Why Ding Liren is hanging hopes on Game 12 for a turnaround against D Gukesh | Chess News

You would think Game 11 of the Chess World Championships where D Gukesh and Ding Liren battled each other on a thinking spree but the Indian strode forward with a win, was wrecking for the Chinese.
But the 26-year-old had hung his hopes on Monday’s Game 12, recalling the last dozenth Game of the match he played against Ian Nepomniachtchi in summer of 2023. Precisely 26 April.
“In the last match I made a comeback on the twelfth Game, so I am hoping to play well tomorrow,” Ding said after going down to Gukesh on Sunday.
As is his wont Ding had thrived in the absolute chaos of that particular round, and dragged Nepomniachtchi to the brink of doom – coolly walking away with a win from the edge, even as the Russian leaped to his end in 38 moves.
Game 12 had led to both immense excitement about the sheer drama, and scoffing critiques of the plummeted quality of play as only 73% accuracy was noted along with 3 epic blunders, as Ding came from behind and destabilised a completely baffled Nepomniachtchi. Both got into time trouble, ran out of time, played blunders upon blunders and then came in the throwing of the towel – all of which had started with a deep think of 30 minutes from white.

World Champion Ding Liren blunders in Game 11 of the FIDE World Championship and immediately resigns! The 18-year-old chess prodigy Gukesh D took a huge step to become the youngest classical chess champion in hory!
Watch the Game 11 In Under 2 minutes! #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/QMGtx6xmXQ
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 9, 2024
Ding opted for a worse position with a lot of complications which stayed complicated for a long time, as inaccuracies seeped in. After all the captures-recaptures on king-side, it was a b3 queenside move that won, and many were left asking ‘Why??’
First blunder from Nepo was he didn’t go for fork on rooks and knight on 27th move, then there was a completely missed rook capture on 29th, and final blunder came at move 34, where Nepo hung a pawn f5, but hung equivalent of a whole queen and precipitated a loss.
Pawn, Game, Match. Sealed from thereon.
Sample some of the best comments from fans in the aftermath:
“Good to see Super GMs can blunder a pawn, game, match in one move.”
“Armwrestle with scorpions on either side of table.”
“Magnus vs Fabi was boring machine vs machine, Ding vs Nepo was so human, all makes, blunders.” WOW, the warts!
“Blunderfest”
“Ian just lost to Nepo”
While the spectre of Magnus Carlsen hung on the match, Ding and Nepo playing clumsy Chess, found fans who revelled in the edgy error strewn display.
Game 11 of Gukesh-Ding had its share of drama of nothingness. But the Chinese is seeking inspiration from that Game 12, as he starts on the board at 2.30 . Ding plays white.