SINGAPORE: In some of the games at the last two chess Olympiads in Mahabalipuram and Budapest, D Gukesh kept trying to squeeze water out of stone. Invariably, he succeeded. It kind of explained why he managed to go on long winning runs, eventually winning individual gold from Board 1 in both those team events. That, though, was then. You need different tactics to prosper in an unforgiving environment like the World Championship where the onus is on 'not doing anything stupid'.
The teen didn't do anything stupid at the last two Olympiads but he constantly kept pushing and prodding.
On Tuesday, he was more than happy — the phlegmatic Indian teen even allowed himself a smile at the post-match press conference — to walk away with a draw while playing with black pieces against Ding Liren in game two of the Championship in Singapore.
The Chinese world champion leads the 14-game series 1.5-0.5 but this game saw Gukesh perhaps easing himself into the long grind after admitting to 'some nerves' before the first game on Monday.
While summing up her thoughts for chess24, Judit Polgar admitted that she was surprised that Gukesh didn't press hard. "I think it was a smart decision," the Hungarian said. "Smart decision by Gukesh. After all, he's not better and he's not showing that by any means I want to take the chance and create something."
In the end, it was perhaps a result both Super Grandmasters would have accepted before the game; it preserves Liren's lead and it allows Gukesh the chance to hit back almost immediately when he plays with white pieces on Wednesday before the first rest day on Thursday.
Shortly before 5.00 PM (2.30 PM IST) on Tuesday, as was the case on Monday, Liren was the first to enter the long corridor leading to the playing hall. But Gukesh was the first to enter the playing hall, with the 32-year-old just about walking onto the covered hall from the players' lounge when the official broadcast had begun. He may have walked on late but he was on the money straight away.
In sharp contrast vis-a-vis opening game, the Chinese was in blitz mode as he opted for the Italian Game (Giuoco Pianissimo variation). It kind of caught the 18-year-old, aiming to become the youngest world champion in history, off-guard. "I was surprised at the opening but I thought I played decently and didn't give him any chances," he said after the match.
His calculative mind was on full display as he spent a lot of time in the opening and by the time the two players had finished 14 moves, the Indian was down 50 minutes in comparison to the person on the other end of the playing table. Even the mood on the table was slightly different compared to Monday.
In the opening exchanges on Monday, Gukesh was happy to either stay in the players' lounge or take a stroll around the smallish playing hall. On Tuesday, it was Liren's turn to spend a considerable amount of time sitting on the sofa inside the lounge (he went to the lounge thrice inside the opening hour) as Gukesh continued to hunker over the board, almost willing himself to remember the line. But the Indian was back on solid footing — both in terms of body language and on the evaluation bar — a few moves after initiating the exchange of queens. After that, Liren was out of preparation; to compound matters, Gukesh had made up the time. "I just wanted to play a good game," he said after the match. "With black so early in the match, you don't want to do anything stupid."
The eval bar stayed dead centre when the truce was signed after a three-fold repetition post 23 moves. Liren admitted he didn't know how to take the game forward. "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," he said. "Later on, I moved the rook back to d1, which means I am not happy with rook to c1,” he said.
From the outside, it looked like a lot of shadow-boxing, heavy-weight pugilists happy to show-off their weapons without threatening to use them.
This was around the time when the board was so complex it may have been a 12th-standard mathematics textbook. Gukesh could have caused chaos on the board — something the modern Indian players are known to thrive in — if he had opted for an exchange of rooks. But he eschewed that possibility. With no counter-play possible, caution, then, became the buzzword. The third game of the 14-match series will be played on Wednesday.
