Singapore, Nov 27: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh clinched his first win over defending champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship, outplaying him in the third round to draw level on points here on Wednesday.

The two players now have 1.5 points each. The 18-year-old Indian won in a winning position after 37 moves showcasing an exemplary opening preparation to outwit the Chinese. FIDE World Chess Championship 2024: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh Reflects on Draw Against Ding Liren in Second Match, Says ‘Focussed on Taking It One Game at a Time and Hoping for Many More Good Days’.

Liren paid dearly for spending a lot of time in the first phase of the game.

By move 13th, Gukesh had a lead of one hour on the clock as the Indian had just spent four minutes to make his moves compared to Liren's one hour and six minutes.

With 40 moves to make in the first 120 allotted minutes without any increment, the complicated middle game had the desired impact on Liren and Gukesh was relentless in finding out some difficult yet perfect moves to increase the pressure. World Chess Championship 2024: D Gukesh Plays Out Draw With Defending Champion Ding Liren in Second Game.

The players followed a much less-played variation in the topical Queen's Gambit and Gukesh followed an idea played by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in a rapid game against highest rated Indian Arjun Erigaisi.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)