Indian chess prodigy D. Gukesh drew with defending champion Ding Liren of China in the sixth game of the World Chess Championship, played on Sunday. Gukesh, playing with the black pieces, held Liren to a draw after 46 moves, keeping the score tied at 3 points each. This marked the third consecutive draw in the series, with both players still needing 4.5 points to win the championship.
Gukesh’s Calm Approach
Despite a complicated position, Gukesh remained confident throughout the game, stating in the post-match conference that he did not feel any real danger. “I wasn’t really that worried at any point,” Gukesh explained, adding that he had expected a balanced position after the 16th move.
Liren, who had won the first game, opted for the solid London System with the white pieces. This allowed him to solve his opening problems without much trouble, but the game transitioned into an equal Queen and Rook endgame with balanced pawns. Reflecting on his opening choice, Liren said, “In the last world championship match, I had played the same opening and won a nice game, I wanted to repeat the opening.”
Tactical Exchange and Draw
Although Gukesh used over 50 minutes in the initial phase of the game, he chose a dynamic continuation on move 20, which caused Liren to spend all his extra time calculating. Liren then proposed a draw by repeating moves, but Gukesh initially rejected the offer, continuing the game with a slightly worse position. Eventually, the game reached a point where Gukesh had no choice but to agree to a draw after exchanging queens and pawns.
When asked to compare the World Chess Championship with other tournaments, Gukesh called it the toughest event in chess. “It’s probably the toughest event in chess. Obviously, there is more at stake, but other than that it’s just a very interesting and long match against a very strong opponent,” he said. Despite trailing after the first game, Gukesh expressed satisfaction with his performance so far, acknowledging that there was still room for improvement.
With eight games remaining in the 14-round match, the championship battle will continue after a rest day on Monday. If the score remains tied after these eight games, tie-break games will be played to decide the winner.