World Chess Championship HIGHLIGHTS: Game 8 ends in a draw between Gukesh and Ding

Check FIDE and Chess.com's Twitch and X (formerly known as Twitter) handles to watch the live streaming of Gukesh vs Liren FIDE WCC Final Game 8

7:14 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Game 8 ends in a draw!

Another draw at the end of another thrilling tie between Gukesh and Ding Liren on the day.

7:09 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding's puzzling play!

Ding has often seen to play risky moves but is also repeating his moves in order to draw the match now.

6:52 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Repititions on board!

Multiple repititions on the board for both players as the game enters it business end now.

6:41 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh going for the win!

Gukesh has opted to not go for the draw again in theis Championship as he is looking to get that one point and risk it all. 42 moves in now.

6:33 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Both players get additional time

Both Gukesh and Ding have passed the 40-move mark and get the additional 30 minutes now which will also have an additional 30 seconds for every move from now on.

6:24 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Race against time now!

Gukesh has just over 5 minutes to complete his 4 moves while Ding is left with almost 10 minutes at the moment. A good return to the game by the reigning champion.

6:19 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh drops the advantage!

The last few moves have seen Gukesh failing to capitalise on the advantage and is now barely holding on to an even game. 31 moves in now.

6:04 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding with a 'miracle'

Chess legend Susan Polgar also had a say on the game as she said "It would take another miracle for Ding to save this game. Proper time management is crucial in a world championship. One cannot get into time pressure over and over again and expect to do well. It may work in some games but the odds are against you. This is one of the most important lesson I can give to young players. Fix it immediately before it becomes a lifetime bad habit. Many incredible players over the years failed to reach the pinnacle because of poor time management."

 

However, just nine minutes later, she added: "Ding may just have another miracle after all!" Ding did manage to comeback from a precaius position on the night as Gukesh might beeating himself up for not making the most of the advantage.

5:45 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh leading now!

Gukesh has the clear advantage on the board as he knocks out a free pawn and has the clock on his side too. 26 moves in now.

5:32 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh keeping close!

After Ding's 22nd move, the prediction again tipped towards Gukesh which wasn't the case before the move. 34% chances of Gukesh's win now.

5:21 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding puts the 20th move in!

With Ding Liren playing 20. Nf3, the scales have been tipped more in the favour of Gukesh according to Leela Zero as they predict a more than 33% chance of Gukesh going away with a win on the night as compared to Ding's 14%.

5:08 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh still with the advantage!

Gukesh still has more than half of Ding's available time on the clock with the Indian comparatively quick with his moves today as well.

4:45 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding's move proving good for Gukesh!

Ding's 17th move has put Gukesh into a slighter better place in the match with Leela Zero (AI model) putting him in the driver's seat for the game.

4:38 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh taking his time!

With Ding playing 17. Nc2, Gukesh took his time as the battle for c4 square continues. Gukesh comes up with 17. Qc7

4:09 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: 15 moves in!

Ding Liren taking the larger share of time yet again as Gukesh holds a 30 minute advantage over him.

1 c4 e5

2 Nc3 Bb4

3 Nd5 Be7

4 Nf3 d6

5 g3 c6

6 Nxe7 Nxe7

7 Bg2 f6

8 O-O Be6

9 b3 d5

10 Ba3 O-O

11 Rc1 a5

12 Ne1 Re8

13 f4 exf4

14 Rxf4 dxc4

15 bxc4 Ng6

3:58 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Unusual approach by Ding!

Ding still hasn't moved is central pawns as three of them are still on their original positions. With the basic idea of chess requiring a player to control the centre of the board, this is a pretty unusual approach by the Chinese so far.

3:45 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: 12 moves in!

Both players are done with the 12 moves on the day as Gukesh takes his time for the 12th move.

1 c4 e5

2 Nc3 Bb4

3 Nd5 Be7

4 Nf3 d6

5 g3 c6

6 Nxe7 Nxe7

7 Bg2 f6

8 O-O Be6

9 b3 d5

10 Ba3 O-O

11 Rc1 a5

12 Ne1 Re8

3:35 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Another draw incoming?

Leela Zero, an AI model which predicts the outcome of the match after every move shows an almost 21% chance of bothe the players getting a win on their side. However, the prediction shows that there is a 57.2% chance that we would get to see another draw on the day.

The prediction model is being shown on the offficial FIDE broadcast as well.

3:20 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Neck-to-neck so far!

After 11 moves between the two players, it still is pretty even between the two players. 

3:15 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding leaves for the players lounge!

Ding leaves for the player lounge for personal time as Gukesh stands with a strong pawn setup after 10 moves.

3:10 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh with an early advantage!

Gukesh is already 25 minutes ahead of Ding in terms of time. Ding makes the 9th move to which Gukesh responds swiftly again and goes back to meditating with his eyes closed!

3:00 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Gukesh sticking to his approach!

Gukesh is sticking to his approach as he has already spent 8 minutes with his eyes closed in the game. Ding tried to capture the Indian's boshop in front of the king, but Gukesh instantly took Ding's knight out of the play.

2:56 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding going with the English opening!

Ding Liren chooses the English Opening by advancing his pawn to c4. This marks his fourth game with the white pieces, and each time he has started with a different move. The world champion is keeping his approach varied and unpredictable.

2:42 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding on the attack

Here's how game 8 is taking shape at the start. Ding is looking to attack from move 1.

1. c4 e5

2. Nc3 Bb4

3. Nd5 Be7

4. Nf3 d6

5. g3 c6
6.Nxe7 Nxe7
7. Bg2 f6

2:39 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Action begins!

The match has begun with the intial moves coming thick and fast from both the players today!

2:36 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: How do we get WCC finalists?

The World Chess Championship is a contest between two players: the current champion, who in this case is China’s Ding Liren, and a challenger, who qualifies by winning the Candidates Tournament, like Gukesh. In the previous edition, there were two challengers because reigning champion Magnus Carlsen chose to forgo defending his title.

2:20 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding on Game 7!

Ding was dominated by Gukesh yesterday and expressed his views on his great escape in game 7.

“I was beaten many times. Firstly in the opening. Then the middle game,” Ding Liren said. 

 

“I thought I was totally inferior during the game. I was getting outplayed. But like many other times, maybe the position was not so bad. And I need to have more confidence in my moves. Today’s game was an absolute rollercoaster. I was satisfied that I was not knocked out and will live to fight another day.” he added.

2:05 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Ding coming up with a surprise opening move?

With Gukesh surprising Ding with a unique opening move in Game 7, Ding would be looking forward to do the same with white today.

1:51 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: Magnus Carlsen on Game 7

Magnus Carlsen also pitched in his views on the previous game as he did enjoy the battle between two masterminds yesterday.

“This was a fantastic game. Really couldn’t have asked for more. Best game of the match so far. One that really thrilled everybody,” Carlsen said on the Take Take Take app. “There was a fascinating idea from Gukesh in the opening and almost entirely new concept. Then he played a really good game until a certain point. Ding started fighting back and we got a fantastic back-and-forth battle. Ding found a lot resources.”

1:40 PM

World Chess Championship 2024 LIVE UPDATES: What gets Gukesh ready for the battle?

While we have seen Gukesh closing his eyes and meditating during the games, the 18-year-old told us about his pre-game ritual to get his mind warmed up for the high stakes match.

Gukesh uses puzzles as his pre-game ritual which gets him ready for the games. “Not much. I just try to follow a specific routine. Puzzle Rush is always nice to do to warm up my mind,” he said.