Gukesh squanders advantage to settle for draw in Game 7
Singapore: The youngest-ever challenger to the crown, D Gukesh let go of a very promising position and settled for a fourth consecutive draw against defending champion Ding Liren of China in a marathon seventh game of the World Chess Championship here on Tuesday.
The stalemate, which came after five hours and 22 minutes of nerve-wracking play, left both players on an identical tally of 3.5 points each, still shy of four more points in order to win the championship.
The two players signed peace after 72 moves.
It turned out to be a tough day in office again for Liren, who was staring at a losing position for a long time, till Gukesh blundered. The Indian, playing white, got a huge advantage but miscalculated to let the Chinese off the hook in what was the longest game of the match thus far.
It was a miraculous escape by Liren after getting into what the chess pundits termed a lost rook and minor piece endgame.
Gukesh acknowledged he was in a great position to take the lead halfway through the championship before he fumbled.
“It’s never pleasant to miss a winning position, but I’m happy with the fact that I outplayed my opponent quite easily in the opening. I thought I was winning if I managed to consolidate my position and it became tricky at some point. I don’t know where I missed but it should be winning,” said the Indian.
“The score is fine. Obviously, today was a missed chance. That is a bit of a disappointment, but he (Liren) also missed some chances earlier in the match. So, I think it’s fair that we are here. The second half will be, of course, crucial,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Gukesh yet again tightened the noose in the opening. He has clearly been the better player when it came to springing surprises at the start. Moving his knight forward on the first move, the Indian faced the Neo-Grunfeld defense from Liren, and as early as in the seventh turn, Gukesh came up with a surprise idea.
Liren, who seemed to have solved his opening problems in the last couple of games, was at the receiving end on Tuesday, and even though he chose normal continuation, white’s position remained preferable.
Gukesh exerted pressure through the centre and got a dangerous-looking passed pawn in the early stages of the middle game, with the advantage of the bishop pair only adding to Liren’s woes.
Even Liren conceded that he had escaped by the proverbial skin of the teeth.
“I thought my position was hopeless with lack of coordination (between forces). I have been beaten many times in the opening and the middle game. Here, I was very happy to find the ideas. I made many mistakes, (but) fortunately, I saved the game,” said Liren.
