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Despite having fought his way back into the game, and with his confidence surely boosted, Gukesh remains pragmatic about the Championship.
D Gukesh (left) is aiming to become the youngest to win the championship. (FIDE/PTI)
It seemed like hope may have been lost in the middle game after the defending champion Ding Liren continued to pester with solid positioning, but the young Challenger D Gukesh persisted to eke out a hard-fought win and keep the scores level at Game 5 of the World Chess Championship on Saturday.
After having indulged in a French Exchange with Liren, only the second instance of the same occurring in World Championship history, Gukesh was seemingly poised to take the upper hand with the white pieces.
But, a few questionable moves sprinkled with novelties from Ding, left Gukesh fighting from behind, only to claw his way back to a draw with a little less than half an hour left on the clock.
“I knew that I was in trouble in the middle game. I was a bit worried about my position, but after the rook exchange, I knew I could fight for a draw,” stated Gukesh in the post-game interview.
“Ding had played French already in the first game. After the exchange, I was quite prepared till he played Ke7, but I did not have any serious chances of pushing for a win after that. I may have overestimated my opening position.”
“I hallucinated and blundered, leading to my position almost collapsing. But, I knew I needed to calm down and play my way through.”
Gukesh sure did the same, as Liren seemed to lose sight of his advantage in the endgame, leading to Gukesh levelling the playing field yet again before both players finally settled on a tough draw.
Despite having fought his way back into the game, and with his confidence surely boosted, Gukesh remains pragmatic about the Championship.
“I think it’s still early to call anything. We’re not even halfway through,” replied Gukesh.
“Considering I was trailing in this game early, it’s nice to be here now after the draw. But, I just want to take it one game at a time.”
With five games down, the scores remain tied at 2.5 points each, and Game 6 shall commence tomorrow, presenting yet another opportunity for someone to eke out a slender lead before reaching the halfway mark of the Championship match.