Gukesh claws back some ground on the board in draw against Ding Liren

Indian grandmaster D. Gukesh bounced back to draw a largely uneventful second game against defending champion Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship in Singapore today (26 November, Tuesday).

Playing with black pieces, Gukesh made a comeback of sorts, having lost to Liren in the opener of the 14-game showdown on Monday, 25 November.

It was a good recovery by Gukesh as Liren could do very little with his white pieces and had to share the point.

"Draw with black in the world championship match is always nice and it's too early, we still have a long match," the Chennai-based grandmaster said in the post-game press conference.

"I think after I was surprised in the opening, I reacted pretty decently, and I didn't give him any chances. It was a solid game with black, which is nice," he added.

If Monday was the day when nothing he did worked according to plan, Tuesday changed everything for Gukesh, as he could not have asked for a better start.

Liren did not press at all, while Gukesh just followed the basics as the game ended in a draw via repetition soon after black had completed the 23rd turn.

It was one of the quietest variations of the Italian opening, as Liren probably did not want to rush things, having grabbed a full point's advantage in the first game itself.

It may be recalled that the Chinese had won the last world championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after coming back from behind as many as three times.

The 32-year-old said he was happy with how he performed in the second round.

"In the first game I played something new in the opening and of course it requires a lot of memory. Today I also played not a common move (for me) 1.e4 and I prepared a lot," Liren said.

"I think it will be a big fight tomorrow. He's a point down and he will have the white pieces, so I am ready for a fight," he added.

Liren's fifth move, when he moved his queen's knight, was indication enough of his peaceful intentions. There have been many top-level games that have ended in draws through this manoeuvre and this game was no exception.

Gukesh just had to develop his pieces randomly and the game never really got off to a situation where it could be truly called complicated.

Both the bishops and the queens were off the board early and what remained were a couple of knights, the rook pair and eight pawns each for both players, with hardly any real chances for a breakthrough.

The draw was a just result, but there was no denying that it was a morale-boosting moment for Gukesh, who can now look ahead to his next game with optimism, with the slightly favourable colour to his name this time.

In head-to-head encounters, Liren has a handsome three-point lead in Classical games and Team Gukesh will now be focused on bringing it down in this USD 2.5 million championship.

The 18-year-old Gukesh is the youngest ever challenger to the world crown and is looking to become the first Indian after the iconic Viswanathan Anand to win the title.

"There is obviously some pressure for anyone playing in a World Championship; there is a lot of pressure. But I also see it as a privilege that I can represent so many people and my country," he said.

"I am just focusing on one game at a time. Hopefully, things go my way," he added.

The first player to reach 7.5 points between the two will claim the coveted crown — and the USD 2.5 million prize money.

Anand, who has played a major role in shaping Gukesh's career, held the title five times in his illustrious career before Norwegian superstar Magnus Carlsen dethroned him in 2013.

The moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 d6 7.0–0 h6 8.Be3 Be6 9.a5 Bxc4 10.dxc4 0–0 11.Bxc5 dxc5 12.b3 Qxd1 13.Rfxd1 Rad8 14.Rdc1 Nd4 15.Ne1 Rd6 16.Kf1 g6 17.Rd1 Rfd8 18.f3 Kg7 19.Kf2 h5 20.Ne2 Nc6 21.Nc3 Nd4 22.Ne2 Nc6 23.Nc3 Nd4 game drawn.