Singapore, December 3:  The youngest-ever challenger to the world crown, D Gukesh let go of a very promising position and had to settle for a fourth consecutive draw against defending champion Ding Liren of China in a marathon seventh game of the World Chess Championship here on Tuesday.

The stalemate, which came after five hours and 22 minutes of nerve-wracking play, left both players on an identical tally of 3.5 points each, still shy of four more points in order to win the championship. World Chess Championship 2024 Schedule Time in IST, Live Streaming Online, Prize Money and All You Need To Know About D Gukesh vs Ding Liren Final.

The two players signed peace after 72 moves. It turned out to be a tough day in office again for Liren, who was staring at a losing position for a long time, till Gukesh blundered. The Indian, playing white, got a huge advantage but miscalculated to let the Chinese off the hook in what was the longest game of the match thus far. It was a miraculous save by Liren after getting into what the chess pundits termed as a lost rook and minor piece endgame.

Earlier in the day, Gukesh yet again tightened the noose in the opening. He has clearly been the better player when it's come to springing opening surprises.

Moving his knight forward on the first move, the Indian faced the Neo Grunfeld defense from Liren, and as early as on the seventh turn, Gukesh came up with a surprise idea. Liren, who seemed to have solved his opening problems in the last couple of games, was at the receiving end on Tuesday, and even though he chose normal continuation, white's position remained preferable.

Gukesh exerted pressure through the centre and got a dangerous-looking passed pawn in the early stages of the middle game, with the advantage of the bishop pair only adding to Liren's woes. The middle game saw inaccuracies from both sides, and it seemed that Liren was close to obtaining equality. However, the process had yet again eaten up most of Liren's available time as the players are required to make the first 40 moves in two hours without any increment.

Gukesh went for the trade of queens after fracturing black's pawn structure on the king side as the Indian got an indisputable advantage. As has happened so many times in the past, the 40th move proved to be jinxed yet again as Liren lost a pawn. The Chinese either underestimated Gukesh's chances or it was an oversight. Despite the advantage, Gukesh still had to go through the technicalities, which has not been his forte here. World Chess Championship 2024 Google Doodle: Search Engine Giant Unveils Latest Artwork Ahead of Ding Liren vs D Gukesh Match.

Gukesh's 45th move was not the best and Liren slowly clawed back into the game with some really resourceful play. The tenacity of the Chinese came to the fore in the second time control also after he was left with just four minutes with a 30-second increment after each move is made. Gukesh, who would have fancied his chances after the first time control, had to split the point after all the pawns were traded and he was left with a lone bishop.

The Moves: D Gukesh vs Ding Liren (Game 7)

1.Nf3 d5

2.g3 g6

3.d4 Bg7

4.c4 c6

5.Bg2 Nf6

6.0–0 0–0

7.Re1 dxc4

8.e4 Bg4

9.Nbd2 c5

10.d5 e6

11.h3 Bxf3

12.Bxf3 exd5

13.exd5 Nbd7

14.Nxc4 b5

15.Na3 Qb6

16.Bf4 Rfe8

17.Qd2 Rad8

18.Nc2 Nf8

19.b4 c4

20.Be3 Qa6

21.Bd4 Rxe1+

22.Rxe1 Qxa2

23.Ra1 Qb3

24.Ra3 Qb1+

25.Kg2 Rd7

26.Ra5 Qb3

27.Ra3 Qb1

28.Ra5 Qb3

29.Rxb5 Qd3

30.Qf4 Qxc2

31.Bxf6 Qf5

32.Qxf5 gxf5

33.Bxg7 Kxg7

34.Rc5 Ng6

35.Rxc4 Ne5

36.Rd4 Nc6

37.Rf4 Ne7

38.b5 Kf6

39.Rd4 h6

40.Kf1 Ke5

41.Rh4 Nxd5

42.Rxh6 Nc3

43.Rc6 Ne4

44.Ke1 f6

45.h4 Rd3

46.Bd1 f4

47.gxf4+ Kxf4

48.Bc2 Rd5

49.Rc4 f5

50.Rb4 Kf3

51.Bd1+ Kg2

52.Rb3 Re5

53.f4 Re7

54.Re3 Rh7

55.h5 Nf6

56.Re5 Nxh5

57.Rxf5 Ng3

58.Rf8 Rb7

59.Ba4 Kf3

60.f5 Kf4

61.f6 Ne4

62.Bc2 Nd6

63.Rd8 Ke5

64.Bb3 Nf7

65.Rd5+ Kxf6

66.Kd2 Rb6

67.Bc4 Rd6

68.Kc3 Rxd5

69.Bxd5 Nd6

70.Kb4 Nxb5

71.Kxb5 a6+

72.Kxa6 game drawn.

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