Chess Olympiad 2024: Another layer of intrigue at the Olympiad will be whether Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren, break out any of their World Championship preparation in a match situation.(PHOTO: Lennart Ootes via Grand Chess Tour)
Defending champion Ding Liren has tipped his teenage challenger D Gukesh “favourite” to win the FIDE World Chess Championship final, which will be held in Singapore later this year
The duo are currently competing in the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
“I can see my opponent (Gukesh) playing extremely well in this tournament. Maybe he is a favourite in the World Championship Match. He also has a higher rating than me,” Liren said in an interaction with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in the mixed zone.
“I have dropped a lot since last year, but I will fight my best to try to overcome the rating difference,” he added in a rather candid admission.
Liren, 31 is the highest rated chess player of all time and won the world crown in May last year after defeating Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
World Champion Ding Liren contemplates his next move during a Norway Chess match. (PHOTO via Stev Bonhage/Norway Chess)
Liren took a break from the game after that, owing to his battle with depression. Liren returned to action earlier this year at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, finishing ninth in the event.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, two years after heartbreak at his home in Chennai, Gukesh has arrived at the Olympiad in Hungary’s capital like a man who has unfinished business. In the four games he has played so far at the Olympiad in Budapest after sitting out the first round, he’s accounted for four strong grandmasters — Vignir Vatnar Stefansson (Iceland), Adam Kozak (Hungary), Alexandr Predke (Serbia) and finally Aydin Suleymanli (Azerbaijan) — with an average rating of over 2600.
On Sunday, he claimed his fastest win at the 2024 Olympiad rather than the slow death that he has delivered to other opponents.
Gukesh won the Candidates tournament in April to become the youngest challenger to the world title at the age of 17. He turned 18 in May.
Liren and Gukesh will clash in Singapore from November 20 to December 15 for the coveted title and a prize fund of USD 2.50 million.
