Andrei Filatov, the president of the Russian Chess Federation, has raised alarms regarding Ding Liren’s unexpected loss to D Gukesh in the World Chess Championship, suggesting the Chinese Grandmaster might have intentionally thrown the game. Filatov has formally requested FIDE to conduct an investigation into the suspicious outcome of the match.
The match has sparked widespread discussion within the chess community. Ukrainian coach Peter Heine Nielsen posted Filatov’s comments on X, referencing the Russian news agency TASS. Filatov expressed confusion over Ding’s uncharacteristic mistakes, especially in an evenly poised endgame situation. He pointed out that such errors are rare even among top-tier players and called for an official probe into the game’s unusual outcome. Filatov specifically accused Ding of purposefully losing the match, citing a pivotal mistake on move 55 that ultimately allowed Gukesh to gain an advantage.
Gukesh, an 18-year-old chess sensation, secured the World Chess Championship title by winning the 14th game of the series, finishing with 7.5 points compared to Ding’s 6.5. Despite the game looking like it would end in a draw, Gukesh capitalized on Ding’s blunder to claim victory.
This achievement marks a historic moment for Indian chess, with Gukesh becoming the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the World Chess Championship. As the new champion, Gukesh will take home $1.3 million from the total $2.5 million prize pool.
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