World Chess Championship: Gukesh Misses Opportunities as Ding Liren Holds On for Draw

Singapore, Dec 3 (NationPress) Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju squandered a significant positional and time lead as current champion Ding Liren of China recovered from a blunder, displaying a robust defense to escape with a draw in Game 7 of their FIDE World Chess Championship Final at Resorts World Sentosa here on Tuesday.

The match saw fortunes shift dramatically, particularly for Gukesh, who had a prime opportunity to win and take a one-point lead in the 14-game series where the first player to reach 7.5 points will claim the title along with a substantial portion of the US$2.5 million prize fund.

Despite Gukesh's advantageous position, he missed several critical move sequences that could have secured him the victory and eventually found himself in dire time trouble. Ding adeptly traded pieces, guiding the game towards a draw. He eluded disaster, reflecting on what he termed a 'hopeless position' after his blunder on the 40th move, yet credited his success to an 'interesting idea' that salvaged the situation.

A draw was confirmed after a lengthy 72 moves in a grueling five-and-a-half-hour match, marking it as the longest game of the series. Both players now hold 3.5 points after seven games and will face off again on Wednesday for the eighth game.

Gukesh’s opening strategy was commendable. His team prepared a strong novelty on move seven in a recognized line, allowing him to stay ahead of the clock for most of the game. The young Grandmaster, who made history as the youngest player to win the Candidates, surprised many with his opening choice, opting for an intriguing approach. Ding selected the King's Indian Defense, which transposed into the Neo-Grunfeld Defense: Classical Defense structure.

Although Gukesh initially held a significant positional and time advantage, a few missteps led him to lose that edge by simplifying the position. Ding's defense was commendable, even though he faced time constraints, having only 21 minutes to complete 20 moves to reach the initial time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes.

With a mere seven seconds left on his clock, Ding Liren made a critical blunder on his last move before the time control. Instead of playing 40...Ke5, he should have opted for 40...Nc8-b6, which would have established a blockade and improved his chances of drawing.

Just when victory seemed assured for Gukesh, nerves affected his performance. Converting the endgame proved challenging, and with limited time, he could not find the winning strategy.

The 18-year-old Gukesh, aiming to become the youngest World Champion in history, lost his time advantage when he spent 20 minutes on his 28th move. Although he identified the best move by relocating his rook to a5, Ding managed to exchange queens, and despite making his 40th move with just seven seconds remaining, he successfully neutralized some of Gukesh's lead.

The players reached a rook endgame with minor pieces, Gukesh holding an extra pawn, but many experts believed that the advantage was insufficient. Former women's No.1 Susan Polgar opined that Gukesh's choice to simplify the position had backfired.

Ding once again fell behind on time, having less than 10 minutes left to finish the game. He also made an inaccurate move on his 40th turn, according to Susan Polgar, which initially gave his Indian opponent some advantage. However, Gukesh squandered both his positional and time advantages once more, playing inaccurately as the position evened out. Gukesh compounded his frustration by overlooking a winning move when he retreated his bishop on his 46th turn.

Ding continued to play accurately, while Gukesh was pressed for time, and the game teetered on the edge of a draw, leaving Gukesh regretting several of his earlier decisions.

Feeling disappointed, Gukesh expressed that overlooking some of his opponent's strong defensive moves was 'unpleasant.'