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World chess champ Ding, teen challenger even after six games

By AFP
December 02, 2024
Chinas chess grandmaster Ding Liren (right) and Indias chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju compete during the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore on November 25, 2024. — AFP
China's chess grandmaster Ding Liren (right) and India's chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju compete during the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore on November 25, 2024. — AFP

SINGAPORE: The 2024 World Chess Championship remained finely poised Sunday after defending champion Ding Liren and teenage challenger Gukesh Dommaraju played out a thrilling 46-move draw.

The score is tied at 3.0 points each after six games, rounding off the first week of the 14-game match. Monday will be a rest day and play resumes Tuesday. The 32-year-old champion from China started strongly, putting his 18-year-old Indian challenger on the defensive.

But Gukesh recovered to send the match down into a dramatic double-rook endgame, with pawns strewn across the board. A threefold repetition after 46 moves from both players ended the game in a draw after more than four hours.