Did Ding Liren Lose To D Gukesh Intentionally? FIDE Responds To Allegations

Russian Chess Federation called for the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to investigate the result of Gukesh vs Liren World Chess Championship match.

Chennai-born 18-year-old D Gukesh attained a historic victory by defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China in the recently-concluded 2024 World Chess Championship match in Singapore on Thursday (December 12). This win made Gukesh 18th Indian to secure this prestigious title and the second after five-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand. In addition to the title, Gukesh was awarded a prize of US $1.3 million (around Rs 11.03 crore).

Russian news agency TASS reported that Andrey Filatov, President of the Russian Chess Federation, has called for the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to investigate the result of the Gukesh vs Liren match. Filatov suggested that Liren may have lost intentionally to India's D Gukesh. Additionally, former Russian world champion Vladimir Kramnik criticized the quality of play in the match, describing it as "the end of chess."

For those who don't know, Gukesh vs Liren match appeared to be heading toward a draw for most of its duration. However, Ding Liren made a critical blunder in the decisive Game 14 by moving his rook next to his king. This mistake allowed Gukesh to secure the necessary 7.5 points, surpassing Ding's 6.5, and making the Indian Grandmaster the youngest-ever world chess champion.

"The result of the last game caused bewilderment among professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive segment are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE," Filatov told TASS.

"Losing the position in which Ding Liren was is difficult even for a first-class player. The defeat of the Chinese chess player in today's game raises a lot of questions and looks like a deliberate one," he added.

FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich rubbished claims of Ding deliberately losing to Gukesh.

"Sports is about mistakes, without mistakes, there would be no goals in football. Every sportsman makes mistakes but that's what we are excited about, whether the opponent can find the way to use a mistake," Dvorkovich said during the tournament' closing ceremony