World Chess Championship: 9th game between Gukesh and Liren ends in draw

Stalemate continues in World Chess Championship as Gukesh and Liren draw, still tied on points.

Stalemate continued in the World Chess Championship as the ninth game between Indian challenger D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China ended in yet another draw to still level on points here on Thursday (December 5, 2024).

The sixth consecutive draw -- and seventh of the match -- left both players on an identical tally of 4.5 points each, still shy of 3 points in order to win the championship.

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The two players signed peace after 54 moves. Friday is a rest day and they will resume the battle on Saturday.

Just five more classical games are left to be played in the $2.5 million prize money championship and if a tied result happens after 14 rounds, there will be games under faster time control to determine the winner. The 32-year-old Liren had won the opening game while the 18-year-old Gukesh had emerged victorious in the third game.

The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth games had ended in draws.

The Catalan opening has featured in top level games for many decades now and Gukesh chose it this time to test Liren’s preparation.