For the second time in eight games at the World Chess Championship, Ding Liren, wearing a crown on his head, attempted a draw despite having the upper hand.
And teenager Gukesh, playing in his first World Chess Championship, is pushing for victory despite a relatively poor position.
One of the popular theories to explain this paradox is that if the best-of-14 matches remain level on points after 14 games, the players will have to battle it out in short-time control tiebreaks, a format favored by Ding Liren. Ding Liren became the world champion last year through a tiebreak.
Elite players such as former world champions Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura believe that Ding Liren does not like going to a match tiebreak.
“If Gukesh says to Ding Liren, let’s play six draws and take it to a tiebreak, Ding Liren will accept before Gukesh can finish the sentence,” Carlson said on Tech Tech App. After game 7
It should be noted that Gukesh’s calculation skills make him exceptional in classical chess. Indian has a rating of 2783 in Classical. But the shorter the format, the lower his rating: 2654 in rushing and 2615 in blitz.
“Gukesh has done nothing in his career to suggest that he is very good at fast. He is a very confident young man. I’m sure he believes he can win even in a tiebreak. But we are looking at the facts and there is nothing from his career to suggest that Rapid is a good format for him,” Carlson added.
Ding Liren, on the other hand, is one of the rare players to beat Magnus Carlsen in a tiebreak (at the 2019 Sinkfield Cup).
“This game was very chaotic and chaotic. When I look at this game as a whole, I think Ding Liren might be a little sad about the missed opportunity. But today’s big loss is definitely Gukesh. This is the second game in a row that he won outright. He boarded was winning, he was 30 minutes ahead on the clock. I really think this game will continue to come down to Ding Liren. If Ding hangs for another draw in game 9 and more white games If he goes to the rest day, he might be the favorite, but he’ll have a really good chance,” said Hikaru Nakamura.
The American grandmaster added: “It really feels like it’s getting more and more frustrating for Gukesh. The longer Gukesh allows Ding to find these miracles, the more likely it is that old Ding Liren will find his form. No embarrassment here for Gukesh. For Ding Liren, great result.”