Chess World C'ship: Gukesh, Liren's 4th round game ends in drab draw; remain level on points

The fourth installment of the battle between Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024 ended in a 42-move drabdraw after threefold repetition.

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, who is the youngest-ever challenger and defending champion Ding Liren played out a mostly risk-free draw in the fourth round to remain level on points in the World Chess Championship in Singapore on Friday (November 29).

The two players signed peace after 42 moves vide repetition and are tied on 2 points each after four games of the 14-round showdown.

The first to reach 7.5 points will be crowned the champion.

The 18-year-old Gukesh, who was playing with black on Friday, is the youngest ever challenger for the title and had won the third game on Wednesday.

Also read: World Chess Championship: Gukesh outplaying Ding in Game 3 is 'very nice'

"Towards the end, I had some chances to press better but with black this is all you can expect," Gukesh said after the game.

"I am just trying to make good moves," he added when asked about the prospect of becoming the youngest world champion.

Also read: World Chess Championship: Gritty Gukesh outplays Liren in Rd3 

Draw in 2nd game

The 32-year-old Liren had won the opening game before the two played out a draw in the second game.

"This round, I tried to play safe. It turns out I got a little bit of an advantage. The score is still balanced. There are more games to come," Liren said.

"I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss. I am in a very good mood. It worked well, not so bad," he added.

Viswanathan Anand is so far the only Indian to have won the title, having claimed it five times in his career. The semi-retired legend made the ceremonial first move for Gukesh on Friday. 

(With inputs from agencies)