World Chess Championship 2024, Round 8: Gukesh, Ding Liren share spoils in fifth consecutive draw

Ding Liren rallied back after a tough start to restore parity against Gukesh and eventually the two shook hands on a draw, which ensured the two continued to stay tied on points.

India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren during the eighth game of the World Chess Championship. | Photo Credit: Eng Chin An

There has been no decisive result since Game 3. But nobody is complaining. Ding Liren and D. Gukesh are playing some exciting chess in their World Championship match here in Sentosa.

The eighth game was drawn on Wednesday. So, after the fifth straight draw, the score is 4-4 at World Resorts Sentosa. The one who moves to 7.5 points will be the champion. Six games of classical chess remain.

Game 8 may not have lasted as long as Game 7 – it was a five-and-a-half-hour thriller, and 72 moves were made – but there was plenty of action. As in the seventh game, Gukesh had an excellent opportunity to force a win, but as in the seventh game, he missed.

Ding showed his resourcefulness yet again and even had his younger rival in trouble. But Gukesh defended well enough. He also showed his willingness to strive hard, letting go of the chance for an easier draw, which he could have got by choosing three-fold repetition. He had done the same thing in the sixth game.

AS IT HAPPENED | GUKESH VS DING, WORLD CHESS-CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 HIGHLIGHTS

The eighth game saw an English Opening, but Gukesh seemed prepared for it as he played his moves quickly. White, on the other hand, needed much more time to respond. At one stage, he had to make some 21 moves in 33 minutes, while Gukesh had more than an hour.

The Chennai lad could be ruing his 26th move, though. He missed the opportunity to create a potentially winning position by taking the wrong knight to the ‘c5’ square. Now his advantage had disappeared, and just two moves later, following an unwise bishop move, the tables turned.

It was now Ding, who could put Gukesh under real pressure, but he too erred with a knight-move. He manoeuvred the knight to the wrong square, ‘d4’, instead of the ideal ‘e1’. He may have gone an exchange up, but gone was the chance for a possibly decisive advantage.  

On the 41st move, Gukesh averted the three-fold repetition with a queen check. His decision to avoid a draw and play was met with cheers by the audience watching the action on the big screen from the fan zone, but it took most people by surprise. American Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, who moderates the press conference, admitted he had begun making his way to the media room and had to retreat.

The game, however, was drawn another 10 moves later, after the queens were exchanged, and an ending featuring opposite-coloured bishops.