11.26.24 Game 2 of the FIDE World Chess Championship ended in a draw when the players chose to repeat the position and shke hands on move 23. It was a tense positional struggle in which neither player was willing to explode the position into uncertainty.

The stakes of Game 2 were high as a loss for Gukesh would have put his prospects to win the Match at the bottom of a steep climb. On the other hand, if Ding lost and his lead evaporated, the Match would have been tied. 

It was Ding who seemed in the driver's seat out of the opening in Game 2. Playing quickly in an Italian Game, Ding essayed the theoretical novelty 9.a5 which gave rise to positional sublties with many lines to consider. 

In the early middle game, GM Judit Polgar commented that the position was very uncomfortable for Gukesh and that a draw would be a good result for him. 

Former World Champion Vishy Anand, commenting on the FIDE live broadcast of the Match opined, "It's very hard to wait correctly." indicating that the position after Ding's 17th move was full of tension and Black's position was about as good as it could possibly be given the circumstances. A careful move that did not spoil the position was needed and Gukesh came up with 17...Rfd8.

After much Karpov-style maneuvering, the players made the practical decision to repeat the position and arrive in the safe harbors of a draw on move 23.

In the post-game press conference, Ding thought that after good opening preperation he may have misplayed the position and was slightly worse in the middlegame.

Ding Liren in good spirits at the Game 2 press conference. (image courtesy FIDE/Eng Chin An)

Fun Fact: Ding skipped all FIDE chess titles (FM, IM, etc.) and went straight to the GM title.

Livestream, Schedule, Current Match Score and More:
>> Official Site of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship <<

>> Replay Game 2 <<