WCC R9: A High-Level Precise Draw, Match Tied at 4.5 with 5 Games Remaining
12.4.24 Rather than an offbeat opening, today, the Challenger, Gukesh Dommaraju, went for a theorectically well-known line in the Catalan. The only wrinkle in the opening stage of the game was the slightly less-popular 10.Bc3. Ding navigated the complications adeptly and again we saw the World Champion get quite a bit behind on the clock only to see Gukesh's time fall below Ding's before the 40-move time control was reached. With five games remaining and the score tied at 4.5, it's a real horse race. Tomorrow is a rest day. The Match resumes on Saturday, December 7th.
Game 9 of the 2024 World Chess Championship Match is in the books. It ended in a 54-move draw in which the players went down to bare kings.
The World Champion, Ding Liren, from China and the Challenger, Gukesh Dommaraju, from India, embarked upon what was described as a very accurate game. A Catalan Opening led to a rich and complicated middlegame that both players handled with great dexterity.
Gukesh is loathe to accept a draw or enter a triple-repeat position even in what seems to be dead even positions. This strategy marks him as one of the most tenacious fighters in the game. However, as the chess addage goes, "All moves are partially weakening." This tenacity has the potential to find Gukesh on the end of a slightly worse position, that, in one of the remaining five Match games, Ding might be able to squeek out a point. Time will tell.
Ding seems to have re-discovered, at least in part, his form and confidence of 2019 when he was on a tear on the chess world stage. At the post-game press conference he measured his chances by stating. "No one is clearly better in this Match." If, after the classical portion of the Match, the players are tied at 7.0 points apiece, the Match will proceed to rapid and then blitz games in which Ding might be the slight favorite.
Ding Liren sizes up his opponent in Game 9 of the 2024 World Chess Championship Match.
(image courtesy FIDE/Maria Emelianova)
Fun Fact: Ding Liren's favorite movie is Ratatouille.
The Match continues with Game 10 on Saturday, December 7th at 4:00 a.m. eastern (5:00 p.m. local time in Singapore).
Livestream, Schedule, Current Match Score and More:
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