The most exciting game of the match ends in a draw
The eighth game of the 2024 FIDE World Championship, presented by Google, will go down in history as being one of the most exciting of all time. It was a struggle all the way through, a fight with alternatives for both players, which finally ended in a draw after the challenger rejected once again a draw by threefold repetition.
The key position of the game occurred on move twenty-six. In a very tricky position, Gukesh D. missed a chance to consolidate his material advantage. In the press conference, he lamented his decision: “Blocking with 26…Ndc5 (instead of 26…Nac5) looked weird to me. I thought that my move was winning but I missed his key move 28.Qe1, when 28…Nxd3 loses to 29.Qc3. If I had spotted this idea then I would probably have thought a bit more. It was a very tricky position and he found these ideas very quickly – great defence by my opponent”.
Ding Liren was visibly happy with the result. “He outplayed me once again but then he missed some important details and let me back into the game” the champion recognized after the game.
Nonetheless, Gukesh was delighted with his opening choice:
“I want to congratulate my team, not only my head coach Gajewski, but also all the other coaches. They are doing an excellent job and I thank them for their interesting ideas”
he said after the game.
The ninth game of the match will take place on Thursday, December 5th at 5 PM local time in Singapore. Gukesh will play White.
FACT SHEET, Game 8, FIDE World Championship:
White: Ding Liren
Black: Gukesh D
Result: 0.5-0.5
Match score: 4-4
Game length: 51 moves
Opening: English Opening
Variation: King’s Variation, Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack
Written by IM Michael Rahal (Singapore)
Photos: Eng Chin An and Maria Emelianova / FIDE_chess
About the event
Current World Champion Ding Liren, representing China, and challenger Gukesh D, from India, face each other in a fourteen-game classical chess match. The player who scores 7.5 points or more will win the match, picking up the better part of the $2.5 million total prize fund.
The first of the fourteen scheduled games took place on Monday, November 25 at 5 pm with Gukesh opening with White. Hosted at the luxurious Resorts World Sentosa the match is broadcast live with expert commentary on the FIDE YouTube Channel.
Source: FIDE NEWS
