World chess champ Ding and teen challenger Gukesh tied past halfway mark

Gukesh Dommaraju gives up strong position in middle game with inaccurate moves in eighth match of world championship in Singapore.

Defending world chess champion Ding Liren and teenage challenger Gukesh Dommaraju played to a fifth consecutive draw with neither player taking the lead after eight games.

Both players were deadlocked at four points each in the first World Championship encounter between two Asian players as the 14-match tournament went past the halfway mark on Wednesday in Singapore.

For the second game in a row, Gukesh appeared to give up a strong position during the middle game by playing a series of inaccurate moves.

However, the Indian teenager rejected Ding’s offer of a draw after 41 moves and played some attacks during the endgame in an attempt to get a result.

But the Chinese grandmaster fended off the offensive, and the players eventually shook hands on another draw after 51 moves.