07 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : The smiles said it all. If you saw Ding Liren and his mother exiting the playing hall after his heady victory in Armageddon over World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, you would have felt he had won the Norway Chess event itself. But heading into the final round of the prestigious tournament on Friday, Ding is last in the six-player standings, with just six points from nine games. He hasn’t won a clash in the classical format yet at this year’s edition and the win over Nakamura via Armageddon was only his second via the shorter and faster time control where the player with white chases victory and the player with black just needs a draw to win.
Defeating Nakamura was not so much about lifting Ding in the standings but more about uplifting the psyche of a player whose form seemed to have deserted him. In the handful of tournaments Ding has played in since 2024 started — Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee and the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge — he had woeful results. At a local tournament in China, he had even finished last.
“It’s a big win for me. I finally stabilised in the openings in the Armageddon games. It gives me a lot of confidence going into the final round,” Ding told The Indian Express after his win in 46 moves on Thursday. “Finally, I started to get points after having four defeats in a row (at one stage). I started to get better. I started to play decent chess.”
Praggnanandhaa can still win
Ding’s win on Friday was a setback to Nakamura’s hopes of winning the Norway Chess event. Magnus Carlsen leads the standings with 16 points with Nakamura on 14.5. India’s Praggnanandhaa is third with 13 points.
The 18-year-old from India lost to Fabiano Caruana in the Armageddon in Round 9 but can still win the event in theory. Praggnanandhaa plays Nakamura on Friday in the final round. Here he will need to win outright in the classical format, while Carlsen will need to lose outright. If this happens, the contest will head into tiebreaks.
But the biggest story of the day was Ding’s win over Nakamura, which opened up the possibility that Ding could rediscover his form in the coming months in time for the world chess championship battle against Gukesh.
“I haven’t started to prepare for the World Championship yet. It’s still a long way to go. We’ll see what happens.”
