The person sitting on the opposite end of the table, D Gukesh, had his head buried inside his hands. It was the opening game's most symbolic moment.
Liren knew he had won the game but wanted his opponent to suffer for a few more minutes before the final act. Gukesh knew he had lost but couldn't officially resign because his opponent had left him hanging.
The 32-year-old wasn't just content twisting the knife. He wanted the knife to stay twisted before Gukesh tapped out.
The favourite coming into the 14-game match, Gukesh, may have lost but this is what the World Championship needed—a Liren win to set the ball rolling in Singapore.
The pre-tournament build-up was dominated by concerns around Liren's form, his battles with mental health and whether this would be a one-sided final. To be fair, there was some merit in that argument. The world champion hadn't won a Classical game since January. At the other end of the spectrum, the Indian teen was coming off a double gold performance at the Olympiad in Hungary a few months ago (at the Olympiad, Liren took a break the day he was supposed to play Gukesh when China faced India).
This story is from the November 26, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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This story is from the November 26, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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