 "D Gukesh and Ding Liren now have just four more games in World Chess Championship to decided a winner. Image: FIDE")
With just four games to go in the World Chess Championship 2024 and scores tied at 5-5 against current champion Ding Liren, Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh is under no illusion that the upcoming games are going to be one of the biggest challenges of his nascent career. “Now, the cost of one game is higher than it was maybe … a few games before,” Gukesh said after Game 10 ended in a draw . “But my approach and my goal is still the same: to play good games in every single game.”
Game 10 between Ding and Gukesh finished in a draw after just 36 moves as the former failed to press the advantage of the white pieces and the 18-year-old Indian GM decided against making inroads.
The 32-year-old Ding feels that players can’t afford any mistakes now that the end is so close and the scores are still tied. “There’s not so much room to make mistakes, every loss will result in a very bad situation. We need to be careful with every move,” said Liren.
The first player to reach 7.5 points in the 14-game series will be declared the world chess champion but if scores remain tied till the end then tiebreakers will be played in fast time control.
What happened in FIDE World Championship Game 5?
In Game 5, Liren started with London System opening, a move that he also chose at the start of Game 6. In fact, it was the third time in the history of the World Championship matches that we have seen the London System and all three of them have been played by Ding. The Chinese chess player, however, went for some variations from Game 6 as he went for 5.Be2, followed by 6.dxc5 and 7.c4.
Ding was aiming to earn a risk-free advantage, but due to Gukesh’s solid positioning and no real chance of a favorable outcome, Ding exchanged queens and transitioned to a completely equal endgame, leading to a draw being agreed on move thirty-six after a threefold repetition.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Every game we are hoping to create chances ourselves, not hoping the opponent will make some mistakes. Otherwise, we would play some tricks which are not objectively good, but to check the opponent,” Ding said about seven matches ending in a draw on the trot.
Gukesh added that while he’s a “calm” person by nature, the World Championship matches certainly had its impact, which he is dealing with the help of his team.
“In general, I don’t freak out a lot. I manage to remain calm. But obviously, when I’m feeling some kind of emotions, my team is there to support me,” Gukesh said at the game 10 post-game press conference.
Game 11 in the FIDE World Championship 2024 will be played on Sunday (8 December) from 2.30 PM IST.
FIDE World Championship: Game 10 fact sheet
White: Ding Liren
Black: Gukesh D
Result: 0.5-0.5
Match score: 5-5
Game length: 36 moves
Opening: London System