World Chess Championship: Gukesh takes lead, beats Ding Liren in Game 11

In a dramatic Game 11 of the World Chess Championship, India's Gukesh D forced reigning champion Ding Liren into an unexpected resignation after the Chinese grandmaster blundered a piece in a time scramble. The game was a tense battle of nerves and calculation, with both players caught in a massive time pressure scenario. 

 

At one point, Ding had over eight minutes to make 16 moves, while Gukesh had just under 15 minutes to make 15 moves. Despite having more time, Ding struggled to manage the clock effectively, spending an inordinate amount of time on individual moves. By the 11th move, Gukesh had built up a massive time advantage, having spent an hour on a single move. Meanwhile, Ding had used his first hour on just five moves, including a staggering 38 minutes on his fourth move.

 

 

Gukesh’s aggressive opening choice, the Reti Opening, caught Ding off guard. The young Indian grandmaster's innovative approach led to a strong initiative that left Ding under severe pressure. In a final miscalculation while under time trouble, Ding blundered a piece, allowing Gukesh to force a resignation, securing a critical victory in the World Chess Championship.  The moves: D Gukesh - Ding Liren  1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 c5 4.e3 Nf6 5.a3 Bg4 6.exd4 cxd4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Qc7 9.d3 a5 10.b5 Nbd7 11.g3 Nc5 12.Bg2 Nfd7 13.00 Ne5 14.Qf4 Rd8 15.Rd1 g6 16.a4 h5 17.b6 Qd6 18.Ba3 Bh6 19.Bxc5 Qxc5 20.Qe4 Nc6 21.Na3 Rd7 22.Nc2 Qxb6 23.Rab1 Qc7 24.Rb5 00 25.Na1 Rb8 26.Nb3 e6 27.Nc5 Re7 28.Rdb1 Qc8 29.Qxc6 black resigned.