The 7th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship was probably the most exciting game so far. Both players seemed committed to keeping the game unbalanced, which lead to some exciting play, especially before the first time control.
Around move 20 Ding went to win the white a pawn, at the risk of getting his queen shut off from the rest of the board. This gave Gukesh a chance for a clear advantage, but before he cashed in he repeated the position. This decision caused a groan from the audience in the playing hall, but when Gukesh played 29.Rxb5, the mood was somewhat lightened. When Gukesh played 30.Qf4 it looked as if the game was all over, but then Ding played a number of saving moves with both players short of time, and when move 40 was reached (for White), it seemed another draw was on the board. However move 40 for Black was an error, and within a few moves Gukesh was almost certainly winning. But just as quickly as the win appeared, it disappeared again, with Gukesh failing to find the winning line. Although the position was still difficult to play, Ding found the right moves and a draw was reached on move 72.
A real let off for Ding, and the fact that the match is still tied, is putting more pressure on Gukesh. Having predicted that this game would be drawn (to a few people in the media centre), I think there will be a decisive result in one of the next 2 games. The only problem is I am not sure who will achieve it!
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (7), 3.12.2024
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