World Chess Championship: Round 7 match between India's D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China ends in draw

Indian challenger D Gukesh settled for a fourth consecutive draw against Ding Liren of China during a World Chess Championship match on Tuesday. The stalemate came after five hours and 22 minutes of nerve-wracking play — leaving both players four points shy of a victory. The two players signed peace after 72 moves.

The duo have an identical tally of 3.5 points with each having won one game and drawn five matches. Liren won the opening game while 18-year-old Gukesh — the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown — emerged victorious in the third game. The second, fourth, fifth and sixth games have ended in draws.

Round seven began on a promising note for Gukesh as he faced the Neo Grunfeld defense from Liren. The Indian however miscalculated and eventually let his Chinese counterpart off the hook.

The middle game saw inaccuracies from both sides, and it seemed that Liren was close to obtaining equality. However, the process had yet again eaten up most of Liren's available time as the players are required to make the first 40 moves in two hours without any increment.

“It's never pleasant to miss a winning position, but I'm happy with the fact that I outplayed my opponent quite easily in the opening. I thought I was winning if I managed to consolidate my position and it became tricky at some point. I don't know where I missed but it should be winningThe score is fine. Obviously, today was a missed chance. That is a bit of a disappointment, but he (Liren) also missed some chances earlier in the match. So, I think it's fair that we are here. The second half will be, of course, crucial,” he said later. 

Even Liren conceded that he had escaped by the proverbial skin of the teeth.

(With inputs from agencies)