World Chess Championship: Ding Liren dodges a bullet as Gukesh misses chances in draw
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ndian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju frittered away a strong positional and time advantage as reigning champion Ding Liren of China recovered from a blunder and put up a strong defence to escape with a draw in Game 7 of their FIDE World Chess Championship Final match at Resorts World Sentosa here on Tuesday.
In a game in which fortunes swung like a pendulum, Gukesh had a golden opportunity to win and take a one-point advantage in the 14-game encounter. The player reaching 7.5 points will claim the title and the lion's share of the prize fund of US$2.5 million. However, Gukesh missed a couple of strong move sequences that could have won him the game and landed in severe time trouble as the Chinese Grandmaster traded pieces to steer the game to a draw. Ding dodged the bullet as he was in what he himself described as a "hopeless position" after a blunder on the 40th move, but he took credit for finding an "interesting idea" that saved the day for him.
A draw was agreed after 72 moves in a five-and-a-half-hour marathon battle, the longest game in this match, with nothing to play for. Both players now have 3.5 points from seven games and will meet on Wednesday for the eighth game. Gukesh’s opening strategy was on point. His team prepared a strong novelty on move seven in a well-known line, allowing him to stay ahead of the clock for most of the game. The Indian Grandmaster, the youngest player to win the Candidates, surprised everyone with his opening choice as they picked an interesting plan. Ding opted for the King's Indian Defense, and the game then transposed to the Neo-Grunfeld Defense: Classical Defense pattern.
Gukesh had a huge positional and time advantage, but he made a few bad moves and lost his edge by simplifying the position. Ding put up a strong defense despite being in time trouble; at one point, he had 21 minutes to make 20 moves to reach the first-time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes. With only seven seconds left on his clock, Ding Liren blundered on the last move before the time control. Instead of 40...Ke5, he should have played 40...Nc8-b6, with a blockade and very good chances to draw. Just when victory seemed locked up for Gukesh, nerves kicked in. Converting the endgame was not easy, and low on time, Gukesh was unable to find the win.
The 18-year-old Gukesh, hoping to become the youngest World Champion ever, lost his time advantage too when he took 20 minutes for his 28th move. Though he found the best move at that position by moving his rook to a5, Ding managed to trade off the queens. Despite making his 40th move with just seven seconds remaining, he was able to neutralize some of Gukesh's advantage. They reached a rook ending with minor pieces, with Gukesh having an extra pawn; however, many experts felt that the advantage was not significant enough.
Former women's No.1 Susan Polgar noted that Gukesh's decision to simplify the position had backfired. Ding once again fell behind on time, having less than 10 minutes to complete the game. He also played an inaccurate move on his 40th turn, which gave Gukesh some advantage. However, Gukesh frittered away both his positional and time advantage once again and played inaccurately as the position became equal. He compounded his misery by missing a winning move when he retreated his bishop on the 46th move. Ding continued to play accurately, and Gukesh found himself with mere seconds to make his moves as the game teetered on the brink of a draw, leaving him frustrated over some of his decisions. Gukesh expressed disappointment, stating that missing some of the strong defensive moves put up by his opponent was "unpleasant."
✔️ World Chess Championship: Ding Liren dodges a bullet as Gukesh misses chances in draw
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