D Gukesh Vs Ding Liren, World Chess Championship Game 10 Highlights: GMs Shake Hands For Draw After 36 Moves; Scores Level At 5-5

Checkmate, it's great to see you all, we’re back with another live blog. Game 10 of the FIDE World Chess Championship is happening today, (Saturday, December 7, 2024). Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh is set to face China’s Ding Liren with the match tied at 4.5–4.5. Gukesh is looking to break the deadlock and take the lead. Stay tuned to Outlook for all the live updates and moves.

The D Gukesh vs Ding Liren, FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 game 10 is set to start on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 2:30 PM IST at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

We’ll provide all the live updates right here. But for those who wish to watch it live, the D Gukesh vs Ding Liren FIDE World Chess Championship 2024 match will be streamed on FIDE’s social media handles (YouTube, Twitch), as well as chess.com’s YouTube and Twitch channels. It will not be telecast on any TV channel in India. But you can watch it live here.

The 2024 World Chess Championship match between D. Gukesh and Ding Liren will consist of 14 classical games. The first player to reach 7.5 points will be crowned World Champion. If the match ends in a tie after all 14 games, a tiebreak will be held the following day to determine the winner.

Each game will have a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remaining moves, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move 41.

Results So far

Game 1 - November 25, 2024 - Ding Liren Won

Game 2 - November 26, 2024 - Draw

Game 3 - November 27, 2024 - Gukesh Won

Rest Day - November 28, 2024 - Thursday 

Game 4 - November 29, 2024 - Draw

Game 5 - November 30, 2024 - Draw

Game 6 - December 1, 2024 - Draw

Rest Day - December 2, 2024 - Monday 

Game 7 - December 3, 2024 - Draw

Game 8 - December 4, 2024 - Draw

Game 9 - December 5, 2024 - Draw

Score line - 4.5-4.5

Game 9 of the World Chess Championship ended in its sixth consecutive draw, as Indian challenger D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren played out 54 moves on Thursday, leaving the scores level at 4.5 points each. With only five classical games remaining, both players need 3 more points to claim the USD 2.5 million prize.

If the match remains tied after 14 games, faster time controls will be used. Liren, who won the first game, and Gukesh, victorious in Game 3, have drawn six times since.

Gukesh attempted to test Liren with a Catalan opening, but despite a brief opportunity on his 20th move, the position soon balanced out. The game concluded with a rook-and-pawn endgame, with both players left with only their kings on the board.

The 32-year-old Ding Liren won the opening game, while the 18-year-old D Gukesh claimed victory in the third game. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth games all ended in draws.

Did You Know? Ding Liren wore the same shirt in Game 9, or at least the same color, that he wore during the 2023 World Chess Championship, which earned him the title of World Champion.

And the players are in, Gukesh is oozing style in his steel grey suit and black shirt, definitely a fashion statement. As for Ding, he’s sticking to his iconic look: a deep blue suit and white shirt. It's like his personal uniform for world domination.

Gukesh is playing with the black pieces, while Ding Liren is using white as they begin Game 10 of the World Chess Championship.

And we’re off! The action starts fast as Ding goes for the same opening from Game 6, the London System. Both players quickly get their pieces moving -- Ding’s queen’s pawn steps up two, Gukesh brings out his king's knight, and Ding mirrors him.

Then, Ding plays bishop to f4, followed by his white-squared bishop to e2, mixing it up from that last game.

Ding (White) vs Gukesh (Black)

1. d4 - Nf6

2. Nf3 - d5

3. Bf4 - e6

4. e3 - c5

5. Be2 - Bd6

6. dxc5 - Bxc5

7. c4 - 0-0

Our first exchanges of the day are here. Ding’s d-pawn captures Gukesh’s c-pawn, marking the first significant capture of the game. With that, Ding takes his first real pause of the day, reflecting on his next move.

Gukesh takes a moment to think and then castles on the king's side.

Now the question is will Ding follow suit? And yes, he does.

Both players have now secured their kings, leaving the board in a nice, balanced position.

Ding moves his other knight out, while Gukesh’s d-pawn captures Ding’s c-pawn. However, Ding quickly recaptures with his white-squared bishop.

Ding (White) vs Gukesh (Black)

1. d4 - Nf6

2. Nf3 - d5

3. Bf4 - e6

4. e3 - c5

5. Be2 - Bd6

6. dxc5 - Bxc5

7. c4 - O-O

8. O-O - Nc6

9. Nc3 - dxc4

10. Bxc4

'Ding is chillin’ -- and we mean that both literally and figuratively. YEAH, WE SEE THE MEMES TOO.

He's comfortably seated in the player's lounge, doing absolutely nothing. What a fascinating character. Meanwhile, Gukesh has already spent 16 minutes on move 10.

You’re probably wondering why there’s no move update, well, that’s because there aren’t any. Gukesh has his head in his hands, and it’s been 24 minutes since he started thinking deeply.

Meanwhile, Ding is just outside the playing area, completely chill, taking it easy.

The Indian challenger has spent considerable time pondering his 10th move, eventually playing 10, Nh5.

This game seems to be following a similar pattern to one from 2018 between Ding Liren's second, Richard Rapport, and Levon Aronian, where Rapport opted for a queen swap.

However, Gukesh takes a more calculated route, placing the onus on Ding Liren to now make his move.

He simply moves his bishop back to protect the queen, a move not favored by the engines. The evaluation shifts to 0.3 in Ding's favor, marking the highest it’s been all day (though still quite small). The AI now gives Ding a 26% chance of winning, while Gukesh’s chances stand at 11%.

Ding (White) vs Gukesh (Black)

1. d4 - Nf6

2. Nf3 - d5

3. Bf4 - e6

4. e3 - c5

5. Be2 - Bd6

6. dxc5 - Bxc5

7. c4 - O-O

8. O-O - Nc6

9. Nc3 - dxc4

10. Bxc4 - Nh5

11. Bg5 - Be7

12. Ne4 - Nf6

13. Nxf6+ - Bxf6

14. Qxd8 -  Rxd8

15. Bxf6 - gxf6

16. Rfd1 - Bd7

17. Rac1 - Be8

18. Rxd8 - Rxd8

19. Kf1 - Kg7

20. a3 - f5

21. Ke1 - Kf6

Another exchange, Ding responds with Kf1. Is he preparing to cover a possible rook exchange once more? This could suggest Ding is okay with settling for a draw. But it is too soon to predict anything.

Ding pushes a pawn forward, while Gukesh’s king steps out of the vulnerable spot in his castled position. The position on the board remains extremely even.

The two knights have made their way into positions to take each other out, and the exchange happens. Now, with both knights off the board, it's just six pawns, a bishop, and a king left for each player.

A three-fold repetition results in a draw by move 36, about two and a half hours into the game.

The scores are now tied at 5-5, keeping Gukesh and Ding neck and neck. The London System from Game 6 made a reappearance, but Gukesh's solid defense shut down every variation, keeping things under control.

Ding (White) vs Gukesh (Black)

1. d4 - Nf6

2. Nf3 - d5

3. Bf4 - e6

4. e3 - c5

5. Be2 - Bd6

6. dxc5 - Bxc5

7. c4 - O-O

8. O-O - Nc6

9. Nc3 - dxc4

10. Bxc4 - Nh5

11. Bg5 - Be7

12. Ne4 - Nf6

13. Nxf6+ - Bxf6

14. Qxd8 -  Rxd8

15. Bxf6 - gxf6

16. Rfd1 - Bd7

17. Rac1 - Be8

18. Rxd8 - Rxd8

19. Kf1 - Kg7

20. a3 - f5

21. Ke1 - Kf6

22. Be2 - Ne7

23. g3 - Rc8

24. Rxc8 - Nxc8

25. Nd2 - Nd6

26. Nc4 - Ncx4

27. Bxc4 - Nc6

28. f4 - b6

29. Kd2 - Ke7

30. Kc3 - Kd6

31. b4 - f6

32. Kd4 - h6

33. Bb3 - Bb7

34. Bc4 - bc6

35. Bb3 - Bb7

36. Bc4 - Bc6

    DRAW

When asked if they’ve learned anything about each other as people, rather than chess players, during the match, Ding Liren quipped with a smile, “I’m always the first one to arrive.”

Gukesh, on the other hand, shared, “I’m learning a lot about chess because of the work we do in the background, but I’m not sure I’ve discovered anything new about him as a person."

That’s a wrap for Game 10. Will Game 11 finally break the streak of seven consecutive draws? Fingers crossed, Be sure to join us tomorrow to find out. It’s goodbye for now.