Chess World Championship: Gukesh, Ding play out sixth draw in a row

Game 9 of the World Chess Championship match between title holder Ding Liren and challenger Gukesh D ended in a draw after 54 moves in the Catalan Opening. Gukesh had the initiative again in the opening and toward move 20 it seemed he was winning a pawn on the queenside. However, he could not find the correct square for his queen, resulting in a massive trade of pawns and pieces to equalise the position.

Yet again, Gukesh failed to find a winning continuation and gave the advantage to Ding. However, the defending champion has looked more for draws in the games so far instead of showing aggression.

In the post-match conference, Ding, when asked to comment on his passive play, said, “I saw that I am always underestimating my position and my opponent is always overestimating his. I also saw someone say I always make a draw even if I’m better, but this didn’t affect me.”

The game was so ‘drawish’ that the players ended with the same time — 38 minutes, 30 seconds — left on the clock for each of them. The chess engine analysis showed they had almost the same accuracy level too. Gukesh had 99.2 accuracy while Ding had 99.3. The accuracy level means the percentage of perfect moves they played.

Grandmaster Anish Giri, commentating on chess24.com, said he was disappointed that Gukesh did not put pressure to win and missed some chances again.

However, Gukesh, in the post-match conference, was unfazed once again for missing an opportunity. “I think it was just a very precise game by both. I may have had the edge at some time but I guess I didn’t play precisely,” he said.

Ding continued to play the underdog card despite being the defending champion. “I am always under some pressure in the opening. My opponent always has some ideas in the opening. Even today it was the same and at one point I forgot which knight goes where in this (particular opening),” he said.

The players are tied at 4.5 points each with six straight draws now. They meet again on Saturday after a day’s break. Ding and Gukesh tried to set the tone for the upcoming games.

Ding said, “It is going to be tough to win. No one is clearly better in this match, so it’s going to be tough to win.”

Gukesh, who had chosen aggressive and even risky lines to try to win, still followed the same spirit in his prediction about the upcoming games. “We’ve both shown fighting spirit and entertaining chess… and five more exciting games to go,” he said.