Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Singapore
The World Chess Championship is delicately poised. Defending champion Ding Liren and D Gukesh are 3-3 after six games. With eight more rounds to play, there is no favourite. The Chinese has surprised the Indian challenger a few times, but the youngster has come back to stay even. In Tuesday’s seventh round, Gukesh will have white pieces.
Singapore seems to be lukewarm for this match. There was no publicity signage visible at the airport and common people are not even aware that this is taking place in their city. That, however, doesn’t diminish the importance of the occasion. The players have come well prepared and not conceded ground to each other. Just two decisive games so far shows how close it has been.
With the halfway stage approaching, one can expect the battle to get more intense. Gukesh appears to be in an aggressive frame of mind. He refused Ding’s offer for draw in the sixth game when it could have an acceptable option for him considering that he was playing with black pieces. This shows that he is not after easy options and prepared to take risks.
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Talking after that game, Gukesh underplayed the aggression aspect. “With the files open in front of his king, I thought I would always have counter play and I didn’t see a reason to take the draw repetition. I wasn’t playing for a win, I just wanted to play a few more moves and see what happened,” was the 18-year-old’s assessment.
The Indian is looking composed in general. After losing the first game with white, he has shown no signs of nerves and played with confidence. He looks well prepared and in a good mental space. One can expect him to produce something out of the ordinary when he plays with white. For those who like chess, there are exciting moments ahead.
Ding has consistently underplayed his chances. When most experts almost wrote him off before the match, he didn’t say anything. In fact, he made himself the underdog. This might be his strategy as well, to put Gukesh under pressure. Even after the sixth game, he said he needs improvement. “I am letting my advantage slip,” said Ding. “I have to improve this in the following games.”
Also Read: Mid-game drama, but Gukesh and Ding settle for a draw