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Gukesh and Liren played out yet another exciting draw in game eight of the summit clash in Singapore on Wednesday.
D Gukesh and Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship 2024. (X/FIDE)
Teenage Indian challenger D Gukesh and Chinese defending champion Ding Liren played out yet another enthralling draw in Game 8 of the World Chess Championship 2024 on Wednesday in Singapore.
The finalists stand with nothing between them at the end of eight games with four points each to their name in the 14-game series.
Liren, playing with white pieces on the day, yet against demonstrated just why he is the defending champion as he dug deep to battle against the clock after falling behind significantly early on in the game. However, the 32-year-old clawed his way back into the game as he pushed Gukesh into deep thought with quality moves deep into the game to take the game to beyond 40 moves.
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As the players crossed the 40-move threshold, thirty minutes were added on to the clock, per stipulations along with thirty-second increments for each move.
The players ended up shaking hands at the ed of 45 moves each as they acknowledged the tireless work of the other.
Liren, who started the 14-match series playing against the odds, shushed naysayers with an opening round victory with black pieces to put an end to his struggles through the year and managed to hold the Indian for a draw in the second game.
Gukesh pulled back level in Game 3 as he clinched the point against the Chinese champions and has held steadfast to the parity ever since with draws in games four, five, six, seven and now eight.
The finalists will return to main board action on Thursday for the ninth iteration of the championship clash, in which Gukesh will control the white pieces as the players alternate between the colours with each passing game.