World Chess Championship: How Gukesh chose to fight — once again — rather than accept a convenient draw vs Ding Liren

Ding walked back into his lounge. He must have felt relaxed at that stage, thinking he had sufficiently arm-twisted Gukesh into accepting a draw. At that stage, there was logically only one move that Gukesh could have made — 41…Qg2 — which would have secured a draw by threefold repetition in Game 8 of the world chess championship, an outcome that eventually took place after 51 moves. Ding had a chokehold on the game at this stage, but had curiously opted to throw his rival a lifeline.

Behind the grand stage nicknamed the fishtank, grandmaster Maurice Ashley, who moderates the press conference, had already made his way to the press conference room, thinking Gukesh was going to accept the draw.

At this point, Leela Zero, an AI-based chess model whose predictions the official FIDE broadcast has been relying on, crinkled its nose at Gukesh’s chances. The Indian had a 10.5 percent chance of winning, it predicted. When both players had started their queens on a little diagonal ballet on the board — the white queen shuffling between g2 and d5 while Gukesh’s queen matched her step for step by hopping between f2 and d4 (37… Qg2, 38.Qf2 Qd5, 39.Qd4 Qg2, 40.Qf2 Qd5, 41.Qd4) — Ding had a 37.1 percent chance of winning the game. He did, after all, have an additional rook on the board compared to Gukesh’s extra pawn and knight.

As Gukesh was thinking about his 40th move, Ian Nepomniachtchi, who was beaten by Ding to become world champion last year, wryly posted on X:”Qg2 Qf2 Qd5 Qd4 Qg2 Qf2 and everyone is happy!”

But clearly, there was someone not happy with a draw.

Gukesh played 41…Qa2+ to reject the draw offer. It’s an odd dynamic. For the second time in eight games at the world chess championship, the holder has wriggled himself into a better position before offering a draw. And for the second time in such a situation, his 18-year-old opponent, who was reeling at that point, had opted to throw caution to the wind, asking the Chinese grandmaster to bring it on.

“I didn’t think I was in much danger. I thought with his weak king and my strong pawn on b3, I actually thought I had some chances. It was a misjudgement of the position,” Gukesh later admitted at the post-game press conference.

Asked if he was an optimistic person or just fearless, Gukesh candidly admitted: “If I knew the position was bad, I would have taken the draw.”

INTERACTIVE: Game 8 between Gukesh and Ding Liren

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.

Gukesh’s response contrasted with what Ding admitted after the game: that he didn’t realise he was in a winning position. It’s perhaps a reflection of the mindset both players have walked into the world championship with, that a teenager playing in his first world championship thinking that every position is salvageable and the world champion extending an olive branch when the opponent could have surrendered in a few more moves.

“Some players always think they are winning even though they are not, and some are just the complete opposite. This is why chess is very hard at the top level,” pointed out chess legend Susan Polgar.

READ MORE: English Opening Explained: Opening that Ding Liren used against D Gukesh in Game 8

She also praised Gukesh’s fearless approach on the board.

“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,” The Hungarian-American tweeted.

Her sister Judit also picked out Gukesh’s decision to reject the initial 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.

10 wild moves

Gukesh had again emerged out of the opening stages as the better-drilled player, causing Ding to burn up time on the clock in the opening phase. The defending champion later said that his opponent’s novelties in the opening phase had made him “uncomfortable”.

The phase between moves 20 and 30 saw the computer’s evaluation of the game swing like a pendulum. In this phase, Ding was cornered after inaccuracies like 22.Rb1 and 25.Bb2. The second of those moves allowed Gukesh to gobble up a free pawn with the Indian suddenly having two unhindered pawns on the a and b files.

READ MORE: At World Chess Championship, stolen glances at opponent, and pre-game rituals involving puzzles

But with his back to the wall, Ding started posing questions. He pushed his own bishop to threaten Gukesh’s queen (26.Bd4). The Indian erred in his response, choosing to send the wrong knight to defend the position. It was a decision that set off a chain of moves like 26…Nac5?, 27…Bb3 and 28…Be6 that saw Gukesh’s pieces getting pinned all over the queenside of the board.

Ding gradually built on that advantage, reaching the time control of 40 moves with the upper hand.

Then he chose to walk the path of least resistance.

Susan Polgar posted: “Ding is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He plays crazy side lines (at the risk of self-destruction) to try to gain an upper hand to win. This takes courage. But after achieving better positions (sometimes due to the opponent’s inaccuracies), he’s happy to repeat moves to draw.”