World Chess Championship 2024 Game 5 As It Happened: Gukesh salvages draw after escaping from trouble

Right after Gukesh had played the 23rd move of game 5 and his opponent Ding Liren had responded in the blink of an eye, the Indian teenager realised that he had blundered. Instead of claiming Ding Liren’s dark-squared bishop with his rook, he had captured it with a pawn, opening the door for a sequence of events.

Dark clouds of trouble were starting to hover over him after those two moves. Gukesh knew he was about to be arm-twisted by his opponent into a position that he would have struggled to defend.

But like hitting the snooze button on a ticking bomb, Gukesh managed to postpone impending doom and claimed a draw in Game 5.

Here's how Gukesh evaded trouble like a matador sidesteps an advancing bull with just a tiny shuffle of his feet.

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White: Gukesh D

Black: Ding Liren 

Result: 0.5-0.5

Match score: 2.5-2.5

Game length: 40 moves

Opening: French Defence

Variation: Exchange variation

“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” a very reassured Gukesh explained in the postgame press conference. 

The champion understood that he had missed a big opportunity: “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 realize that it was a big advantage for me.”

Take a look at how the game ended in a draw after being in Ding Liren's favour for a brief while. Bot hplayers now have 2.5 points each after five games. They return to the board tomorrow with Ding Liren playing with white pieces. 

Asked what he feels about the match situation after five games, Ding Liren says at the post-game press conference: "Not ideal. Had chances in some games. Lead by a point, even today, I had some advanatge that I didn't realise. Something to improve in the next round."

Asked what he feels about the match situation after five games, Gukesh says at the post-game press conference: "Still too early. Considering I was trailing after the first game, nice to be here. Lot more important games to come. We're not even halfway there." 

INCREDIBLE DEFENCE FROM GUKESH!

This has to be frustrating for Ding Liren. He had a distinct advantage on the board after Gukesh had taken the bishop with his pawn rather than with his rook. But somehow Gukesh has doung the best moves to defend his position to fight back and finally push a draw out of this. 

The fifth game ends in a draw, and this is the first time in this match that a game with Gukesh playing with white has ended in a draw. 

Incredible defence from the teenager and we see in the body language of Ding Liren that he's crestfallen.  

That 23rd mvoe with the pawn might end up being costly for Gukesh. He could have taken the bishop on e5 with his pawn instead of using his rook. But he opted to keep his rook on the board. But in the process he's now under  pressure on the board. And things could really unravel for him.

A look at the first 26 moves from both players:

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 exd5 exd5
4 Nf3 Nf6
5 Bd3 c5
6 c3 c4
7 Bc2 Bd6
8 Qe2+ Qe7
9 Qxe7+ Kxe7
10 O-O Re8
11 Re1+ Kf8
12 Rxe8+ Kxe8
13 Bg5 Nbd7
14 Nbd2 h6
15 Bh4 Nh5
16 Re1+ Kf8
17 g4 Nf4
18 Bg3 Nb6
19 g5 hxg5
20 Nxg5 Bd7
21 Ngf3 Re8 
22 Ne5 Bxe5
23 dxe5 Nd3
24 Bxd3 cxd3
25 f3 Nc4
26 Nxc4 dxc4

Leela Zero, an AI-based chess model whose predictions we're seeing on top of the official FIDE broadcast, now likes Ding Liren's chances.

In fact, it believes that Ding Liren has a 36 percent chance of winning while Gukesh has a 6.4 percent chance of winning.

57.6 percent of this ending a draw. 

Gukesh's knight on the prowl. Gukesh captures Ding's pawn on g5 and Ding is now under pressure. Gukesh's knight is one move away from throwing one more check on the king of black pieces.

Just look at how Gukesh's pieces are threatening to turn up the heat on Ding Liren's king. 

The fifth game of the world chess championship saw the French Defence being employed on the board by Ding Liren as Gukesh started with 1.e4. But chess legend Judit Polgar was less than impressed by Gukesh's third move: 3.exd5.

"I'm just speechless to tell you the truth. I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this. I was like 'what is this?' This is game 5, the way Gukesh came in to the playing hall it was clear to me that now it is going to be the time. Now it's going to be sharp. And he goes e takes d5! It is so much not Gukesh," said Judit Polgar.

The line is known to be one that seeks a draw.

Asked if this was becuse of the first game loss where Ding had played the French Defence and had gone on to win, Polgar said: "This is not how 18-year-olds deal with it. Especially since he levelled the match after that (setback). This is the biggest shock of the match so far. What does Gukesh want to prove with that 3.exd5? Can you imagine that this would become the new fashion if Gukesh the challenger wins the game today after playing this." 

So Ding Liren has so far left his king on the back rank on the e file. And Gukesh throws in a check with his second rook. Ding's king slides sideways to f8 to evade death. 

Gukesh now thinking about his 17th move. Despite Ding Liren spending almost 30 minutes for one of his moves, Gukesh doesn't have too much of an advantage on the clock.

Stockfish has a few candidate moves for Gukesh now. They are (in decreasing priority): 17.Nf1 or 17.g4 or 17.a3

We have the first 15 moves from both players on the board. Ding just spent 31 minutes on move 14, before finally pushing his pawn out on the h file to kick out Gukesh's bishop who had been camped on the g5 square. 

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 exd5 exd5
4 Nf3 Nf6
5 Bd3 c5
6 c3 c4
7 Bc2 Bd6
8 Qe2+ Qe7
9 Qxe7+ Kxe7
10 O-O Re8
11 Re1+ Kf8
12 Rxe8+ Kxe8
13 Bg5 Nbd7
14 Nbd2 h6
15 Bh4 Nh5

Here's a look at how the game 5 has played out so far. Gukesh pushing the pace of the game. he's the one who pushed Ding Liren to go for a queen exchange and a rook exchange. 

So Gukesh has not left the board for even a single minute in Game 5, the FIDE statistics show. Meanwhile, Ding has spent a single minute away. 

The Indian teen has also spent more time thinking about his mvoes on average as compared to Ding Liren. Gukesh has spent a minute and 30 seconds on average for each of his move. Dign has spent just 49 seconds on average. 

Very level position, this. Gukesh has a 20.1 percent chance to win this game now after his 14th move while his opponent, world champion Ding Liren has 19.3 percent chance of winning this one. There is a 60.6 percent that game 5 ends in a draw, as predicted by Leela Zero, an AI-based chess model whose predictions we're seeing on top of the official FIDE broadcast.

And right after the queens come off, the rooks also come off as well. Early shood shed on the board. 

Here are all the moves so far. 

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 exd5 exd5
4 Nf3 Nf6
5 Bd3 c5
6 c3 c4
7 Bc2 Bd6
8 Qe2+ Qe7
9 Qxe7+ Kxe7
10 O-O Re8
11 Re1+ Kf8
12 Rxe8+ Kxe8
13 Bg5 Nbd7

The decks are cleared for Gukesh to give another check with his rook. 

Gukesh is now thinking about his 11th move after Ding opts to pick off the Indian's queen with the king. Now Ding is manually trying to castle as his rook comes behind the king on e8. 

Here are all the 10 moves from both players so far:

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 exd5 exd5
4 Nf3 Nf6
5 Bd3 c5
6 c3 c4
7 Bc2 Bd6
8 Qe2 Qe7
9 Qxe7 Kxe7
10 O-O Re8

What is the French Defence that Ding Liren has now employed for the second time against Gukesh?

Check out our explainer on the French Defence

Seven moves in, Gukesh pushes his queen in front of his king to give Ding Liren's king a check. Now the world champion has an option, he can push his own queen in front of the king and basically ask Gukesh to go for a queen trade. 

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
3 exd5 exd5
4 Nf3 Nf6
5 Bd3 c5
6 c3 c4
7 Bc2 Bd6

And Gukesh once again starts with 1.e4 after playing d4 with his first move in the third game. And Ding opts for a French Defence with 1.e6. Remember, it was with this move The knights come out and one pawn for each side have already been traded. 

The Exchange Variation of the French Defence is on the board. It's the trendiest line these days to play.

Gukesh is now in the playing arena. Slightly later than he usually arrives. He's accompanied by his father Dr Rajini Kanth and his trainer Gregorz Gajewski.

Gukesh powerwalks past the cheering fans but does a customary look behind final glance at his team who stand by next to the lifts. 

Here's a quick explainer on how the world chess championship works.

The world championship in chess is a battle between two players. One is usually the reigning champion, in this case China’s Ding Liren. The other is a challenger, in this case Gukesh, who qualifies by winning the Candidates tournament.

Last time, there were two challengers as reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen opted to forfeit his crown.

The battle is played in a best-of-14 games. Any player who reaches 7.5 points first wins. 

So Ding Liren is once agains the first one to arrive. His seconds Ni Hua and an exceptionally chilled out looking Richard Rapport hang back after Ding Liren walks into the fair play office for checks. 

Gukesh yet to arrive to the playing arena. 

And before Gukesh arrives, Ding Liren's mother also arrives. 

So yesterday's game 4 between Gukesh and Ding Liren was a game where both players played with 100 percent accuracy (both players playing all the best engine-recommended moves for the whole game). So not a surprise that the game ended in a draw after a 42-move three-fold repitition. 

As game 4 of the world chess championship was ambling along towards a draw, many players were a little surprised by world champion Ding Liren's tactics. Playing with white pieces, he had a little surprise in the opening, but was happy to let the game play out into a venom-less draw. 

Chess legend Susan Polgar pointed out what the world champion's strategy has been so far. 

“Ding's game strategy is simple. He wants to take Gukesh off his excellent home preparation. This forces Gukesh to spend a lot of time on the board to come up with the right ideas/moves/plans. Ding believes that Gukesh is more vulnerable when he is out of preparation and low on time,” pointed out chess legend Susan Polgar on X. “Ding got almost nothing in both white games. But it seems that Ding got what he wanted, a slow-paced, strategical game with no risks. Gukesh also got what he wanted, eliminate a black game.” 

At the post-game press conference after Friday's Game 4, both world champion Ding Liren and Gukesh were asked by a journalist if they practise keeping a poker face, especially so that they can stay impassive when an opponent makes a blunder.

“Since I am unable to see my reactions during a game, I don’t know if I am able to keep a poker face,” smiled Ding Liren. “If my opponent makes some mistake, I think I will show some expressions.”

Ding Liren is one of the most emotionally transparent players in the sport, who says what he feels and his face also reflects what he is feeling. Compared to him, Gukesh is a player who can be inscrutable on the board. 

“In general I think I’m not a very expressive player. On the board I do show some emotion from time to time. But in general I’m more of a person who always maintains a poker face. I don’t really think too much about it,” Gukesh said while maintaining a poker face.

World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura was less than impressed by Ding Liren's Game 4 performance. The American grandmaster pointed out that with white pieces in a long match with multiple games, generally the idea is to push for a win. And to try and force draws with black pieces. 

“I was shocked to see this opening in the game because frankly this is something I have played many times in online blitz events. It’s definitely not something that’s very aggressive. Objectively, it’s nothing special,” said Nakamura.

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen has made a bold prediction for Game 5 of the World Chess Championship, where Gukesh will play with white pieces. The current world no 1 predicted that ‘Gukesh will go for the throat’ in Game 5 vs Ding Liren.

“Knowing what we know so far, don’t think it’s going to be boring. Gukesh is going to go for the throat again. He will probably outprepare Ding Liren and then Ding Liren will have to dig in as he has done twice and find some resources,” Said Magnus Carlsen before adding: “I will reluctantly predict a Gukesh win in Game 5. But it really is the definition of a three-result game. I don’t feel at all confident at his ability to put pressure without risk. I don’t feel confident about Ding’s ability to not crumble under pressure either. Gukesh will have something more spicy prepared than what Ding had in game 4. It will be a lot more concrete.”

Read why Carlsen thinks Gukesh is currently the better player than Ding Liren

In his bid to retain the world champion's crown, Ding Liren is collaborating with Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport during the World Chess Championship against Gukesh. This was not a big surprise since Rapport had also helped Ding Liren last time around. 

At the last year's world championship, when Rapport's identity as Ding Liren's second became public, it was a surprise as this was a departure from the traditional approach of keeping seconds' involvement discreet. In contrast, Magnus Carlsen, a former world champion, preferred to keep his seconds in different locations to maintain secrecy and ensure round-the-clock support.

Interestingly, Ding Liren has also revealed the name of another second: Ni Hua, the captain of the Chinese chess team who is known for his opening ideas and use to be China's best player before Ding Liren came along. Revealaing the identity of two seconds in the middle of the world championship, is an unconventional approach that highlights the evolving dynamics of modern chess and the increasing importance of a strong support team.

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At the post-game 4 press conference yesterday, Gukesh was asked if he believed in numerology. Chess legend Garry Kasparov was a staunch believer and has even said that sicne he was born on the 13th of April, it was fitting that he was the 13th world champion.

Gukesh was asked if he believed that being 18 years of age made him believe that it's more likely that he will be the 18th world champion. 

“I guess I should say I believe more in what Bobby Fischer had said (I believe in good moves). So I am just trying to make good moves,” smiles Gukesh.

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Nov 25: Ding Liren wins Game 1
Nov 26: Game 2 drawn
Nov 27: Gukesh wins Game 3
Nov 28: Rest Day
Nov 29: Game 4 drawn

Nov 30: Game 5 TODAY

Dec 1: Game 6

Dec 2: Rest Day

Dec 3: Game 7

Dec 4: Game 8

Dec 5: Game 9

Dec 6: Rest Day

Dec 7: Game 10

Dec 8: Game 11

Dec 9: Game 12

Dec 10: Rest Day

Dec 11: Game 13

Dec 12: Game 14

Dec 13: Tie-Breaks (if required)

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 5 of the World Chess Championship where Gukesh will play with white pieces fo rthe third time in the best-of-14 event.