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Dean Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju led to a third consecutive draw in the sixth game of their World Cup clash on Sunday in Singapore as the Indian teenager overcame a dubious decision to deny a draw despite being inferior to settle for a bloodless result after 46 moves over four hours.
Ding, the 32-year-old champion from China, played a new first move (1 d4) for the third time in three games with white’s favored pieces, opting for the modern London system and creating structural imbalances early by doubling Black’s pawns on the c-file. It was the same opening he opened in game 6 of his world title match with Jan Nepomnyashti last year.
Both players signaled their depth of preparation by implementing their moves well in a fiery match where Gukesh had built up material but was forced to deal with Ding’s centralized pieces and potential counterplay.
As the game progressed, Gukesh’s attempts to press with open lines were neutralized by White’s accurate defense. The 18-year-old spurned a draw offer by refusing a three-fold repeat with 26…Qh4!?, instead taking a draw by repeating with Qe7!, prompting audible gasps from the gallery gathered outside the soundproofed gaming room.
“I just thought I always had a counterplay and saw no reason to take it.” [a draw] now,” said Gukesh. “I wanted to make a few more moves and see what would happen.”
But with time pressure mounting for both players, Ding seemed to give up his advantage with a queen exchange (34.Qc2!?). The position boiled down to a romp endgame with neither player able to find a break before ending with a series of replays after 4 hours and 15 minutes.
Ding enters the first defense of his World Cup after going 28 classic games without a win, a miserable run of form that has seen him drop to 23rd in the world rankings and has oddsmakers putting him as a rough 3-1 long shot in a match.
But he sprung a big surprise in Monday’s first game by winning as blackdramatically ending a 304-day winless streak. Game 2 on Tuesday it was a tame 23 move drawbefore Gukesh struck back on Wednesday with a win in game 3. The fourth and fifth games were all calm draws.
The fifth Gukesh, now the youngest world title challenger, could break the record for youngest undisputed world champion held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he dethroned Anatoly Karpov in their 1985 rematch. in Moscow.
The aggregate score in their $2.5 million clash at Resorts World Sentosa is 3-3 before the break on Monday. The first to reach seven and a half points will be declared the champion of the planned three-week competition at Resorts World Sentosa, an island resort off the southern coast of Singapore.
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