“Got a lot of chances in the second half…”: D Gukesh after loss to Ding Liren in World Chess Championship Game 12

Indian challenger D Gukesh was clearly disappointed after losing the lead in the 12th game to Ding Liren in the closing stages of the World Championships and admitted that he had many chances in the second half of the interesting contest. There are two games left and the championship match is heading towards a thrilling finale. Both players are tied with six points each. After losing the 12th game, Gukesh said, “This game is a bit disappointing. Luckily I have a rest day tomorrow, I will just try to play good games.” The Indian teenager, however, said that he and the defending champions were displaying quality chess in the second half of the match.

“In the second half I had chances in many games. Today's game was bad, I will not take too much advantage of it, we are both playing better than in the first half but I think I had more chances in the second half.

Speaking about the game in general, Gukesh said that he thought he was okay, “I was comfortable after the start but then after his 16th move I was not sure. Not happy with his 17th move, the Indian Said it was just a “mistake”.

Speaking about his new opening choice, the reverse Benonin, Gukesh said, “I was prepared for some moves, I didn't really remember all the details properly, but I was aware of the position.” Talking about the new match situation, which puts both Liren and his side on six points each, the Indian said, “Obviously it is not pleasant to lose this game. Even yesterday it could have gone either way. At least the scores are still tied, there are two more games left, so let's see.” Liren said he took a lot of rest after Sunday's loss.

“Yesterday's game was difficult to deal with because at one point I was much better and I spent too little time at important moments. I spoiled a very promising situation,” he said.

On his preparation, the Chinese admitted that he was surprised again, “At the beginning I was surprised, I knew something but it was not the specific line. I put pressure on my opponent during the whole game and played a lot like the previous game. Like didn't slip.

When Liren was asked about not applying enough pressure when given chances in previous games, he said, “In previous games it was not so obvious that I was in danger of being bad but today I realized that I was much better. “

Talking about what revived his energy and how his trainer and mom helped, “Well (Richard) Rapport sent me a file called Strike Back, and my mom said 'You made it last. You did it once and you can do it again'.” PTI vs AT