Gukesh Blunders But Ding Lets Him Off Easily In Game 5

World Champion Ding Liren was unable to punish GM Gukesh Dommaraju after the Indian star blundered in game five of the 2024 FIDE World Championship, leaving the scores tied at 2.5-2.5 with nine games to go. Gukesh surprised observers by picking the quiet Exchange French, went for a risky g4-push, and later blundered. Ding pounced and looked to have the perfect chance to push for a win at no risk, but he let the game fizzle out into a 40-move draw shortly afterward. 

Game six starts Sunday, December 1, at 4:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET / 2:30 p.m. IST / 5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore.

• Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao
• The French, But The Exchange French
• Ding Equalizes With Black
• Gukesh Plays g2-g4 For 3rd Game In A Row
• Gukesh Blunders
• Ding Lets Gukesh Escape Without A Fight
• Video Playlists

Grandmaster Game Analysis, By GM Rafael Leitao

GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed game five of the match below.

The French, But The Exchange French

One of the big questions before game three of the match had been whether Ding would repeat the French Defense that got him into some trouble—and then gave him a win—in game one. Instead Gukesh played 1.d4 and went on to score his first-ever classical win against his Chinese opponent.

In game five, however, we did get 1.e4, and Ding showed that the French wasn't a one-hit wonder as he played it again. Another sharp, complex battle loomed, but on move three Gukesh opted for 3.exd5, the somewhat infamous Exchange Variation. 

Gukesh returns to 1.e4, Ding repeats the French Defense, but Gukesh goes for the "drawish" Exchange French, which Judit calls the "biggest shock of the match so far!" #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/ml6fkR6uZp

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 30, 2024

The opening's reputation is as a quiet line that almost inevitably ends in a draw, which was why GM Judit Polgar was so shocked that a young, incredibly gifted tactician such as Gukesh would pick it. 

Modern computers have tended to defuse more tactical variations, however, and quiet openings have shown hidden venom. Gukesh explained in the press conference, "It’s just a good opening which is also quite topical these days," while later adding, "This time it didn’t work so great, but I don’t think it was the opening’s fault."   

Ding Equalizes With Black

Ding reacted calmly and well, however, with a certain GM Anish Giri standing by the verdict given in his Chessable course on the French.

My course says this is fine, so this is fine. pic.twitter.com/BHireX0Fvp

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) November 30, 2024

9...Kxe7! is a Giri-approved detail, preparing to develop the h8-rook to e8 before the king drops back to f8.

Ding said he hadn't seen the course, though he approved!

🤣 https://t.co/tg0uSgbeNh

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) November 30, 2024

That didn't mean there was no tension or problems to solve, however. Gukesh had also swapped queens off early in the game he'd won, while Ding's 33-minute think on move 14 raised some questions. He'd later explain, however, that he was thinking about precisely the sequence of moves that followed in the game. 

Gukesh Plays g2-g4 For 3rd Game In A Row

Gukesh commented at the post-game press conference, "It’s cool that this was the third game in a row I’m playing g4!"

It's cool that this was the third game in a row that I'm playing g4.

—Gukesh Dommaraju

Polgar, a g4-aficionado herself, spotted the move, but didn't believe it would follow.

Judit Polgar: "g4 is something, you know me, I always love to play g4, but it would be too risky at this point because of Nf4 and then f4 is so stable, so this is only for the joke of it!"

Gukesh plays 17.g4!?#DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/nlQDkbvVTt

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 30, 2024

It did, with Gukesh later explaining he'd looked at quieter moves such as 17.Nf1, but thought the pawn push was critical. Polgar felt it was Gukesh's true nature breaking out of the shackles of team tactics...

For the 3rd game with the white pieces, Gukesh plays g2-g4 — Judit on Gukesh playing the move despite starting with the Exchange French: "You can't cheat yourself, you're the player, the character who you are!" #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/15hbsN6VCQ

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 30, 2024

...but Ding had also considered it "maybe the only way to play."

The game had sharpened up, but both players were playing well. Ding was happy to find 18...Nb6!, an improvement on his originally-planned 18...Nf6, while Gukesh's 19.g5!, was a good move that caught Ding somewhat off-guard, as he'd only expected the alternative 19.Ne5. The game was equal until a dramatic twist on move 23.   

Gukesh Blunders

It all happened so fast that spectators, and more importantly Ding, had little time to adjust to the new situation. Instead of capturing the black bishop on e5 with his rook, Gukesh captured with his pawn. 23...Nd3!, "a cold shower" according to Polgar, followed almost as fast, and White was in trouble. 

Gukesh saw his mistake instantly:

Once I saw Nd3 I realized I just blundered with dxe5. I didn’t know how bad it was, really, but of course I should have played Rxe5. It would have been a draw anyway, but dxe5 Nd3 I kind of just hallucinated.

He explained that he'd seen the option of 23...Nd3 but thought he could play b3 after capturing on d3, only to realize then that with rooks still on the board a black rook would come to c8 and attack the weak c3-pawn. 

It had become an exercise in survival, but Gukesh, who identified Novak Djokovic as a sportsman he admires when asked in the post-game press conference, is nothing if not resilient. He also realized, correctly, that all was far from lost:

I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t play Rxe5, but honestly during the game I thought it should more or less be quite holdable because I have some squares. Surely unpleasant, but I was pretty confident that I could hold it. 

Surely unpleasant, but I was pretty confident that I could hold it.

—Gukesh Dommaraju on his position after blundering 

Ding said in the press conference that he'd only briefly considered his opponent's better option, since 23.dxe5 was played so quickly, and it felt like he never fully grasped the opportunity he'd been given. 

Ding Lets Gukesh Escape Without A Fight

Ding had played an excellent game and had almost 50 minutes on the clock, but he wouldn't spend more than five minutes on any of the critical decisions that followed. Twice he would put a bishop on c6, and together those moves killed off any winning chances. The first came after 27.Re4.

Here 27...Bc6?! at least had the virtue of winning the pawn on f3 (28.Rxc4?? Rd8! would be a terrible mistake, as the d-pawn is unstoppable), but Ding had better options. Gukesh pointed out 27...Be6 followed by ...Rc8, and admitted, "I was very worried about this position." It came as a revelation to Ding: "I didn’t see the idea of Rc8, Rc5 and move the king to the kingside [Kf8-g8-h7-g6, etc.], and some kind of Berlin pawn structure—I didn’t realize it’s a big advantage for me."

It was something Ding would surely have understood if he'd spent some more time, but he was unable to force himself. Asked if his mindset before the game had been to play for a draw with Black, he denied it, commenting, "I just tried to play my best, but somehow I settled for the draw."

I just tried to play my best, but somehow I settled for the draw. 

—Ding Liren

In a way, the second time the bishop went to c6 was even stranger. 

"29...Bc6 is basically a draw offer," said Ding, but he could have played on with 29...Bh5 and some small chances of scoring a hugely important win. The point is that after 29...Bh5 30.Rxc4?? Rd8! the bishop is stopping the white king from approaching the pawn and Black wins.

In the game, however, the c4-pawn could be taken, and the d3-pawn soon after. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi summarized the finish that followed:

You have an extra pawn, but you sacrifice two to build a fortress. Why not?

— Ian Nepomniachtchi (@lachesisq) November 30, 2024

The draw was swift in coming. 

Judit Polgar is stunned at how quickly #DingGukesh Game 5 ends in a draw, after Gukesh had stumbled into a very difficult position! https://t.co/4ZfvaUXPYr pic.twitter.com/uzvmlw9dfc

— chess24 (@chess24com) November 30, 2024

Polgar was doubly speechless:

I was speechless at the very beginning when Gukesh played the exd5 Exchange Variation, and I can repeat myself, I’m speechless now at what has happened. The last several moves and the decision of Ding Liren, because it seems like the mindset of Ding Liren was to come to the game and make a draw, and whatever happens, he takes that. 

As we saw, Ding denied that, but with over a third of the match gone, his performance has been erratic.

Ding isn't happy with the 2.5-2.5 scoreline: 

The results are not ideal because I had some chances in some games and I would lead by some points, but it’s even. Also today, after some quick check I have some advantage, which I didn’t realize. There are some things to improve! 

There are some things to improve! 

—Ding Liren

Gukesh, meanwhile, also has work to do but was happy to have recovered from the worst possible start.

I think it’s still early to say, not even close to halfway through the match. Considering I was trailing this match after the first game, it’s nice to be here, but there’s a lot more important games to come, and I’m just trying to play one game at a time and give my best. 

Ding will have the white pieces in Sunday's game six, the last before the second rest day. Game six has been big in recent years, with GM Magnus Carlsen breaking through against Nepomniachtchi in 2021, while Ding scored a second comeback win over Nepomniachtchi in the same game in 2023. Will we get more decisive action?

Video Playlists

Check out Chess.com's playlist of Game Reviews and Interviews.

You can also follow along with the video recaps by your favorite partner streamers, like GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Anish Giri, IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess), GM Ben Finegold, GM Aman Hambleton (Chessbrah), GM Arturs Neiksans, FM Nemo Zhou, Epic Chess, and Chess Dojo in the playlist here.

The 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore decides the next world champion. 18-year-old Indian Challenger Gukesh Dommaraju takes on Chinese Defending Champion Ding Liren in a 14-game match, with the first to 7.5 points winning. The players have two hours for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with 30 seconds added each move from move 41 onwards. The prize fund is $2,500,000, with $200,000 for a win and the remaining money split equally. If tied 7-7, a playoff will take place, starting with four games of 15+10 rapid chess.

Previous world championship coverage:

• Game 4: Gukesh Defuses Ding's 1.Nf3 Surprise As Game 4 Ends In Draw
• Game 3: Gukesh Beats Ding To Level The Scores After Game 3
• Game 2: Ding Leads Gukesh 1.5-0.5 After Tense 23-Move Draw In Game 2
• Game 1: Ding Stuns Gukesh To Win Game 1 Of 2024 World Championship
• Gukesh White Vs. 'At Peace' Ding Liren For Game 1 Of World Championship
• 'We Could See A Bloodbath!' Carlsen & Co. On Ding-Gukesh
• Gukesh Vs Ding: Here's What The Numbers Say
• Who Will Win The World Championship? Vidit, Giri Predict Gukesh Dominance Over Ding
• Ding Admits Fears Ahead Of Gukesh Match: 'I Am Worried About Losing Very Badly'
• Gukesh: 'I'm Quite Eager To Start The Match'
• Google Announced As Title Sponsor For Ding-Gukesh World Championship
• New Ding-Gukesh World Championship Rules Encourage Faster, More Decisive Games
• Ding-Gukesh World Championship Match Venue Announced
• Singapore Chosen For Ding vs. Gukesh FIDE World Championship