India's D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren during the 14th game of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2024, in Singapore, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrei Filatov has raised doubts about the fairness of the World Chess Championship final, which China's Ding Liren lost to India's D Gukesh by a margin of 6.5-7.5 points.
Filatov suspected Ding Liren deliberately lost to Gukesh in the final game between the duo.
In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Filatov said, "The result of the last game has puzzled professionals and chess fans. The actions of the Chinese chess player in the decisive period are extremely suspicious and require a separate investigation by FIDE. It is difficult even for a first-category player to lose the position that Ding Liren was in. The defeat of the Chinese chess player in today's game raises a lot of questions and seems deliberate."
Gukesh won the last game with black pieces after Ding wilted under pressure and blundered in what commentators considered to be a comfortable position, snatching the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5.
The 18th world champion (18) is four years younger than what Garry Kasparov, who had been the youngest world champion since 1985, was when he beat Anatoly Karpov.
International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich, however, rubbished such suspicions and said mistakes by players make the sport exciting.
Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik was also not impressed with the quality of chess on display during the match, calling it the "end of chess as we know it".
In his reaction, Kramnik wrote on 'X', "No comment. Sad. End of chess as we know it. Never yet has a WC title been decided by such a childish one-move blunder."
Five-time world champion, Norway's Magnus Carlsen too has been critical of the quality on display in earlier rounds, saying, "This does not look like a game between two World Championship contenders. It just looks like maybe the second round or third round of an open tournament."
However, legendary chess player and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand advised Gukesh to ignore those questioning the standard of the World Championship title showdown, saying criticism always comes with success.
"I feel very happy. I was literally watching history being made yesterday," Anand told PTI Videos.
"It (criticism) comes with every match. To be honest, I think it just comes with the territory. You ignore it and that's all."
(With PTI, Reuters inputs)