D Gukesh of India and defending champion Ding Liren of China battled to a draw in an extremely tight seventh round of the World Chess Championship. The game was played for five hours and 22 minutes, where both players signed peace after 72 grueling moves.
A Balanced Scoreboard
After seven rounds, both players are still level on 3.5 points. Gukesh, at 18, is the youngest challenger to the world title, and Ding, the current champion, has taken one win and drawn five matches so far. Ding took the first game, but Gukesh won the third. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and now seventh games were all drawn, illustrating the razor-thin margins between the two competitors.
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Game 7
A Tactical Rollercoaster The seventh game promised much for Gukesh as he played through the Neo Grunfeld Defense of Ding. Gukesh initially dominated the game, but a critical middle-game error soon undid his deep preparation and allowed Ding to escape from a precarious position.
Both the players made tactical mistakes, especially in the middle game. Ding was in considerable time pressure but he was able to repel Gukesh’s attacks. This in fact contributed to the tension of the format, which demands to play the first 40 moves in two hours, as Ding’s clock was at alarmingly low levels.
After the game, Gukesh expressed mixed emotions. “It’s never comfortable to miss a winning position, but I feel relieved about how I played in the opening compared to my opponent,” he said. On one hand, he acknowledged another missed opportunity, but on the other hand, he remained optimistic about his overall standing in the match.
Ding, however, admitted barely escaping a defeat. “I escaped by the skin of my teeth,” he surrendered, focusing on how each side fought very hard on the board .
A Crucial Second Half Ahead
With both players tied, it’s match-point time, so every move in the rest of the rounds will weigh like gold. Gukesh and Ding will be taking chances, but they’ll need to convert opportunities and cut down on errors as they battle for chess’s greatest prize. More drama and high-stakes action is promised in the eighth match, which will see the two world chess champions dueling as two of the finest minds in chess.
