D Gukesh vs Ding Liren Game 8: Gukesh rejects draw before sharing points with world chess champion

Another World Chess Championship 2024 match ended in a draw on Wednesday as the scores remained tied between the challenger D Gukesh and the world champion Ding Liren. With Game 8 ending in a draw after 51 moves , both players are currently tied on four points each. The first player to reach 7.5 points in the 14-game series will be handed the world chess title.

The draw in the World Chess Championship 2024 Game 8 was the fifth consecutive draw in the world title battle which has a total prize money pool of $2.5m (Rs 20.8 crore approximately) and is being played in Singapore.

D Gukesh vs Ding Liren Game 8 Recap

Just like Game 7 in World Chess Championship 2024, Game 8 on Wednesday also saw players reaching positions where they could have won the game but both 18-year-old Gukesh and 32-year-old Liren failed to capitalize on the chances in the middlegame.

The match started with Ding, playing with favoured white pieces, making for a fresh approach, opening with 1.c4 for the fourth consecutive game. Despite facing a dire position and a significant time deficit, Liren showcased remarkable resilience, conjuring a brilliant idea to escape disaster. A costly blunder from Gukesh paved the way for Ding to seize control, executing his comeback with confidence and precision.

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One of the major incidents in the match occurred on move 26 when Gukesh missed a chance to consolidate his advantage. In the press conference, he spoke about his decision: “Blocking with 26…Ndc5 (instead of 26…Nac5) looked weird to me. I thought that my move was winning but I missed his key move 28.Qe1, when 28…Nxd3 loses to 29.Qc3. If I had spotted this idea then I would probably have thought a bit more. It was a very tricky position and he found these ideas very quickly – great defence by my opponent”.

The middlegame witnessed an intense battle but the endgame was quite balanced as Ding’s advantageous position was cut down by Gukesh’s ingenuity and fighting spirit. The Indian GM once again rejected a draw offer by threefold repetition before the game ended in a draw.

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Gukesh had first declined the offer for a draw in the sixth game on Sunday when he opted for 26…Qh4!? and stunned the viewers but after Game 8 he said it was a misjudgment on his part.

“This position where I didn’t repeat, I didn’t think I was in much danger. I always thought with his weak king and my strong pawn on b3, I should have play. I thought maybe I might even have some chances. But okay, yeah, it was just a misjudgment of the position,” he said in the post-match press conference.

Ding also expressed happiness on securing a draw as he felt he could not have won.

“Today during the game I didn’t realise I was winning at some point,” he said.

The ninth game of the World Chess Championship 2024 will take place on Thursday (5 December) at 5 PM local time in Singapore (2.30 PM IST). Gukesh will play White.

All the moves from Game 8:

1. c4 e5
2. Nc3 Bb4
3. Nd5 Be7
4. Nf3 d6
5. g3 c6
6. Nxe7 Nxe7
7. Bg2 f6
8. O-O Be6
9. b3 d5
10. Ba3 O-O
11. Rc1 a5
12. Ne1 Re8
13. f4 exf4
14. Rxf4
15. bxc4 Ng6
16. Re4 Na6
17. Nc2 Qc7
18. Nd4 Bf7
19. d3 Ne5
20. Nf3 Nd7
21. Rxe8+ Rxe8
22. Rb1 b5
23. cxb5 Qb6+
24. Kf1 cxb5
25. Bb2 Bxa2
26. Bd4 Nac5
27. Rc1 Bb3
28. Qe1 Be6
29. Qf2 Rc8
30. Be3 Rc7
31. Nd4 Bf7
32. Nc6 Rxc6
33. Bxc6 Qxc6
34. Bxc5 h6
35. Ke1 b4
36. Qd4 Ne5
37. Kd2 Qg2
38. Qf2 Qd5
39. Qd4 Qg2
40. Qf2 Qd5
41. Qd4 Qa2+
42. Rc2 Qe6
43. Qd8+ Kh7
44. Qxa5 b3
45. Rc1 Qd5
46. Qb4 Qg2
47. Qe4+ Qxe4
48. dxe4 b2
49. Rb1 Ba2
50. Rxb2 Nc4+
51. Kc3 Nxb2