WCC R4: Game 4 Drawn by Repetition
11.29.24 Game 4 of the FIDE World Chess Championship was a balanced affair after an interesting, offbeat opening with 1.Nf3 and the surprising 5.Ba3. Gukesh kept everything under control and the players steered the game into a triple-repeat draw.
The value of surprising your opponent is much more important in a match than a tournament. So spoke Judit Polgar after witnessing Ding Liren's handling of the opening. Ding's second, Richard Rapport, is credited with cooking up offbeat and very interesting opening lines. In the post-game press conference, Gukesh admitted to being surprised by Ding's opening choice and having to play "over-the-board" from an early stage. Nevertheless, Gukesh responed with his typical cool and collected play putting 13...Ne5 allowing f4 and a plan of re-positioning of the knight to g6, e7 and f5 to evict the white knight from d4, a plan which Ding declined.
The game sharpened with 15.a5 b6.
No draw offers are allowed before move 40 but after 23.Nc3, commentators agreed that there was very little chance for the game to be decisive for either color. Choosing which way to head for a draw was the main question remaining and the players shook hands after repeating the position.
The Match is shaping up to be a fascinating struggle.
(image courtesy FIDE/Maria Emelianova)
Fun Fact: 15...b6 represented the first time the b-pawn has been moved in this match.
The Match continues on with Game 5 tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. eastern (5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore).
Livestream, Schedule, Current Match Score and More:
>> Official Site of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship <<
