No Ding Liren Vs D Gukesh At Chess Olympiad: Chinese World Champion 'Blinks' First - Reactions

The much-anticipated, exciting battle between Ding Liren and D Gukesh will have to wait a little longer as China have decided to rest the World Champion ahead of the seventh round clash of the ongoing 2024 Chess Olympiad being played in Budapest on Wednesday, September 18.

After winning the world title, the Chinese grand master has played only in a handful of events, and more worryingly, the 31-year-old has failed to reach the 2023 level.

However, the Wenzhou-resident pulling out or taking 'rest' against India provides scope for speculation.

He is also the country’s highest rated chess player in history, and also won the world championship in May 2023, after beating Russian Grand Master Ian Nepomniachtchi.

India’s Gukesh, on the other hand, won the Candidates tournament in April, becoming the youngest challenger, competing for the world title at 17. 

Liren said that the Indian could be the favourite for the title that will be held in Singapore between November 20 to December 15. 

“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 was quoted as saying by the International Chess Federation.

Taking further about Liren’s absence, Peter Svilder, the Russian GM said that there would not be many examples of a World Champion not playing board 1 in a major Chess Olympiad match. 

"I don't think you will find very many examples of the reigning World Champion not playing board 1 in an absolutely critical central match of the #ChessOlympiad," Svidler told International Chess Federations hours before the start of the India vs China showdown.

Liren returned to action earlier in 2024 after his battle with depression at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, and finished ninth in the event.

He had also lost his Round 6 match with white pieces against Le Quang Liem of Vietnam.

"For him not to want to play Gukesh in a match, China absolutely needs to win. If they (China) want to win this Olympiad, they need to win today. It is very difficult to take points off this Indian team," added Svidler.

"The fact that he (Ding Liren) is not sitting down to play chess today after the rest day is, I think, quite significant."

Chipping in for Liren, the pairing for board 1 in the open section between India and China was Gukesh and Wei Yi.