World Chess Federation responds to allegations of Ding Liren intentionally losing to D Gukesh

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has responded to allegations that China's Ding Liren intentionally lost to India's D Gukesh during the recently concluded 2024 World Chess Championship match in Singapore. Following Gukesh's historic victory, Ding was accused by Russian Chess Federation chief Andrei Filatov of deliberately throwing the match. Filatov was quoted by Russian news agency TASS calling on FIDE to launch an investigation into the outcome. For those unfamiliar with the situation, Ding made a critical error in Game 14 by placing his Rook next to his King, ultimately leading to Gukesh becoming the youngest world chess champion in history.

"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.

However, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has dismissed the allegations of Ding possibly intentionally losing the game. Dvorkovich emphasized that sports is about making mistakes and then recovering from them.

"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 recently.

Gukesh successfully achieved the necessary 7.5 points, surpassing his Chinese opponent who only managed to secure 6.5 points. This victory was sealed in the 14th and final classical time control game of the match, which appeared to be heading towards a draw for the majority of the match. As the victor, Gukesh will be awarded a substantial prize of USD 1.3 million (approximately Rs 11.03 crore) from the total prize purse of 2.5 million.

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