Victory eluded D Gukesh in the second game of the World Chess Championship match against Ding Liren. It turned out to be stalemate after 23 moves following around three hours of brainstorming at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. This gave the Chinese a lead of 1.5-0.5, with 12 more games to be played. The player who reaches 7.5 points first will be declared the winner.
Gukesh, who lost the opening game with the white pieces, had black in this round and he couldn’t make headway in his search of a win. The defending champion kept things tight and denied his opponent any inroads. The 18-year-old from India tried his best, but realised soon that it was not possible to penetrate the defence of white. A draw was a predictable outcome.
“Draw with black in a World Championship match is always nice and it’s too early. We still have a long match,” said Gukesh after the second game. “There is obviously some pressure for anyone playing in a World Championship. But I also see it as a privilege that I can represent so many people and my country. I am just focusing on one game at a time. Hopefully, things go my way,” he added.
Gukesh is the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to have qualified for the World Championship showdown. Anand, a five-time winner, last played the final in 2014 when he lost against Magnus Carlsen for the second time. Before this final, Anand, Carlsen and experts like the legendary Garry Kasparov hailed Gukesh as the favourite. The youngster, however, has never beaten Ding in the long format.
“With black pieces, so early in the match, it’s nowhere close to a must-win situation. So I was not going to do anything stupid. I just wanted to play a good game. Yesterday I was feeling good as well. I was fresh and confident. I missed a few tactics which can happen to anyone. I wouldn’t say today was about applying the brakes or anything,” said Gukesh after the game.
In the third round on Wednesday, Gukesh will have white pieces. Even though everyone is expecting him to go all out for a win, it will be an uphill task. Head-to-head against Ding, Gukesh has lost thrice. “There will be a big fight, because he is down a point and he’s playing with white pieces. I’m ready for a fight,” said Ding after the second game.