The youngest-ever challenger to the crown, Indian grandmaster D Gukesh let go of a very promising position and settled for a fourth consecutive draw against defending champion Ding Liren of China in the seventh game of the ongoing World Chess Championship in Singapore, on Tuesday, December 3.
The stalemate, which came after five hours and 22 minutes of nerve-wracking play, left both players on an identical tally of 3.5 points each, still shy of four more points in order to win the championship.
The two players signed peace after 72 moves.
It turned out to be a tough day in office again for Liren, who was staring at a losing position for a long time, till Gukesh blundered. The Indian, playing with white pieces, got a huge advantage but miscalculated to let the Chinese off the hook in what was the longest game of the championship thus far.
It was a miraculous escape by Liren after getting into what the chess pundits termed a lost rook and minor piece endgame.
Gukesh acknowledged he was in a great position to take the lead halfway through the championship before he fumbled.
“It’s never pleasant to miss a winning position, but I’m happy with the fact that I outplayed my opponent quite easily in the opening. I thought I was winning if I managed to consolidate my position and it became tricky at some point. I don’t know where I missed but it should be winning,” said the Indian.
“The score is fine. Obviously, today was a missed chance. That is a bit of a disappointment, but he (Liren) also missed some chances earlier in the match. So, I think it’s fair that we are here. The second half will be, of course, crucial,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Gukesh yet again tightened the noose in the opening. He has clearly been the better player when it came to springing surprises at the start. Moving his knight forward on the first move, the Indian faced the Neo-Grunfeld defense from Liren, and as early as in the seventh turn, Gukesh came up with a surprise idea.
Liren, who seemed to have solved his opening problems in the last couple of games, was at the receiving end on Tuesday, and even though he chose normal continuation, white’s position remained preferable.
"The score is fine. Obviously, today was a missed chance. That is a bit of a disappointment, but he also missed some chances earlier in the match. So, I think it's fair that we are here. The second half will be, of course, crucial." – 🇮🇳 Gukesh D on the current match score 3½-3½,… pic.twitter.com/Ce9j2OphSY
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 3, 2024
Gukesh exerted pressure through the centre and got a dangerous-looking passed pawn in the early stages of the middle game, with the advantage of the bishop pair only adding to Liren’s woes.
Even Liren conceded that he had escaped by the proverbial skin of the teeth.
“I thought my position was hopeless with lack of coordination (between forces). I have been beaten many times in the opening and the middle game. Here, I was very happy to find the ideas. I made many mistakes, (but) fortunately, I saved the game,” said Liren.
The middle game saw inaccuracies from both sides, and it seemed that Liren was close to obtaining equality. However, the process had yet again eaten up most of Liren’s available time as the players are required to make the first 40 moves in two hours without any increment.
“For me, I thought it was a total failure during the game because I thought I was getting outplayed, but like many times, maybe my position wasn’t so bad. I should be more confident with my position.” – 🇨🇳 Ding Liren at the Game 7 post-game press conference.
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 3, 2024
📷 Eng Chin An pic.twitter.com/12TbQpFYEO
Gukesh went for the trade of queens after fracturing black’s pawn structure on the king side as the Indian got an indisputable advantage.
As has happened so many times in the past, the 40th move proved to be jinxed yet again as Liren lost a pawn. The Chinese either underestimated Gukesh’s chances or it was an oversight.
Despite the advantage, Gukesh still had to go through the technicalities, which has not been his forte here.
Gukesh’s 45th move was not the best and Liren slowly clawed his back into the game with some really resourceful play.
The tenacity of the Chinese came to the fore in the second time control also after he was left with just four minutes with a 30-second increment after each move is made.
Gukesh, who would have fancied his chances after the first time control, had to split the point after all the pawns were traded and he was left with a lone bishop.
Asked if the tie-breaker was on his mind if the 14 rounds of chess failed to produce a result, Gukesh said that the match was only halfway through.
“I don’t believe in favourites, I think whoever plays the best chess will win.”
