LIREN MAKES PERFECT MOVES

The reigning world champion comes back strong to level score 6-6 against Gukesh in Game 12

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

TRIKE back. This was the two-word message Ding Liren's Team had prepared for him after Game 11 of the World Championship. Trailing 5-6 with just three games to go, his grip as the king of the world of chess was in danger of slipping away. On Monday evening, he showed the world why he became king in the first place. It also showed D Gukesh what it takes to become a world champion. This was "peak Ding" as Anish Giri put it on commentary for chess24.

The world champion agreed. Well, kind of. In the post-game press conference, he called this "the best game I have played in recent times." It was a clinic from start to finish as the 32-year-old played perfect moves from gun to tape. He was so accurate the one time when he veered away from an exchange in the endgame, he found an even better move.

This was the Liren the world had seen and known for a long time before he won last year's title. At his best, he's a positional genius who slowly asphyxiates opponents. This version of the Chinese champion is dangerous because he can do two things at once - calculating precisely but also blitzing out moves if and when he's sure.