Singapore, Nov 26 (IANS) Indian challenger Gukesh Dommaraju held World Champion Ding Liren of China in the second game of their World Championship 2024 match at the Sentosa Resorts here on Tuesday, opening his account in this 14-game encounter after losing the opener.
Gukesh considered the overwhelming favourite to claim the title and become the youngest ever World Champion at the age of 18, had suffered a shock defeat in the first game on Monday. So, holding Ding to a draw with black pieces was good for his confidence.
In the second game, the Indian Grandmaster seems to have stabilised the nerves that hit him on the first day. On Tuesday, the Indian teenager survived a surprise sprung by the World Champion, who opted for a rarely played line in King Pawn Opening but neutralised the position to steer the game to a draw through a three-fold repetition of moves.
Ding Liren opted for Giuoco Pianissimo of Italian Opening, which is rarely played in the international circuit, and both players decided against taking risks, avoided any major complications, and after successive exchanges, a draw was agreed by threefold repetition on move 23.
Ding, who played with white pieces, said his trainer felt that he was in a slightly inferior position after his 12th move. “My basic idea was to play carefully, and I was fine with a draw. I remembered that my second said that after 12.b3 it was 0.2 according to the computer, so I may have missed some opportunities”.
Gukesh said he was not much surprised by the opening chosen by the reigning World Champion and thought white had a slight advantage but black could survive if he played correctly.
“I just wanted to play a good game,” he said. “With Black so early in a match, you don’t want to do anything stupid. Yesterday I was feeling good, I was fresh and confident, just that I missed a few tactics which can happen to anyone at any time,” he said in the post-game press conference.
It was a tense affair as the two players gave every move a lot of thought and both decided to not take risks. Gukesh centralised his pieces, pushing Ding Liren to press for victory and make mistakes in the process.
The key moment of the game was move 14.Rdc1. Already out of preparation, Ding abandoned the open file to avoid exchanges and regroup. However, it soon became clear that his plan had backfired. “The move Rc1 is a typical idea in this kind of structure but I don’t think it’s a good move in the game, because I didn’t know how to develop while he has such a strong knight on d4. Later on, I moved the rook back to d1, which means I am not happy with rook to c1” he lamented after the game.
Ding, who is 14 years older than his opponent, did not overexert himself and avoided a time scramble and shook hands with Gukesh, who too was happy to share the point.
The Chinese GM now leads the 14-game match with one and a half points while Gukesh has half a point. The two players will meet on Wednesday for the third game before they take the first break in the three-week encounter.
The FIDE World Championship 2024 match is the first in 138 years to feature two contestants from Asia and the two players are competing for the title and a prize fund of US$2.5 million.
–IANS
bsk/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
