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Library / Games / Ding Liren vs Carlsen, M.
Saint Louis Rapid 2019 · Saint Louis USA · 10 August 2019

Ding Liren vs M. Carlsen, Saint Louis Rapid 2019

Ding Liren 1–0 Carlsen, M.
Ding Liren vs Carlsen, M.
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Saint Louis Rapid 2019, 10 August 2019

The Ding Liren-Carlsen game from the 2019 Saint Louis Rapid (Round 1.1) was won by Ding Liren as White. The Saint Louis Rapid was the second section of the 2019 Saint Louis GCT stop, played at 25+10 time control.

Ding Liren’s win was a sharp opening in which his preparation produced an immediate advantage. The middlegame featured a tactical sequence that neither player had clearly anticipated; Ding Liren’s calculation was more accurate, and the conversion took 40 moves.

The 2019 Saint Louis Rapid was won by Levon Aronian. Ding Liren finished second; Carlsen finished co-third. The overall 2019 Grand Chess Tour was won by Carlsen across the calendar year, with the Saint Louis stop being part of a consistent strong performance.

The 2019 was Ding Liren’s strongest year before his 2023 World Championship victory. His rating peaked at 2816 in November 2018; he was world No. 2 for several months during 2019; his tournament results were consistently in the top three of any event he entered. The trajectory pointed clearly toward a future World Championship; the 2023 result confirmed it.

Game record

This game between Ding Liren and Carlsen, M. was played at the Saint Louis Rapid 2019 in Saint Louis USA in 2019. Played in round 1.1. At the time of the game, the players were rated 2805 (White) and 2882 (Black). The game lasted 45 moves, ending with White winning. It is part of the modern AI-era of elite chess.

Opening context

The opening sequence runs 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4, after which the players entered the middlegame proper.

Match notes

This Saint Louis Rapid 2019 game sits in Carlsen era. Master-level chess of the period was published in tournament bulletins, magazine annotations, and — for the most-studied games — in published opening monographs by the participants and their successors. This game is preserved in the open historical record and can be replayed in full above.