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Journalism of Courage
The 18-year-old challenger for the world champion’s crown, Gukesh, earned the respect of chess legends like Magnus Carlsen, and the Polgar sisters with his decision to reject a draw offer and to play on in game 8 of the world chess championship against Ding Liren.
On move 41, Gukesh could have played 41…Qg2 and brought the game to an end as a draw due to a threefold repetition. At that stage Gukesh was in a worse match situation than his opponent from China.
Follow our liveblog of Game 10 of the World Chess Championship here: World Chess Championship Game 10
But instead of playing 41…Qg2, the Indian chose to keep the game continuing with 41…Qa2+ to reject a draw offer. This is now the second time in eight games that he has pulled out of playing for a certain draw and tried to push for a win.
His attitude earned him praise from veritable chess legends.
“I used to say that chess players should be somewhere between optimistic and delusional. This clearly was on the delusional side for Gukesh. I thought his position was okay. But this clearly shows the disrespect he has for Ding. Like saying ‘I can play on from any position. You’re not going to try to beat me,’” said former world champion Carlsen on the Take Take Take app. “There was no objective reason for Gukesh to go for this. These decisions are baffling. But also fascinating. Taking risks is one thing. But dude what are you hoping for?”
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You can check out the move by move action from Game 8 between Gukesh and Ding Liren and also play along in the interactive below. Scroll down to read our updates in real time from Game 8.
Carlsen called the fight we have seen on the board between Gukesh and Ding as “fantastic content”. In Game 6 as well, Gukesh had rejected the draw by pushing his queen to h4 instead of putting it on the e7 square, which would have sealed a draw.
“When Gukesh played queen to h4, that was remarkable. Today’s move was 10 times crazier,” said Carlsen.
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Meanwhile Susan Polgar took to Twitter to applaud the 18-year-old from Chennai.
“With Gukesh, you know what to expect. He is like a tank moving forward to bulldoze and destroy his opponent. He does not care who the opponent is. Very contrasting mindset than Ding Liren. This is why there is excitement even though he is giving some of his fans heart attack. He is only 18. Be prepared for more for years to come,” tweeted Susan Polgar.
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Her sister Judit also picked out Gukesh’s choice to reject the draw offer to applaud his mentality.
“I think the decision Qa2 reflects well on his self-confidence. We are watching a young and optimistic challenger with a very positive mindset,” she said.
