27. Re1+ Kd7 28. Ne5+ Bxe5 29. fxe5 Ke6 30. b3 g5 31. f4 gxf4 32. Kf3 Rg8 33. Rg1 Rxg1 34. Rxc8 Kd7 35. Rb8 Kc7 36. Rh8 Rf1+ 37. Ke2 Rb1 38. Rxh7+ Kc6 39. Rh6+ {½-½ Praggnanandhaa,R (2749)-Gukesh,D (2766) Sinquefield Cup 11th Saint Louis 2024 (3)}) 10. Bc3 {A sophisticated idea that's only been played a few times, almost all by Grandmasters.} Bb7 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Rac1 {[#]} Rfd8 $146 (12... Rac8 13. b3 h6 14. Qb2 Qb8 15. Ne5 Rfd8 16. e4 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 c5 20. Qe2 Qa8 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. h4 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Qd3 Be7 26. h5 Bg5 27. f3 Qc6 28. Kf2 Qb7 29. Ke2 Qc6 30. Kd1 Qb7 31. Kc2 Qc6 32. Kd1 Qb7 33. Ke1 Qc6 34. Kf2 Qb7 35. f4 Be7 36. Qf3 Qc8 37. Qe4 Bf8 38. Ke2 Be7 39. Bd2 Bf8 40. g4 Qe8 41. Be1 Qd8 42. Bf2 {1-0 L'Ami,E (2644)-Fedorchuk,S (2611) Bundesliga 1819 Germany 2018 (6.4)}) 13. b4 $5 {Gaining space on the Queeside.} c5 {A natural response.} (13... h6 {is surprisingly playable too.} 14. c5 a5) 14. bxc5 bxc5 15. Qb2 (15. dxc5 Qxc5 {"slightly better for white" - Ding.}) 15... Nb6 (15... Rab8 16. Qa1 {Ding said he didn't like this over the board.}) (15... Qb6 16. Nb3 dxc4 17. Ba5 Qb5 18. Bxd8 Rxd8 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. a4 Qb4 {Was a line Ding calculated but didn't trust. The final move isn't accurate.} (20... Qb6 $1)) 16. Ba5 {This pin has the potential of being awkward.} dxc4 17. Nxc4 Bxf3 (17... Nxc4 $1 18. Rxc4 Qxa5 19. Qxb7 Nd7 20. Qb3 {with equality.}) 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Bxf3 Ra6 20. Qb5 (20. e3 {Was Gukesh's alternative with possibly a small edge.}) (20. Ne5 $5) 20... Rxa2 $1 21. Nxb6 Qa7 22. Qb1 Rb8 {and black has solved all his problems.} 23. dxc5 Ra6 24. Qb5 Bxc5 25. Qxc5 Qxb6 26. Qxb6 Raxb6 27. Rc6 Rxc6 28. Bxc6 g5 {The game is heading for a draw, Gukesh doesn't exactly get into trouble but he's a bit casual towards the end.} 29. Kg2 Rb2 30. Kf1 Kg7 31. h3 h5 32. Ra1 Rc2 33. Bb5 Rc5 34. Bd3 Nd7 35. f4 {There are easier ways.} (35. Ra7) 35... gxf4 36. gxf4 Rc3 37. Kf2 Nc5 38. Ke3 Nxd3 39. exd3 Rc2 40. Kf3 Rd2 41. Ra3 Kg6 42. Rb3 f6 43. Ra3 Kf5 44. Ra5+ e5 45. fxe5 Rxd3+ 46. Ke2 Rxh3 47. exf6+ Kxf6 48. Kf2 h4 49. Kg2 Rg3+ 50. Kh2 {A known easy draw.} Kg6 51. Rb5 Rg5 52. Rxg5+ Kxg5 53. Kh3 Kf6 54. Kxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 10.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "10.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.07"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. Be2 Bd6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. c4 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. Nc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nh5 {Played after some thought.} (10... h6 11. a3 Qe7 12. Qe2 e5 13. Bg3 Bg4 14. Qc2 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Rac8 16. Bh4 g5 17. Qg6+ Kh8 18. Qxh6+ Nh7 19. Bg3 f5 20. b4 Bb6 21. Nd5 Qe8 22. Rac1 f4 23. exf4 exf4 24. Rfe1 Ne5 25. Bd3 Nxd3 26. Rxe8 Rcxe8 27. Nxb6 fxg3 28. hxg3 Nxc1 29. Nd5 Nd3 30. Qh5 Kg7 31. Ne3 Ne5 32. f4 gxf4 33. gxf4 Ng6 34. f5 Ne5 35. Kf1 Nf6 36. Qh4 Rh8 37. Qg3+ Kf7 38. Qg2 Rhg8 39. Qxb7+ Re7 40. Qa6 {1-0 Tang,A (2524)-Kantor,G (2537) Julius Baer GenCup Pl/In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (4)}) (10... Qxd1 {can hardly be bad.}) 11. Bg5 {Ding in turn fell into thought.} (11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Bc7 Rd7 13. Be5 Nf6 14. Bg3 a6 15. Rac1 Ba7 16. Be2 h6 17. h3 Kf8 18. a3 Rd8 19. Ne5 Nxe5 20. Bxe5 Bd7 21. Bf3 Bc6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Na4 Rac8 24. Rc4 Rd5 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rfc1 Ra5 27. Nc5 Ke7 28. Nd3 Kd6 29. R1c2 Rb5 30. Nb4 Rb6 31. Kf1 a5 32. Nd3 Rb5 33. Ke2 Rg5 34. g3 Rh5 35. h4 Rb5 36. Nc1 f5 37. Na2 Rc5 38. Rd2+ Rd5 39. Nc3 Rxd2+ 40. Kxd2 Rg8 41. Kd3 Bb6 42. Na4 {½-½ Portisch,L (2590)-Vaganian,R (2585) Reggio Emilia Top15 33rd 1991}) 11... Be7 12. Ne4 Nf6 {[#]} 13. Nxf6+ $146 (13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qc2 Be7 15. Rfd1 Qa5 16. a3 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Qxd8 18. Rd1 Qc7 19. Neg5 g6 20. Qd3 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Qxe5 22. h4 Qxb2 23. Qe4 Qf6 24. a4 Qf5 25. Qd4 b6 26. g4 Qc5 27. Qf4 Bxg5 28. hxg5 Qf8 29. Qc7 Qc5 30. Rd8+ Kg7 31. Qf4 f5 32. gxf6+ Kf7 33. Rh8 {1-0 Melkumyan,H (2653)-Saric,A (2540) Bayern-chI Bank Hofmann 20th Bad Wiessee 2016 (6)}) 13... Bxf6 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Rfd1 {It's already hard to imagine anything other than a draw.} Bd7 17. Rac1 Be8 18. Rxd8 Rxd8 19. Kf1 Kg7 20. a3 f5 21. Ke1 Kf6 22. Be2 Ne7 23. g3 Rc8 24. Rxc8 Nxc8 25. Nd2 Nd6 26. Nc4 Nxc4 27. Bxc4 Bc6 28. f4 b6 29. Kd2 Ke7 30. Kc3 Kd6 31. b4 f6 32. Kd4 h6 33. Bb3 Bb7 34. Bc4 Bc6 35. Bb3 Bb7 36. Bc4 Bc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 11.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "11.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.08"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] {[%evp 0,57,80,8,26,-6,7,4,3,8,24,-15,26,14,22,20,13,13,21,27,13,14,14,-4,-4,-36,-47,-62,-85,-85,-69,-61,4,4,4,-66,4,4,3,11,19,19,7,6,19,26,12,10,10,10,21,-4,47,42,63,66,93,25,389,392]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 c5 4. e3 Nf6 {20 minutes thought.} (4... dxe3 5. fxe3 {was not attractive to Ding.}) 5. a3 {A very rare idea. It was only shown to Gukesh by his team the night before.} Bg4 $146 {Ding had used over an hour now.} (5... Nc6 $11) (5... Nc6 6. b5 Na5 7. d3 dxe3 8. Bxe3 b6 9. Bd2 g6 10. a4 Qd6 11. Be2 Bg7 12. Bxa5 bxa5 {½-½ Alekseev,V (2373)-Hoeppenstein,M (2415) Champion's League 2019/B1 email ICCF email [2]}) 6. exd4 $14 {A09: Réti Opening: 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4.} cxd4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 {White has an edge.} Qc7 9. d3 $6 {An inaccurate move.} (9. c5 $142) 9... a5 $11 10. b5 Nbd7 11. g3 $1 {This move cost Gukesh over an hour on the clock. Things have clearly gone wrong but they're not that bad after this accurate move.} Nc5 {Hoping for ...Nb3.} 12. Bg2 $1 Nfd7 {aiming for ...Ne5.} 13. O-O $1 Ne5 14. Qf4 Rd8 {...e6! would now be deadly.} 15. Rd1 (15. Nd2 $1 $11 Ncxd3 (15... e6) 16. Qe4) 15... g6 $6 $11 {The wrong idea. Gukesh thought he was in trouble already and he used acres of time but this move lets him off the hook.} (15... e6 $17 {Strongly threatening ...Bd6!} 16. a4 Bd6 17. Qxd4 Nexd3) (15... Qb8 $1) 16. a4 h5 {[#]} 17. b6 $1 Qd6 {Strongly threatening ...Bh6!} (17... Qb8 18. Ba3 Nexd3) 18. Ba3 $1 {Black must now prevent Bxc5. A strong pair of Bishops.} Bh6 19. Bxc5 Qxc5 20. Qe4 Nc6 21. Na3 {Rdb1 would now be deadly.} Rd7 $2 (21... O-O $1 $14) 22. Nc2 {It was only after this move that Gukesh thought he might be getting chances.} (22. Qe2 $16) 22... Qxb6 $14 23. Rab1 {Prevents Qb2.} Qc7 (23... Qd8) 24. Rb5 {White has compensation.} O-O $1 25. Na1 $6 {Both players had 14 minutes here but Ding used 7 of them on his next.} (25. Rdb1 $14 Rb8 (25... Qc8 26. Qe2 e5) 26. Qe1) 25... Rb8 (25... Rd6 $11 {is superior.} 26. Rdb1 Rb8 {a final chance to equalise.}) 26. Nb3 {This is a very unpleasant situation for Ding.} e6 $2 (26... Rd6 $1 $14) 27. Nc5 $16 {And now Rdb1! would win.} Re7 28. Rdb1 $6 {This was played quickly and it had the desired effect.} ({Better is} 28. Nxb7 $1 $16 {I think shouldn't be that hard to find.} Rxb7 (28... Nb4 29. Qxd4 Bg7 30. Qh4 Rd7 31. Rc5 Qb6 32. Rb5 Qc7) 29. Qxc6 Qxc6 30. Bxc6) 28... Qc8 $4 (28... Nb4 $1 $14 {and the game continues.}) 29. Qxc6 $1 1-0 [Event "Round 12.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Round "12.1"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.09"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 d4 {Black certainly didn't have to play this ambitiously. Be7 is most played here but there are many lines and choices.} 5. O-O Nc6 ({Relevant:} 5... c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. d3 Be7 8. exd4 cxd4 9. Re1 O-O 10. Na3 h6 11. Bf4 Bc5 12. Nc2 Nd7 13. a3 a5 14. b3 Re8 15. Bd2 e5 16. b4 Bd6 17. c5 Bf8 18. Rc1 axb4 19. axb4 Rb8 20. Na3 b5 21. Nxb5 Ba6 22. Nd6 Bxd6 23. cxd6 Nxb4 24. Qa4 Nxd3 25. Qxa6 Nxe1 26. Rxe1 Rb6 27. Qa3 Qf6 28. Nxd4 Rxd6 29. Nf3 Nb6 30. Bb4 Rde6 31. Nd2 Qg6 32. Ne4 Nd5 33. Nd6 Nxb4 34. Nxe8 Nc2 35. Qa8 {1-0 Ding,L (2762)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2747) Norway Chess Armageddon 12th Stavanger rapid 2024 (2)}) 6. e3 Be7 7. d3 dxe3 8. Bxe3 e5 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 {[#]} h6 $146 {Ding fingered this as possibly being a bit slow.} ({Predecessor:} 10... Be6 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Bxd4 c6 15. Bh3 Bxh3 16. Rxe7 Nd7 17. Rae1 c5 18. Be5 Rfe8 19. Bd6 Rxe7 20. Rxe7 b6 21. f3 Be6 22. b3 a6 23. a4 h6 24. Kf2 Rd8 25. Bc7 Rc8 26. Nd5 Bxd5 27. Rxd7 Bc6 28. Rd8+ Rxd8 29. Bxd8 b5 30. a5 f5 31. Bb6 Kf7 32. Bxc5 g5 33. Ke3 bxc4 34. bxc4 Ke6 35. Bf8 h5 36. Bh6 g4 37. f4 Bg2 38. Kd4 Bf1 39. Bf8 Be2 40. Ba3 {½-½ Postny,E (2564)-Parkhov,Y (2468) Jerusalem Maccabi Jerusalem 2022 (2)}) (10... Ng4 11. Bc1 Nb4 12. Bf1) 11. a3 (11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 c6 14. Qxd8 Bxd8 15. Bc5 Re8 {was a line Ding mentioned as being too simple to cause trouble.}) 11... a5 12. h3 Be6 13. Kh2 Rb8 $6 {Possibly this was the first major inaccuracy from Gukesh.} (13... Qd7 {was the move Ding expected.} 14. Qb3 $6 {Ding mentioned this but it isn't good.} (14. Qd2 Rad8 15. Rad1 Rfe8 16. Qc1 Qc8 {with a fairly normal edge for white.}) 14... a4 $1) (13... Re8) 14. Qc2 Re8 (14... Nd4 15. Bxd4 exd4 16. Nb5 c5 {with an edge to white.}) 15. Nb5 {Ding was pretty happy with the outcome of the opening.} Bf5 16. Rad1 Nd7 $2 {The knights never stand well after this.} (16... Bf8 {Looks like only a small edge to white.} 17. Qd2 Qd7 18. d4 exd4 19. Nbxd4 Be4) 17. Qd2 Bg6 (17... Nc5 18. d4 Nd3 19. d5 Nxe1 20. Qxe1 Nd4 21. Nfxd4 exd4 22. Nxd4 Bg6 23. Qxa5 {This was a key line that Gukesh misevaluated ahead of time and explains how he ended up in such a mess. But maybe this had to be tried anyhow because what was played seems worse than this.}) (17... a4 $5) 18. d4 e4 19. Ng1 Nb6 (19... Bf8) 20. Qc3 (20. Bf1 $5) 20... Bf6 21. Qc2 (21. Ne2 {is slightly more accurate.}) 21... a4 22. Ne2 Bg5 $2 {After this final miscalculation black is just busted.} (22... Na5 23. Nf4 Naxc4 24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Bxe4 Qd7 {is still massive for white.}) 23. Nf4 $1 {Ding said it was only here he realised his position was "much, much better".} Bxf4 {This is absolutely the last thing Gukesh wanted to do. White dominates the dark squares and it's +3 according to the ending, the equivalent of being a piece up.} (23... Bh7 24. c5 Bxf4 25. cxb6 Bxg3+ 26. fxg3) (23... Bf5 24. c5 Nd7 25. Qxa4) 24. Bxf4 Rc8 25. Qc3 Nb8 26. d5 {From now on it's only a question of not messing things up for Ding, he has a crushing advantage.} (26. Na7 {is also very possible.}) 26... Qd7 27. d6 c5 28. Nc7 Rf8 29. Bxe4 Nc6 30. Bg2 Rcd8 31. Nd5 Nxd5 32. cxd5 Nb8 33. Qxc5 Rc8 34. Qd4 Na6 35. Re7 Qb5 36. d7 Rc4 37. Qe3 Rc2 38. Bd6 f6 39. Rxg7+ {the game has been completely gone for a long time and this allows Gukesh to resign with a clear conscience. White will get a new Queen and in fact it is mate in 7.} 1-0 [Event "Round 13.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.12.11"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Gukesh, D"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2728"] [ECO "C11"] [Opening "French"] [Variation "Steinitz variation"] [WhiteFideId "46616543"] [BlackFideId "8603677"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. a3 {Already uncommon, there are two moves with vastly more games. Ding called this a "move order trick" and he had to work out a next move that could meet all of the potential plans.} (7. f4) (7. Nf3) 7... Be7 {[#]} (7... Qb6 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Be7 10. Nf4 Qd8 11. h4 Nb6 12. Bd3 h6 13. g3 Bd7 14. Kf1 Rc8 15. Kg2 O-O 16. Bb1 f5 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qd3 Qf8 19. Qh7+ Kf7 20. Bg6+ Rxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kg8 22. Nxe6 Bxe6 23. Qxe6+ Qf7 24. Qxf7+ Kxf7 25. Bf4 Bf6 26. Be5 Re8 27. Bxf6 gxf6 28. Rhe1 Re7 29. Rxe7+ Nxe7 30. b3 Ke6 31. Rc1 Kd7 32. g4 Nbc8 33. Kg3 Nd6 34. Kf4 Ne4 35. Rc2 Ke6 36. h5 Nc6 37. Ke3 {1-0 Kamsky,G (2609)-Dilmukhametov,A (2276) Titled Tuesday intern op 27th Aug Late Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (2)}) 8. Be3 $5 $146 {And now a new move albeit one the most basic Stockfish likes.} (8. Nf3 O-O 9. Nf4 Qa5 10. Be3 {1-0 Nyberg,W (2302)-Sodomski,A (2289) VW-Cup13 Gr34 email ICCF email 2021}) 8... Nb6 {A very concrete idea from Ding.} (8... a5) (8... cxd4 {Seems most precise.} 9. cxd4) (8... f6 {Ding mentioned that already he's limited as this normal type of move cannot be played.} 9. Nf4) 9. Nf4 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nc4 {This was Ding's idea. Stockfish says +1 but it's at least a fight.} 11. Bxc4 dxc4 12. Nge2 {One can hardly blame Gukesh for wanting to keep some measure of control but the very sharp Qg4 is the engine's choice. Gukesh said he only briefly looked at it and it didn't seem that strong to him.} (12. Qg4 Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Qb6 14. Qxg7 Rf8 15. Nge2 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 17. Be3 Qe4 {There's no working this stuff out over the board, it came down to whether white fancied it or not. Gukesh's decision looks very sensible to me.}) 12... b5 (12... f6 {Came into serious consideration and looks fine to me.}) 13. O-O O-O 14. Nc3 Rb8 15. Nh5 (15. Re1 b4 16. axb4 Rxb4 {was the alternative.}) 15... f5 {As white seems to have to capture anyhow f6 is the same.} (15... f6) (15... Kh8) 16. exf6 (16. d5 exd5 17. Nxd5 {was Ding's first thought in this position. Black is close to equality though.} Be6 18. Nhf4 Bxd5 19. Qxd5+ Qxd5 20. Nxd5 {"looks slightly better for white" - Ding.}) 16... Bxf6 17. Qf3 $11 (17. Nxf6+ {is the engine preference.} Qxf6 18. d5 exd5 19. Qxd5+ Qe6 20. Rfd1 {Gukesh didn't think much of this, Ding said he thought white was slightly better here and if he'd been white this would have been his choice.} Qxd5 21. Rxd5 Rf5 22. Rd6 Bb7) (17. Qg4 {was another move that Gukesh looked at.} e5 $1 $11 (17... Rb7 {Gukesh} 18. Rad1 {is actually good for white.})) 17... Qe8 {Not a bad move but it is possible to grab d4, a very hot pawn.} (17... Nxd4 {Ding admitted to missing quite a lot of details in rejecting this move.} 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. Qh5 Rf5 20. Qd1 e5 $11) 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. Qe2 $1 {Ding praised this move saying that it was a strong positional move that he missed.} (19. Qe4 Bb7 $11) 19... Qg6 20. f3 Rf8 21. Rad1 {White has a nice edge in a tricky position for both sides.} Ne7 {Now Ding is hit by a couple of very unpleasant moves.} 22. Bf4 $1 Rb6 (22... Rxf4 23. Qe5 {wins for white.}) 23. Bc7 Rb7 $6 {Things have very much taken a turn for the worse for Ding. It's +1, not winning or anything but Gukesh is in the ascendency.} (23... Rc6 24. Be5) 24. Bd6 Re8 {Gukesh has 30 minutes, Ding 19 to make move 40.} 25. Bxe7 $6 {Giving Ding a little relief.} (25. Rfe1 {preventing Nd5, the move that Gukesh was worried about, was better.}) (25. Qe5 {also works.}) 25... Rexe7 26. Qe5 a6 (26... h6 {was playable too.} 27. Nxb5 Bd7 28. a4 a6) 27. d5 exd5 28. Qxd5+ Qe6 (28... Re6 {is not as natural but slightly preferred by the engines.}) 29. Qc5 Re8 30. Rde1 Qf7 $2 (30... Qxe1 31. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 32. Kf2 Re8 33. Ne4 Rbe7 {would have been only slightly better for white.}) 31. Ne4 $2 {Gukesh's problem is that this looks powerful, Ding didn't have a reply and thought he might have to resign. Then he found the only move.} (31. Rxe8+ Qxe8 32. Ne4 Qd7 33. Nd6 Rb8 34. Qd5+ Kf8 35. Rd1 Bb7 36. Qe5 {is much better for white and I find it hard to believe Ding would have survived this.}) 31... Rf8 $1 {The only move, but sufficient. After this the game quickly headed to a draw with piece trades.} 32. Nd6 Rc7 $1 {This is the key to black's defence.} 33. Qe5 Qf6 {Best.} 34. Qd5+ Kh8 35. Re5 Re7 36. Rfe1 Rxe5 37. Rxe5 h6 38. Qc5 Bd7 39. Ne4 Qf4 40. Re7 Bf5 41. Qd4 Rg8 42. h3 Qc1+ 43. Kf2 Bxe4 44. Rxe4 c3 $1 {Very nice} 45. bxc3 (45. Qxc3 Qxc3 46. bxc3 Rc8 47. Re3 (47. Re6 a5 48. Re5 Rxc3 49. Rxb5 Rxa3) 47... Rc4) 45... Qxa3 46. Kg3 Qb3 47. Re7 a5 48. Rb7 Qc4 49. Qe5 Qc6 50. Qxb5 Qxc3 51. Ra7 Qe1+ 52. Kh2 Qb4 {Not messing about, Ding knew there was precisely no chance of him losing this rook endgame and so he went into it.} (52... Qe3 {might have ended the game sooner.} 53. Rxa5 Qf4+ 54. Kh1 Qc1+ 55. Kh2 Qf4+ 56. Kg1 Rc8 57. Ra4 Rc1+ 58. Kf2 Rc2+ 59. Kg1 Rc1+) 53. Qxb4 axb4 54. Rb7 Ra8 55. Rxb4 Ra2 56. Kg3 {Gukesh is practically obligated to at least try for a while in this position but he knows there is no chance of a win. It's just a standard technical draw with a many different ways to defend..} Kh7 57. Rb5 Kg6 58. f4 Kf6 59. Kf3 Rc2 60. g3 Rc3+ 61. Kg4 Ra3 62. h4 Rc3 63. Rb6+ Kf7 64. f5 h5+ 65. Kf4 {Now there isn't even a try left for white.} (65. Kxh5 Rxg3) (65. Kh3 Rc5 66. Rb3 Rxf5) 65... Rc4+ 66. Kf3 Rc3+ 67. Kf4 Rc4+ 68. Kf3 Rc3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 14.1"] [Site "Singapore SIN"] [Date "2024.12.12"] [Round "14.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh, D"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [ECO "A08"] [Opening "Reti"] [Variation "King's Indian attack"] [WhiteFideId "8603677"] [BlackFideId "46616543"] [EventDate "2024.11.25"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 e6 5. O-O cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nge7 {This is already very rare.} (6... Bc5 {1-0 Artemiev,V (2711)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2740) Wch Blitz Samarkand 2023 (6)}) 7. c4 (7. Nb3 g6 8. c4 Bg7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Nc3 d4 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Bg5 Qb6 13. Qd2 Bf5 14. Rac1 Rad8 15. Na5 f6 16. Nc4 Qb4 17. a3 Qxd2 18. Bxd2 Bg4 19. Rfe1 b6 20. b4 d3 21. exd3 Nd4 22. Nc3 Rf7 23. Bf4 g5 24. Bc7 Rd7 25. Bd6 Nf3+ 26. Bxf3 Bxf3 27. Re3 g4 28. Rce1 Bf8 29. Bxe7 Rfxe7 30. Ne4 Re6 31. Ned2 Rxe3 32. fxe3 Rxd3 33. Nxf3 gxf3 34. Kf2 b5 35. Na5 Rxa3 36. Nc6 a6 37. Kxf3 Kf7 38. Rd1 Bh6 39. Rd7+ Ke6 40. Rxh7 Bf8 41. g4 Kd5 42. Ne7+ Kc4 43. h4 a5 44. bxa5 b4 45. Rf7 Bxe7 46. Rxe7 Rxa5 47. Rc7+ Kd3 48. Rb7 Kc3 49. Kf4 Ra4 50. Kf5 Ra1 51. Kg6 Rg1 52. g5 fxg5 53. hxg5 b3 {½-½ Garcia Ilundain,D (2495)-Arencibia Rodriguez,W (2535) Catalunya-chT Spain 1998 (6)}) 7... Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6 9. Qd1 {Most likely there's a more precise Queen move.} (9. Qd3) (9. Qf4) 9... d4 10. e3 {[#]} Bc5 $146 (10... e5 11. exd4 exd4 12. Re1+ Be7 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Bxc6+ bxc6 16. Qxd4 O-O 17. Nc3 Rfd8 18. Qe3 Qf6 19. b3 h6 20. Qe5 Qxe5 21. Rxe5 Bh3 22. Rae1 Rd2 23. Rh5 Be6 24. Ra5 Bh3 25. Rh5 Be6 26. Rc5 Rc2 27. Ne2 Rd8 28. Nf4 Rdd2 29. Nxe6 Rxf2 30. Nf4 g5 31. Ne2 Rfxe2 32. Rxe2 Rxe2 33. Rxc6 Rxa2 34. Rxh6 Ra3 35. Rf6 Rxb3 36. Rf5 Rb1+ 37. Kf2 Rb2+ 38. Ke3 Rxh2 39. Rxg5+ Kf8 40. Ra5 {½-½ Sarakauskas,G (2388)-Willow,J (2395) BCF-chT 2223 (4NCL) England 2022 (11.6)}) 11. exd4 Bxd4 12. Nc3 O-O 13. Nb5 {This doesn't really work and the game is now equal.} Bb6 $6 (13... e5 $11) 14. b3 (14. Qe2 {Seems more likely to preserve an edge.} e5 15. Rd1 Qf6 16. Be3 Nd4 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Bf4 Be6 19. Rac1) 14... a6 15. Nc3 Bd4 16. Bb2 (16. Qc2) 16... e5 17. Qd2 Be6 (17... Qa5) 18. Nd5 b5 19. cxb5 $6 (19. Bxd4 {is about as much as white can expect.} Nxd4 20. f4 bxc4 21. bxc4 Rc8) 19... axb5 20. Nf4 exf4 21. Bxc6 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 Rb8 23. Rfd1 Qb6 24. Bf3 fxg3 25. hxg3 b4 {The game is completely equal and indeed black looks to be for preference.} 26. a4 {Going directly into a drawn endgame, but one where, unlike in game 13, there are some practical chances for Gukesh and definitely suffering involved for Ding.} bxa3 27. Rxa3 g6 28. Qd4 Qb5 29. b4 Qxb4 30. Qxb4 Rxb4 31. Ra8 Rxa8 32. Bxa8 g5 33. Bd5 Bf5 34. Rc1 Kg7 35. Rc7 Bg6 36. Rc4 Rb1+ 37. Kg2 Re1 38. Rb4 {Black will keep his pawns on dark sqares.} h5 39. Ra4 Re5 40. Bf3 Kh6 41. Kg1 Re6 42. Rc4 g4 43. Bd5 Rd6 44. Bb7 Kg5 45. f3 f5 46. fxg4 hxg4 47. Rb4 Bf7 48. Kf2 Rd2+ 49. Kg1 Kf6 50. Rb6+ Kg5 51. Rb4 Be6 52. Ra4 Rb2 53. Ba8 {Putting the bishop in the corner means it can't escape the diagonal.} (53. Bg2 {was safer.}) 53... Kf6 54. Rf4 Ke5 55. Rf2 $4 {Loses the game trivilally. I cannot begin to understand how Ding did this.} (55. Ra4) 55... Rxf2 56. Kxf2 Bd5 57. Bxd5 Kxd5 58. Ke3 Ke5 (58... Ke5 59. Kd3 {White has to give way somehow.} (59. Kf2 Kd4 60. Ke2 Ke4 61. Kf2 Kd3) 59... f4 60. gxf4+ (60. Ke2 f3+) 60... Kxf4) 0-1

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