World Chess Championship 2024: Game 6 ends in draw

Game 6 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship match, on Sunday, December 1, ended in a draw after 46 moves and more than four hours of play. The Chinese champion and his Indian challenger stand tied at 3 points each in the 14-game series. World Champion Ding Liren revisited the London System, the same opening he used to defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Game 6 of their World Championship Match last year, on Sunday, but it didn’t produce similar results. ALSO READ: World Chess Championship 2024: Ding fails to punish Gukesh in Game 5 Ding Liren and his 18-year-old Indian challenger GM Gukesh Dommaraju were eager to break the deadlock – and move into the lead ahead of the second rest day on Monday – after back-to-back draws when they locked horns in Game 6 on Sunday. Ding Liren has played three different first moves in his white games so far: 1. e4 (Game 2), 1. Nf3 (Game 4), and 1. d4 (Game 6, on Sunday!) Game 6 started with 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6. After 2½ hours of play, Ding Liren had spent 85% of his time at the board, while Gukesh D had spent a slightly higher 91%. After 28 moves in the game, Ding Liren spent the most time on a single move—42 minutes and 42 seconds! If it was a calculated plan by Ding to provoke Gukesh into a risky endgame instead of opting to repeat moves then this is the next level of psychology and mind game! What will he say at the press conference? I would be super nervous playing black here. Not easy at all!... pic.twitter.com/pBGVXFPZlE — Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) December 1, 2024 ALSO READ: Psychology will play a crucial role in World Chess Championship 2024: Viswanathan Anand On Saturday, during Game 5, Ding Liren missed a great chance to pile up the pressure in the FIDE World Championship match, misplaying a significant advantage in the endgame. Defending the black pieces, Ding Liren neutralized his opponent’s exchange variation in the French Defence and seemed to be well on his way to scoring his second win. But he did not find the strongest continuation and allowed Gukesh to escape with a draw and keep the score tied at 2.5 points apiece heading into Game 6. If it was a calculated plan by Ding to provoke Gukesh into a risky endgame instead of opting to repeat moves then this is the next level of psychology and mind game! What will he say at the press conference? I would be super nervous playing black here. Not easy at all!... pic.twitter.com/pBGVXFPZlE — Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) December 1, 2024 ALSO READ: World Chess Championship final 2024: All you need to know about Gukesh vs Ding If the 18-year-old from Chennai beats Ding Liren, after 14 classical games, he will become not just the 18th World Champion but also the youngest in history, breaking the record set by Garry Kasparov in 1985. Ding Liren and his challenger Gukesh are facing each other in a 14-game classical chess match. The player who scores 7.5 points or more wins the match, picking up the better part of the $2.5 million total prize fund. If the score is equal after 14 games, the winner is decided by a tiebreak.

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World Chess Championship 2024: Game 6 ends in draw