It’s Game 5 in the World Chess Championship with India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren looking to take a lead with the match being level at 2-2.
The reigning champion Ding played with whites in Game 4 and after 42 moves, both players decided to call it a draw after a clear three-fold repetition in a rook ending.
Ding, once again, started with an unorthodox opening with 1.Nf3, with a clear intention to surprise his opponent, but Gukesh maintained his calm throughout the game and found precise moves in the middle game to ensure Ding doesn’t get any advantage.
After securing a draw with Black, Gukesh said he was happy with his performance: “It wasn’t a completely new line for me, although it was a bit of a surprise. I was playing over the board from early on. I think I reacted well enough, neutralising his edge. It was a solid game and even towards the end, I had some chances to press better. With Black, it’s all you can expect in a match.”
Meanwhile, Ding was also content with his play. “Yesterday I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss and today I was in a very good move. I tried to surprise my opponent and it worked well, but the advantage is very small. He was able to neutralise my initiative, and the game was balanced,” he said.
In Game 5, it will be Gukesh who will start with the White.
You can follow the game in our live blog below:
