A lesser-known tactical innovation, a series of mistakes and an Everestian defence were the hallmarks of game seven of the World Chess Championship between Ding Liren and D Gukesh.
The final result -- after 72 moves and over five hours -- was a draw. But it doesn't even begin to capture the true nature of a wild game seven. It was best summed up by Ding Liren who said he was 'beaten multiple times' during the game.
The world champion lost after the opening. He was also lost and down on the clock after the middle game.
Yet, he somehow tapped into the deepest corner of his mental reserves to save half a point when the engine was favouring Gukesh for the vast majority of the encounter. The Indian, just after time control, had made two inaccuracies in three moves. When he had a significant advantage, he moved 44...Ke1 when the computer had suggested a trade of his white light-coloured bishop for Liren's pesky knight.
As soon as Gukesh made his move, the engine dropped his advantage from 1.7 to 1.0. It compounded when the 18-year-old made 46...Bd1. By now, the position was almost drawn as long as the 32-year-old Liren played out precise moves in a Rook, Knight endgame.
Gukesh, by now knowing he had lost a clear opportunity slip through his fingertips, slogged for the remainder of the game, trying to will another inaccuracy from his opponent. None would be forthcoming. In the end, the only pieces left on the board were the two Kings and a Bishop as the other pieces had all been removed from the board across five hours of battle.
After the match, one could sense the contrasting energy from both camps; Liren knew this was a miraculous escape. Gukesh knew he wasted an opportunity to take the lead going into the second half of the final.
How did he get that advantage in the first place? A novelty thanks to 7... Re1. In all these years of high-end chess, there was never a move played like this. After the match, Gukesh said it was a 'recent' line and it had come up during 'preparation'. Even though the engine didn't initially like it, it forced Liren into a deep think as he was already out of prep. Just after his sixth move, he had gone for a toilet break. After he saw the reply, he may have wanted to take a break again.
For the most part, the Chinese, who was defending for a lot of the game, maintained the positional integrity of his pieces. It's what enabled him to stay within the opponent's coattails for as long as he did. But he paid a dear price for that -- time.
He was bleeding time, something you don't want to face when you know you are worse off. Because his opponent knew what he was doing, he had to spend time on every reply. Every response had to be calculated. There was the possibility of multiple grenades on the chessboard. So, he had to either disarm them or tiptoe around. It made him spend 100 minutes for the first 20 moves, leaving him just 20 more for the next batch of 20 before time control.
He more or less nailed 19 out of those 20 moves before a blunder in the 40th. With seconds remaining on the clock, he made 40...Ke5 rather than Nc8. The latter was the first step towards a draw. The former? The first step towards a losing position.
The Chennai boy, though, made a couple of inaccuracies both before and after time control. It started with 33...Qxf5 when the better option would have been to keep his Queen on the board.
"I thought I should be winning at some point maybe before and after the Queen exchange," he said. He called the feeling 'unpleasant' after not converting this chance. However, he will be happy with the way he managed to create an opening with White. This is inarguably the first time he has managed to get into the match right off the bat. It should keep him in good stead going forward. He said it was 'positive' as 'I had outplayed my opponent'.
He saw it as a glass half full scenario but Liren was similarly upbeat.