In the eighth match of the World Chess Championship in Singapore, defending champion Ding Liren and teenage challenger Gukesh Dommaraju played to a fifth consecutive draw, with neither player taking the lead after eight games. The players were deadlocked at four points each in the historic encounter between two Asian players, marking the halfway point of the 14-match tournament.
Gukesh, the Indian teenager, appeared to give up a strong position in the middle game with inaccurate moves for the second game in a row. Despite rejecting Ding’s offer of a draw after 41 moves and attempting some attacks during the endgame, he was unable to secure a result. Ding managed to fend off the offensive and the players agreed to yet another draw after 51 moves.
Gukesh admitted that he misjudged his position and mistakenly thought he had chances to win. Meanwhile, Ding was disappointed in his own missed opportunities to press home his advantage. Game nine of the series will take place at Resorts World Sentosa on Thursday, with the first player to reach 7.5 points declared the winner. Tiebreaks will occur if the players are tied on seven points after 14 games.
Gukesh, the youngest player in history to compete in the World Championship, aims to surpass Garry Kasparov as the youngest undisputed world chess champion. The tension is mounting as the players battle it out for the prestigious title.
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