Chess World Championship: Gukesh, Ding eye breakthrough

Half a dozen draws and some missed opportunities later, sprightly challenger D Gukesh and resolute defending champion Ding Liren would be desperate for a breakthrough when they clash in the 10th game of the World Chess Championship here on Saturday.

Gukesh has explored several winning lines but the advantage has not translated into victories for the Indian, and with just five more classical games left to be played in the $2.5 million championship, the 18-year-old would look to break the deadlock and hope to take a decisive lead after a day’s rest on Friday.

The draw on Thursday, which was the seventh of the match and sixth on the trot, has left both players on an identical score of 4.5 points each, still three shy of the championship-winning tally.

The 32-year-old Ding had won the opening game while Gukesh had emerged victorious in the third. All other games have ended in draws. If history is anything to go by, the reigning champion wins the match if the scores are tied 4-4 after eight games.

The Chennai-born Indian knows that he will have to punch hard against his gritty Chinese opponent, who has a habit of coming up with well-disguised tricks when the chips are down. World No. 1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen minced no words while doing a recap of the ninth game and said that the time was running out for Gukesh. “I think we have finally arrived at a moment when Gukesh is not a favourite anymore, it’s as pure a 50-50 match as it comes,” said Carlsen.

If the deadlock is not broken after 14 rounds, Gukesh could well surrender the initiative to his Chinese opponent when the games are played under the faster time control to determine the winner.