World Chess: Gukesh regains poise, draws Game 2 with Ding

Bengaluru: After the fireworks of Game 1, it was a slow, manoeuvring 23-move draw by repetition in the second game of the World Chess Championship between Ding Liren and D Gukesh in Singapore on Tuesday. Gukesh, playing with the Black pieces, must be the more pleased of the two with the result after his tough loss with the White on Day 1. The reigning world champion won the opening battle in Game 2 and held a slight edge but Gukesh managed to show restraint and defensive chops to steer it away from what could have turned out to be tricky terrain for Black. Gukesh gets his first half a point in the World Championship and Ding still holds a one-point lead after two games.
More of a traditional 1.d4 player, Ding played the king’s pawn opening. Though he has experimented with 1.e4 lately, it was viewed more as a possible decoy than one of his plans for the match. After the game, Ding revealed in an interview to chess.com that his second convinced him to play it. “Although I was quite uncertain about a lot of possibilities after that, by the end I decided to follow the advice,” he said. Hungarian GM Richard Rapport, who was part of his team during last year’s title win, is assisting him this time too.
On move 5, Ding pushed his knight to c3, ringing in the slow Four Knights Variation in the Italian. He went on to blitz out a new move – 9. a5 – which looked fresh out of his home-cooked preparation. It offered him some initiative while also turning Black’s pieces on the queenside less flexible. When the Queens came off the board on move 12, Gukesh was nearly half an hour behind on the clock and Ding held a slight edge, probing Black and trying to make things unpleasant for the Indian teen.
On the live broadcast Viswanathan Anand called Ding’s position a “dream advantage” in the championship. “It’s not much, but it’s all yours,” he said of Ding. “You really need some mistake on Ding’s part for Black to play for something. Whereas for Black it can get unpleasant quite easily.”
Gukesh tread with caution and chose to respond with solid play rather than take needless risks or try to outmanoeuvre. It was the sensible thing to do right after a loss with White.
He made the prudent and positionally responsible call of pushing his pawn to g6 (rather than the more aggressive g5) on move 16, lining it up to fortify an f5 advance, and he went on to double his rooks on the d-file.
Gukesh slowly improved his position. Ding perhaps didn’t see any clear, meaningful ways to turn the screws on Gukesh anymore and play on for a couple more hours. The Indian was happy to take the draw. Unlike on Monday, both players briefly went over the game after they shook hands.
“It (opening) was not a huge surprise,” said Gukesh, in the post-game press conference. “I think I got a fairly comfortable position…A draw with Black in the world championship match is always nice…Today was a good day and hopefully we’ll have many more good days coming.”
When asked how he processed the Game 1 loss and whether he felt pressured to play for a win on Tuesday, Gukesh said: “These things (losses) can happen, this is just a part of the game. So, you know, it’s not a shock. We’ll just stick to the plan…With Black pieces, so early in the match, it’s nowhere close to a must-win situation. So, I was not going to do anything stupid. Just wanted to play a good game. Yesterday I was feeling good as well. I was fresh and confident. I missed a few tactics which can happen to anyone. I wouldn’t say today was about applying the brakes or anything.”
Ding too offered that the Game 2 draw does him no harm. “Not too much happened in the game… At some point I thought I misplaced my opening preparation…The basic idea was to play carefully – I’m completely fine with the draw and I’m happy with the final result.” It’s a long match and part of Ding’s decision to not play on and explore his chances might have been based on wanting to conserve for the games ahead while still consolidating on his lead.
One of the brightest takeaways from the first two games of the match has been that, contrary to fears, this is shaping up to be an even contest. Gukesh, who seemed nervous in the opening game, and which perhaps led him to making a series of uncharacteristically poor decisions, appeared calmer on Tuesday. He was seen sitting with his eyes closed in meditation, arms folded across his chest, when things looked like they could turn hairy for him. Ding, in a departure from Game 1, stepped away from the board and made trips to the players’ lounge pretty early in Game 2. An early win must have done his confidence a world of good.
The Indian will have the White pieces in Game 3 on Wednesday, ahead of the first rest day of the match. Ding has got the better of Gukesh with Black in three classical games now, most recently in Game 1. “There will be a big fight, because he is down a point and he’s playing with the White pieces,” said the Chinese. “I’m ready for a fight.”