Another tight draw as Ding Liren and Gukesh D battle for world chess title
• Read our full viewing guide to the World Chess Championship
The players
Chinas Ding Liren defends the World Chess Championship against the fast-rising Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju. The best-of-14-games competition will take place from November 23 to December 15 at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, with a total prize pool of $2.5 million (£1.98 million).
Ding became China’s first men’s world chess champion by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in Kazakhstan last year, winning the title vacated by former world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway. But the 32-year-old from Zhejiang province has played just 44 classic matches in the 19 months since winning the world title, while battling personal problems including depression, and will go down as an underdog in his defense of his first world title.
Gukesh, commonly known as Gukesh D, stunned the chess establishment by winning the eight-man Candidates tournament in Toronto at the age of 17, becoming the youngest-ever challenger to the world championship. He finished at the top of a stacked field that included Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. . The 18-year-old can break the record for youngest ever world champion held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he dethroned Karpov in their 1985 rematch in Moscow.
The format
The competition consists of 14 classic games, with each player receiving one point for a win and half a point for a draw. The first to score seven and a half points is declared champion.
The time control for each game in the classic section is 120 minutes per game for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increase of 30 seconds per move, starting with move 41.
If the score is tied after 14 games, tiebreak games with faster time control will be played:
• A match is played consisting of four quick games with 15 minutes per game and a 10-second interval, starting with move 1. If a player scores 2½ points or more, he wins the championship.
• If the score is still tied, a mini-game of two quick games is played, with 10 minutes per game and a five-second increment, starting on move 1. If a player scores 1½ points or more, he wins the championship. .
• If the score is tied after the fast part, a mini-game of two blitz games is played, with a time control of three minutes per game and a two-second time increment, starting with move 1. If a player scores 1½ points or more, he would win the championship. Before each mini-match, a draw of lots took place to decide which player plays with the white pieces.
• If the blitz mini-match is tied, a single blitz game with a time control of three minutes per game and a two-second time interval is played, starting with move 1, and the winner wins the championship. A draw of lots would determine which player plays with the white pieces. If this game was drawn, another reverse suit blitz game would be played with the same time control, and the winner would win the championship. This process is repeated until either player wins a game.
Players may not agree to a draw before Black’s 40th move. A draw before then is only allowed if a three-way replay or stalemate has occurred.
The schedule
Sat Nov 23 Opening ceremony and technical meeting
Sun Nov 24 Rest day
Mon Nov 25 Game 1
Tue Nov 26 Game 2
Wed Nov 27 Game 3
Thu Nov 28 Rest day
Fri Nov 29 Game 4
Sat Nov 30 Game 5
Sun Dec 1 Game 6
Mon Dec 2 Rest day
Tue 3 Dec Game 7
Wed Dec 4 Game 8
Thu Dec 5 Game 9
Fri Dec 6 Rest day
Sat Dec 7 Game 10
Sun Dec 8 Game 11
Mon 9 Dec Game 12
Tue Dec 10 Rest day
Wed Dec 11 Game 13
Thu Dec 12 Game 14
Fri Dec 13 Tiebreaks (if necessary)
Sat Dec 14 Closing ceremony
All matches will start at 5:00 PM local time, 2:30 PM in India, 9:00 AM in London and 4:00 AM in New York.