D Gukesh survived a scare in the fifth round of the World Chess Championship match against Ding Liren. He was in a favourable position with white pieces early on and it seemed headed for a draw, before things unfolded in an unexpected manner. In the end, the Indian was possibly fortunate to get away with a draw, which makes the score 2.5-2.5 in the 14-round match.
It was quite even to begin with, in the match being played in Singapore. Neither side had a clear advantage after the opening. It looked quite Even Stevens until some time. However, and according to the official Fide press release, “The Chinese champion efficiently neutralised his opponent’s exchange variation in the French defence and seemed to be well on his way to scoring his second win.”
This is where Gukesh had to go on the defensive and save the day. With white, he was expected to press harder and not get into an inferior position. But that’s not how it panned out. The 18-year-old found himself in trouble and truth be told, he did well to wriggle out of that situation. Whether this will stand him in good stead in the subsequent rounds, time will tell.
“Towards the end of the game, I was very worried about my position after the manoeuvre 27…Be6 followed by 28…Rc8. I was quite relieved when my opponent played 27…Bc6, as I thought it would be a draw,” Gukesh said at the post-game press conference. It was actually never supposed to happen this way. It did, and to his credit, Gukesh saved the day to stay even.
According to Fide, the defending champion had a chance to go for a win and he missed the opportunity. Ding had won the opening bout with black and this was his chance again to go up against the challenger. What can be a significant assessment is the fact that the Chinese failed to convert his chance. It was possibly an opportunity lost.
“I didn’t see the idea with 28…Rc8, I was thinking of moving the king to the kingside, like some kind of Berlin pawn structure. I didn’t realise that it was a big advantage for me,” the reigning champion was quoted on the official Fide media release.
It was actually a big opportunity missed. But, it was not a huge setback for Ding. He drew comfortably with black and the momentum shifts slightly towards him before Round 6 on Sunday.