It is World Championship season again! The FIDE World championship takes place from November 25 to December 13, in Singapore. As you probably know, GM Ding Liren will be defending his title against 18 year old wunderkind, GM Gukesh D. This is a unique matchup which features a fast-rising top 5 challenger, and a slumping World Champion who has fallen out of the top 20. Joining me to discuss it are three separate guests in the following order:

Top trainer, author, and Ding Liren biographer, GM Davorin Kuljasevic shares his match thoughts. How does Ding’s recent play differ from that of “peak Ding?”

Author of From Boy to Man to Challenger: The Fiercest Battles of Gukesh D , IM Cyrus Lakdawala on why he thinks Gukesh has a chance to be an all-time great.

Statistician, and co-founder of Chessgoals.com, NM Matt Jensen on the betting markets, the likelihood of a tiebreak, and one key statistical factor that favors Gukesh.

Chatting about the World Championship always gets me excited for the match, and this year is no exception. Timestamps for guests and topics discussed is below.

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0:00- Intro- Intro and Match facts

0:06- GM Davorin Kuljasevic joins to discuss GM Ding Liren, as well as his general thoughts on the match.

0:12- What openings might we expect? Which seconds might he be working with? Mentioned: GM Eugene Perelshteyn’s Tweet: https://x.com/EugenePerel/status/1850321592678555941

World Championship bettings odds here: https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/fide-world-championship-2024-15724987

23:00- Thanks to GM Kuljasevic for joining me, you can get his book on GM Ding Liren here

25:00- IM Cyrus Lakdawala joins to discuss GM D Gukesh

Mentioned: From Boy to Man to Challenger: The Fiercest Battles of Gukesh D

35:00- Cyrus’ match predictions

39:00- Gukesh opening predictions

49:00- Cyrus’ upcoming projects

51:00- Statistician and NM Matt Jensen of Chessgoals.com joins to give a statistical preview to the match.

58:00- What is the expected draw rate for this match? What are the odds of a tiebreak?

1:08:00- What is new with Matt’s website Chessgoals? Check out the Chcessgoals ourses here, Use the code Ben2024 to save 30%:

https://courses.chessgoals.com/collections/

Check out their podcast “No Pawn Intended” on the Chessgoals YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChessGoals

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