Singapore, Dec 3: D Gukesh, the youngest challenger in history, relinquished a highly promising position and ended with another draw against reigning champion Ding Liren of China during the lengthy seventh game of the World Chess Championship here on Tuesday.
The draw came after an intense five hours and 22 minutes of gameplay and left both competitors with identical scores of 3.5 points, still needing four more points to clinch the title.
The peace treaty was finalized after 72 moves.
Liren faced a challenging day once more, having been in a precarious position for a significant amount of time until Gukesh made a critical mistake. The Indian player, playing as white, had gained a considerable advantage but miscalculated, allowing Liren to escape in what was the match’s longest game to date.
Liren’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous, having transitioned out of what chess experts described as a losing rook and minor piece endgame.
Gukesh admitted he had a strong chance to take the lead midway through the championship before faltering.
“It’s never enjoyable to miss a winning opportunity, but I’m glad I outplayed my opponent relatively comfortably in the opening phase. I believed I was on track to win if I could solidify my position, but it became tricky at times. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but it should have been a win,” Gukesh expressed.
“The score is acceptable. Obviously, today was a missed opportunity, which is slightly disappointing. However, he (Liren) also missed some chances earlier in the match. Thus, I find it fair that we are at this point. The second half will undoubtedly be critical,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Gukesh pressed hard again during the opening. He has consistently been the stronger player when it comes to surprising his opponent early on. By advancing his knight with the first move, Gukesh faced the Neo-Grunfeld defense from Liren, and as soon as the seventh move, he posed an unexpected idea.
Liren, who had seemed to resolve his opening difficulties in previous games, found himself at a disadvantage on Tuesday. Although he opted for a standard continuation, Gukesh maintained a preferable position.
The Indian player applied pressure through the center and developed a threatening passed pawn in the early part of the middle game, with the advantage of having a pair of bishops only complicating Liren’s situation further.
Even Liren acknowledged that he had narrowly escaped defeat.
“I thought my position was dire due to a lack of coordination among my pieces. I have been defeated frequently in the opening and middle game phases. Here, I was pleased to discover some ideas. I made several mistakes, but fortunately managed to salvage the game,” stated Liren.
The middle game saw mistakes from both players, and it appeared Liren was near to achieving equality. However, the process took a toll on Liren’s time, as players must complete their first 40 moves within two hours without increment.
Gukesh opted to exchange queens after disrupting Liren’s pawn structure on the kingside, giving the Indian player a clear advantage.
Once again, the 40th move proved troublesome as Liren lost a pawn, possibly underestimating Gukesh’s prospects or simply making an oversight.
Despite having the upper hand, Gukesh still faced the need to navigate complex technicalities, which has not been his strength throughout this match.
His 45th move was not optimal, allowing Liren to steadily work his way back into contention using resourceful tactics.
Liren’s determination shone through during the second time control, even with just four minutes remaining and a 30-second increment per move.
Although Gukesh once considered himself a favorite after his initial time control, he ultimately had to settle for a draw after all pawns had been traded, leaving him with a lone bishop.
When asked if he was thinking about a potential tiebreaker in case the ongoing 14 rounds of chess yielded no winner, Gukesh said that the match was only at its midpoint.
“I don’t believe in favorites; I think whoever plays the best chess will come out on top.”
The moves: D Gukesh vs Ding Liren
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.c4 c6 5.Bg2 Nf6 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 dxc4 8.e4 Bg4 9.Nbd2 c5 10.d5 e6 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 exd5 13.exd5 Nbd7 14.Nxc4 b5 15.Na3 Qb6 16.Bf4 Rfe8 17.Qd2 Rad8 18.Nc2 Nf8 19.b4 c4 20.Be3 Qa6 21.Bd4 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Qxa2 23.Ra1 Qb3 24.Ra3 Qb1+ 25.Kg2 Rd7 26.Ra5 Qb3 27.Ra3 Qb1 28.Ra5 Qb3 29.Rxb5 Qd3 30.Qf4 Qxc2 31.Bxf6 Qf5 32.Qxf5 gxf5 33.Bxg7 Kxg7 34.Rc5 Ng6 35.Rxc4 Ne5 36.Rd4 Nc6 37.Rf4 Ne7 38.b5 Kf6 39.Rd4 h6 40.Kf1 Ke5 41.Rh4 Nxd5 42.Rxh6 Nc3 43.Rc6 Ne4 44.Ke1 f6 45.h4 Rd3 46.Bd1 f4 47.gxf4+ Kxf4 48.Bc2 Rd5 49.Rc4 f5 50.Rb4 Kf3 51.Bd1+ Kg2 52.Rb3 Re5 53.f4 Re7 54.Re3 Rh7 55.h5 Nf6 56.Re5 Nxh5 57.Rxf5 Ng3 58.Rf8 Rb7 59.Ba4 Kf3 60.f5 Kf4 61.f6 Ne4 62.Bc2 Nd6 63.Rd8 Ke5 64.Bb3 Nf7 65.Rd5+ Kxf6 66.Kd2 Rb6 67.Bc4 Rd6 68.Kc3 Rxd5 69.Bxd5 Nd6 70.Kb4 Nxb5 71.Kxb5 a6+ 72.Kxa6 game drawn. (PTI)
