Singapore, Dec 11: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh tried his best but could not break past a resilient defending champion Ding Liren of China and had to settle for a draw after 68 moves in the 13th and penultimate game of the World Chess championship here on Wednesday. With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and only one game of classical chess to go, it is only likely that the match will be extended to the tie-break stage where games of shorter duration will decide the winner. Happy Birthday Viswanathan Anand! Fans Wish Legendary Indian Chess Grandmaster As He Turns 55.

As was expected and predicted, the 18-year-old Gukesh went for the King pawn on his opening move and yet again faced Liren's first-choice opening in French defense. The Chinese yet again spent a lot of time in the opening phase of the game when Gukesh came out with a novel idea early, but it was clear right from the beginning that there was little for the white.

The middle game saw the exchange of a couple of minor pieces that gave Gukesh's white only a small advantage optically. And as the game progressed, it was clear that the exchange of pawns on the queen side will only lead to an equal endgame. Gukesh, knowing fully well that this could be his last chance with the favourable colour, left no stone unturned as he kept looking for more but Liren kept his cool and traded pieces when necessary to reach a queen-plus-rook endgame that was just level.

The players nevertheless fought on for a long time. The pieces changed hands and eventually it was a queen and rook plus pawns on the board. Much as he tried, Gukesh did everything in the book to keep pushing for more even in the theoretical drawn endgame but Liren was up to the task. The game was eventually drawn to a two versus three rook-and-pawns endgame, and Gukesh played on till there was no life left in the position. Liren held fort till the very end and will go into the last game of the match as favourite. Viswanathan Anand Birthday Special: Did You Know That Legendary Chess Grandmaster Has a Planet Named After Him?.

The moves:

D Gukesh vs Ding Liren

1.e4 e6

2.d4 d5

3.Nc3 Nf6

4.e5 Nfd7

5.Nce2 c5

6.c3 Nc6

7.a3 Be7

8.Be3 Nb6

9.Nf4 cxd4

10.cxd4 Nc4

11.Bxc4 dxc4

12.Nge2 b5

13.0–0 0–0

14.Nc3 Rb8

15.Nh5 f5

16.exf6 Bxf6

17.Qf3 Qe8

18.Nxf6+ Rxf6

19.Qe2 Qg6

20.f3 Rf8

21.Rad1 Ne7

22.Bf4 Rb6

23.Bc7 Rb7

24.Bd6 Re8

25.Bxe7 Rexe7

26.Qe5 a6

27.d5 exd5

28.Qxd5+ Qe6

29.Qc5 Re8

30.Rde1 Qf7

31.Ne4 Rf8

32.Nd6 Rc7

33.Qe5 Qf6

34.Qd5+ Kh8

35.Re5 Re7

36.Rfe1 Rxe5

37.Rxe5 h6

38.Qc5 Bd7

39.Ne4 Qf4

40.Re7 Bf5

41.Qd4 Rg8

42.h3 Qc1+

43.Kf2 Bxe4

44.Rxe4 c3

45.bxc3 Qxa3

46.Kg3 Qb3

47.Re7 a5

48.Rb7 Qc4

49.Qe5 Qc6

50.Qxb5 Qxc3

51.Ra7 Qe1+

52.Kh2 Qb4

53.Qxb4 axb4

54.Rb7 Ra8

55.Rxb4 Ra2

56.Kg3 Kh7

57.Rb5 Kg6

58.f4 Kf6

59.Kf3 Rc2

60.g3 Rc3+

61.Kg4 Ra3

62.h4 Rc3

63.Rb6+ Kf7

64. f5 h5+

65. Kf4 Rc4+

66. Kf3 Rc3+

67. Kf4 Rc4+

68. Kf3 Rc3+ Match drawn.

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