D Gukesh revealed why he opted against an early draw in the eighth game of the World Chess Championship against Ding Liren on Wednesday, 4 December.
The match between Gukesh and Liren would have ended in a draw after 51 moves, but the Indian grandmaster was given the chance to shake hands with the defending champion earlier.
After the 41st move, Gukesh was offered the option of another draw through triple repetition, but he opted to continue playing. Speaking at the press conference, the Indian grandmaster said he did not think he was in a difficult situation at that time.
Gukesh said he thought he had some chance at that point, but admitted that he misjudged his position at the end.
‘I would have accepted the draw if I thought I was worse, but I didn’t. I had to be very precise, I missed one of his assets. I’m not so sure about that. I think the position had more tricks.’
‘The position where I didn’t repeat, I didn’t think I was in great danger. I always thought that with his weak king and my strong pawn on b3, I should have played. I thought maybe I might even have a chance. But OK, yes, it was just a position miscalculation,’ Gukesh said.
Gukesh would also pay tribute to his team and his second Grzegorz Gajewski for their work so far. The Indian grandmaster believes that with the help of his team, they were able to surprise Liren in the openings.
‘My team has done a great job, not only ‘Gaju’ (Grzegorz Gajewski), but also other team members. We managed to surprise him in the openings. I would like to thank my team and I hope more interesting ideas will come,’ Gukesh said.
Wednesday’s draw was the fifth consecutive one between the two in eight matches so far. Currently, both players are tied at 4-4, as the ninth game will be played on 5 December.
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