Quiet ballroom, phone depositories, one-way glass panels: Welcome to the World Chess Championship

SINGAPORE – In a dimly lit ballroom at the Equarius Hotel Sentosa on Nov 25, a full house of about 400 spectators intently observed chess players Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju’s every move.

But, with a one-way glass panel between them and the spectators, the two grandmasters remained oblivious to the crowd’s gaze as they pondered each move in the first game of the World Chess Championship.

The scene at Resorts World Sentosa resembles what one may see in a cinema – viewers glued to the action unfolding in front of them and speaking in hushed tones, with volunteers holding signs that read “Silence please”.

Among those who have come to catch the spectacle is Indonesian high-schooler Shaun Matthew Cakranata, who flew from Surabaya to Singapore for a few days.

“I’ve always been a fan of chess,” said the 17-year-old, who was introduced to the game by his father when he was three.

“I thought that getting a bit closer to more championships in chess would be a good opportunity to learn and get a much deeper knowledge of chess.”

It was the perfect opportunity for the teenager to catch the prestigious event, which is taking place in South-east Asia for just the second time. The last time it was held in the region was in 1978, when Baguio in the Philippines, staged it.

In July, Singapore had beaten India’s New Delhi and Chennai to host the annual championship, which will see the incumbent Ding defend his crown against challenger Gukesh in the best-of-14 match from Nov 25 to Dec 13.

Certain moves in the encounter that lasted four hours and five minutes occasionally drew gasps from the crowd, who were quickly shushed.

The noisiest part of the game came at the end, when spectators applauded as Ding claimed the first victory following Gukesh’s resignation after 42 moves.

It was 32-year-old Ding’s first classical win in 304 days and 28 games. Game 2 will be held at 5pm on Nov 26.

Given his form going into the world title event, many regarded his Indian opponent, who at 18 is the youngest-ever challenger, as the favourite.

But, straying from the familiar, the Chinese started with the French defence and while Gukesh countered well, he lost momentum as the game wore on and Ding capitalised on that.

Ding said: “I feel very good. I haven’t won a single classical game for a long time and today I managed to do that.

“But this game, I think to be fair, it’s very lucky for me because I missed two tactics.”

Gukesh admitted that nerves got the better of him, saying: “It would be surprising if I said I wasn’t nervous, I was surely nervous.

“But after the game started, I calmed down... I think I was playing some good chess... and then I kind of flipped.”

While spectators were allowed to bring their mobile phones into the hall for the first 45 minutes of the clash, they had to leave them at a deposit counter as part of anti-cheating measures.

Teething issues also surfaced on the first day.

Poor queue management made entry into the hall messy, with some fans getting in only 20 minutes after the game had started.

But the organisers introduced additional queue stands after that to improve the flow of human traffic.

Singaporean fan Fu Xin was one of those who entered the hall late. While he missed five moves, the delay did little to dampen the 21-year-old’s excitement at the championship that he had dreamt of attending when he started playing at seven.

While he stopped playing chess about a decade ago, witnessing the world event brought back fond memories for Fu.

He said: “It was a bit of a shame to not catch the first move but being here is really a treat already. A little bit streamlined processes will help in getting us in earlier but can’t complain.”

Describing the enthusiasm of fans as “heartening”, chairman of local organising committee Kevin Goh said: “While we are thrilled by the remarkable turnout, we will work with Fide (International Chess Federation) to ensure a smoother and more enjoyable experience for everyone in the coming days.”