Game 4 of the World Chess Championship ended in a dull 42-move draw with world champion Ding Liren trying to catch out his young opponent in the opening but then playing out a tepid game which ambled on for a draw.
The best-of-14 match now stands at 2-2 with both players winning one game each after four contests.
Follow our liveblog of Game 5 of the Gukesh vs Ding Liren battle here: World Chess Championship Game 5
Carlsen says Gukesh the ‘better chess player’
In his post-game analysis show for the Take Take Take app, Magnus Carlsen pointed out that based on recent form, including games we have seen at the World Chess Championship, Gukesh is the “better chess player”.
“The assumption based on the recent data we have is that Gukesh is a better chess player than Ding Liren is right now. So having more games is good for him,” Magnus Carlsen said.
D Gukesh and Ding Liren face each other in Game 4 of the World Chess Championship. (FIDE/Eng Chin An)
Magnus Carlsen also predicted that Gukesh will go for the kill in Game 5. An early pattern that has emerged at this World Chess Championship is that when Gukesh plays with white pieces, there is a decisive result.
“Knowing what we know so far, don’t think it’s going to be boring. Gukesh is going to go for the throat again. He will probably outprepare Ding Liren and then Ding Liren will have to dig in as he has done twice and find some resources,” Said Magnus Carlsen before adding: “I will reluctantly predict a Gukesh win in Game 5. But it really is the definition of a three-result game. I don’t feel at all confident at his ability to put pressure without risk. I don’t feel confident about Ding’s ability to not crumble under pressure either. Gukesh will have something more spicy prepared than what Ding had in game 4. It will be a lot more concrete.”
Talking about the Game 4 draw, Magnus Carlsen said: “This was a result that suited both players. It seems right now that it’s going to come down to whether Gukesh can put serious pressure with white pieces without allowing too much counterplay.”
