World Chess Championship: Honours shared in game five as Ding lets Gukesh off the hook

Indian challenger D Gukesh draws with Ding Liren in World Chess Championship, both players at 2.5 points.

Black seems to excite Ding Liren a bit more than white in Singapore.

After scoring a stunning win against D. Gukesh in the opening game of the World chess championship with black pieces, the defending champion got an advantageous position and managed to put the young Indian challenger under some pressure in game five at Resorts World Sentosa on Saturday (November 30, 2024). But, this time Gukesh didn’t succumb, and found the right moves to get a draw.

So it is still all square, at 2.5-2.5. Another nine rounds remain in this best-of-14 match. The player who reaches 7.5 points will be the winner.

Like he did in the first game, Gukesh began by pushing the king’s pawn, and as was the case then, Ding replied with French Defence, though that had been something he hadn’t used a lot in the past. The exchange variation of French Defence followed this time around.

The queens were exchanged by the ninth move. Eight moves later, Gukesh showed his intentions with an aggressive push of the ‘g’ pawn, and not for the first time in the match.

But on the 23rd move, his decision to capture Ding’s bishop with his pawn, instead of rook, didn’t seem to be a wise one and made him suffer for a while.

Ding went on to have a passed pawn in the centre, but he could not find the ideal way to continue and press harder. Gukesh, on the other hand, did well to equalise. The game reached an ending featuring opposite-colour bishops and pawns.