The World Championship match between Ding Liren and Dommaraju Gukesh is now underway in Singapore. The $2.5 million prize fund will be decided over 14 games of classical chess, and in the event of a 7-7 tie, there will be rapid tiebreaks on 13 December.

Pre-match consensus had Ding, the reigning champion from China, as a heavy underdog, with only around a 20 per cent chance of victory. He has appeared afflicted by a psychological crisis since winning the title last year, and his recent form has been dismal. His challenger, 18-year-old Gukesh from India, has had a splendid run, climbing well above Ding in the world rankings.

The former world champion Vishy Anand tried to dial down the hype with a pithy warning: ‘[Gukesh] is smart enough to know that World Championships are won, not elected’. Indeed, by winning with black in the first game of the match, Ding proved that he remains a worthy contender for the title. As we go to press, a draw in the second game leaves him 1.5-0.5 ahead.

Magnus Carlsen, still rated the world no. 1 player by a healthy margin, rarely plays classical events these days, preferring rapid and blitz time controls. But he has become a strong advocate for ‘Freestyle Chess’, in which pieces on the back row are shuffled in one of 960 configurations at the start of the game. To promote a forthcoming series of elite Freestyle events, Carlsen faced the world no. 2 Fabiano Caruana in a two-game Freestyle match in Singapore, just days before the start of the real World Championship.

The game below had as its start position: Na1, Nb1, Bc1, Rd1, Ke1, Rf1, Qg1, Bh1. Black’s setup mirrors that: Na8, Nb8, Bc8, etc.

Magnus Carlsen-Fabiano Caruana

Freestyle Chess Match, Singapore, Nov 2024

1 f4 Nb6 2 Nc3 f5 3 Nb3 Na6 Caruana would have preferred to play 3…Nc6, but then 4 Nb5!, hits c7, whereupon 4…Nd5 5 c4 is awkward or 4…Na8 5 Nxa7 snags a pawn. In the opening of a Freestyle game, players learn to be wary of quirky tactical shots. 4 d3 c6 5 Be3 g5 6 fxg5 e5 7 g4 f4 8 Bxb6 axb6 9 Qxb6 Qxg5 Caruana’s pawn sacrifice has netted him the bishop pair and hopes for central expansion with d7-d5. Carlsen will soon anticipate that with Bh1-e4-f5, so that his bishop doesn’t get stuck on h1. 10 Na5 O-O Freestyle castling rules are peculiar. Here, the Black king moves from e8 to g8 and the rook remains on f8. 11 Be4 Qh4+ 12 Kd2 Qe7 13 Bf5 Nc5 14 Ne4 Ne6 15 Bxe6+ Qxe6 (see diagram) 16 Nxb7! This pawn grab looks risky, due to the imminent Rd8-b8xb2, but Carlsen correctly judged that he has little to fear. Either the queens will be exchanged, or he will capture the d7-pawn, which secures the Ne4 and consigns the Bh8 to passivity. Bxb7 17 Qxb7 Rb8 18 Qc7 Rxb2 18…d5 19 Qxh7+ Kxh7 20 Ng5+ Kg6 21 Nxe6 favours White. But 18…Bf6 was worth considering. For example, 19 b3 Be7! prepares counterplay with d7-d5 or Rfc8/Rb8-a8 19 Rb1 Qxa2 20 Rxb2 Qxb2 21 Qxd7 With an extra pawn and a glorious central knight, Carlsen is firmly in control. Qb4+ 22 c3 Qb2+ 23 Ke1 Bg7 24 Qe6+ Kh8 25 Rf3 Allowing the queen intrusion looks scary, but it leads to nothing. Qc1+ 26 Kf2 Qh1 27 Rh3 f3 28 exf3 Rb8 29 g5 Rb2+ 30 Kg3 Qg1+ 31 Kh4 An unusual but effective bolthole for the king. Rb8 32 Nd6 Black resigns In the second game, Caruana came close to equalling the score, but Carlsen saved a difficult rook endgame to secure victory by 1.5-0.5.