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Liren and Gukesh are tied at 2 points each at the end of four games of the 14-match series in the summit clash.
Ding Liren (left), the reigning world champion, will defend his title against rising star D Gukesh of India. (AFP Photo)
The fourth game of the World Chess Championship between Chinese champion Ding Liren and Indian challenger D Gukesh finished in a draw on Friday in Singapore.
The players are tied at 2 points each at the end of four games of the 14-match series in the summit clash.
The Chinese champion was on white pieces on the day after the break on Thursday and opened the day with a pretty movie of his knight to test Gukesh’s preparations.
The Indian, however, did not take the bait and stuck to what he does best with a conventional opening before opting for a reverse British sequence by offering his bishop long range.
Both players managed their time rather well as neither one fell behind the clock significantly in a balanced game that always looked destined for a draw, save for the brief period where Liren could have seized the advantage with an ambitious, albeit risky, foray into the opposition area.
However, the 32-year-old opted to err on the side of caution and chose to do what he does best as he was happy to pick up the draw, while Gukesh looked to go for the kill in the final exchanges of the game.
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Liren had a slight upper hand during midgame, but Gukesh came back to neutralise the threat and took the game deep by avoiding any blunders in tight situations.
Liren offered up exchange after exchange throughout the game and Gukesh obliged in a manner that did not put any of his other pieces under threat.
After a queen exchange, the game stood with three pawns and a rook-end game for either colour as Gukesh pushed for an opening, but the game ultimately ended with the players splitting the spoils as the championship battle hangs right in the balance.
- Location :
Singapore, Singapore