India’s Gukesh Dommaraju and reigning world champion Ding Liren of China have tied their fourth match of the ongoing World Chess Championship final with the overall score level at 2-2 in Singapore.
The 18-year-old Indian grandmaster levelled the series on Wednesday after his Chinese counterpart won the first match while the second was also tied. The third match was settled by Ding falling behind the clock, which neither did significantly in the conservative latest encounter on Friday.
Indeed, the match appeared destined for a draw throughout with only a brief move of aggression into Gukesh’s half by Ding, which eventually came to nothing following a retreat.
“I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss. I am in a very good mood,” Ding told reporters. “This round, I tried to play safe. It turns out I got a little bit of an advantage.
“The score is still balanced. There are more games to come.”
🇮🇳 Gukesh D: I guess I should say I kind of believe more in Fischer's quote. I believe in good moves. Ya, I'm just trying to make good moves."
Question: Garry Kasparov has said many times that he believes a bit in numerology. He was born on the 13th of April and was the 13th… pic.twitter.com/rVExShfHRK
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) November 29, 2024
Ding opened the game with the use of his knight while Gukesh used 15 minutes for the first five moves in response.
“I chose this opening idea trying to surprise my opponent. It worked well, not so bad,” Ding added.
Gukesh, who is the youngest player in history to challenge for the World Championship, also spent the longest time on a single move, which was 20 minutes and 38 seconds.
“Towards the end, I had some chances to press better, but with black, this is all you can expect,” Gukesh said in reference to Ding opening the game.
🇨🇳 Ding Liren: "Since I cannot see my reactions during the game, because I’m the one who is playing, I don’t know if I’m able to maintain this kind of poker face if my opponent makes some mistakes. I think I will maybe show some expressions if I see some mistakes from my… pic.twitter.com/xJED2WWXfL
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) November 29, 2024
Should he come out on top, Gukesh would surpass Garry Kasparov as the youngest undisputed world chess champion.
The first player to get 7.5 points will be declared the winner with tie-breaks scheduled if the players are tied on seven points after 14 games.
The final continues on Saturday with the next rest day coming on Monday. The last match of the 14 is scheduled for December 12 with the following day reserved for a tie-break if required.
