Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju played to a fifth consecutive draw in Game 8 of their highly anticipated World Chess Championship match, leaving the best-of-14 series tied at 4-4. The game, which lasted for 4 hours and 35 minutes, featured a dramatic and fluctuating battle where both players had chances to seize victory but ultimately settled for a draw after 51 moves. The result has only added to the tension of the ongoing title match, with both players having shown exceptional resilience and strategic depth.
The 32-year-old reigning champion from China, Ding Liren, began the game with 1.c4 for the fourth time in as many games as White. Despite this familiar opening move, Ding soon found himself in a precarious position, trailing badly on the clock and facing a difficult middlegame. However, his fightback was marked by a brilliant idea, where he recovered from a worse position with remarkable speed and accuracy. A blunder by Gukesh allowed Ding to turn the game around, and although Ding’s initiative in the endgame was slight, he couldn’t capitalize on it fully. Gukesh defended flawlessly, refusing a draw by threefold repetition and pushing for further play, despite being in an inferior position.
The game was a true rollercoaster, with both players creating and then missing winning opportunities. The middlegame saw wild shifts in the evaluation, as Gukesh, the 18-year-old challenger from India, misjudged the position at a crucial moment. In a critical moment, Gukesh could have agreed to a draw by repetition but chose to continue the game. In hindsight, Gukesh admitted that he misjudged the position, thinking his pawn on b3 and Ding’s weak king gave him winning chances. However, he later recognized that continuing was a mistake, as it only prolonged his inferior position.
For his part, Ding stated that despite the favorable evaluation bar during the game, he never thought he was in a winning position. The engines later highlighted a significant blunder by Gukesh with his 28…Be6 move, which tilted the game in Ding’s favor. However, Ding admitted that he hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation during the game and that he never considered himself to be winning.
This match has been particularly intense, with both players refusing to accept draws easily. Gukesh’s bold decision to decline the draw in Game 8 was not the first time he had opted to continue the game in a worse position. In fact, in Game 6, Gukesh had made a similarly risky move with 26…Qh4, a move that stunned the spectators and commentators alike. Despite the daring play, Gukesh’s refusal to settle for a draw in both games was a testament to his confidence and determination. However, as Gukesh admitted after Game 8, his decisions sometimes led to misjudgments, especially when his position turned out to be weaker than he had anticipated.
The ongoing World Chess Championship has been a showcase of resilience, with Ding Liren overcoming his own struggles in the tournament to defend his title. Prior to the match, Ding had not won a single classical game in 28 attempts, a streak that had seen him drop to 23rd in the world rankings. Despite the odds, Ding surprised everyone by winning Game 1 with Black, ending his winless streak and delivering a decisive first blow to his challenger. Gukesh responded with a victory in Game 3, but the following games have been marked by tense draws, with neither player able to fully assert dominance.
The match is now at a crucial juncture, with both players tied at 4-all and the competition heading into Game 9. Gukesh, playing as White, will look to capitalize on the momentum of the last few games, while Ding aims to maintain his champion’s poise and edge. The match continues in Singapore, where the next game could tip the balance in favor of one player, but with the score still tied, it is clear that this World Championship will go down to the wire. Whoever reaches 7.5 points first will be crowned champion, and with the games so finely balanced, fans can expect more thrilling chess to unfold.