FIDE World Chess Championship 2024, Game 5 Singapore Live Updates, Gukesh D vs Ding Liren: Game 5 of the World Chess Championship 2024 between Gukesh and Ding Liren is starting shortly in Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa.
After four games, both players have won one game each with the overall score of the best-of-14 contest poised at 2-2.
READ MORE: Some shock and some awe at World Chess Championship as Game 4 of Gukesh vs Ding Liren ends in draw
But Game 5 of the World Championship will see Gukesh play with white pieces. IF the history of the 2024 World Championship is any indicator, there will a decisive result today as well, as we have seen in Games 1 and 3.
Read More: With Game 3 win over Ding Liren, Gukesh shows again that his strongest weapon is his mental toughness
Both players were satisfied with the draw in Game 4 of the World Chess Championship. For world champion Ding Liren, it was an occasion to stabilise his position after the gut-punch of defeat in Game 3. For Gukesh, it was one more game in a World Chess Championship match nullified with his opponent having white pieces.
For Game 5, former world champion Magnus Carlsen, who abdicated his throne before Ding Liren occupied it by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi last year, has predicted an exciting clash with the world no 1 saying that the 18-year-old from Chennai will go for the throat with white pieces.
You can check out the move by move action from Game 5 between Gukesh and Ding Liren and also play along in the interactive below. Scroll down to read our updates in real time from Game 5.
Scroll down for our live coverage of Game 5 from the World Chess Championship
Gukesh is now in the playing arena. Slightly later than he usually arrives. He’s accompanied by his father Dr Rajini Kanth and his trainer Gregorz Gajewski.
Gukesh powerwalks past the cheering fans but does a customary look behind final glance at his team who stand by next to the lifts. 
Here’s a quick explainer on how the world chess championship works.
The world championship in chess is a battle between two players. One is usually the reigning champion, in this case China’s Ding Liren. The other is a challenger, in this case Gukesh, who qualifies by winning the Candidates tournament.
Last time, there were two challengers as reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen opted to forfeit his crown.
The battle is played in a best-of-14 games. Any player who reaches 7.5 points first wins.
So Ding Liren is once agains the first one to arrive. His seconds Ni Hua and an exceptionally chilled out looking Richard Rapport hang back after Ding Liren walks into the fair play office for checks.
Gukesh yet to arrive to the playing arena.
And before Gukesh arrives, Ding Liren’s mother also arrives. 
So yesterday’s game 4 between Gukesh and Ding Liren was a game where both players played with 100 percent accuracy (both players playing all the best engine-recommended moves for the whole game). So not a surprise that the game ended in a draw after a 42-move three-fold repitition.
As game 4 of the world chess championship was ambling along towards a draw, many players were a little surprised by world champion Ding Liren’s tactics. Playing with white pieces, he had a little surprise in the opening, but was happy to let the game play out into a venom-less draw.
Chess legend Susan Polgar pointed out what the world champion’s strategy has been so far.
“Ding’s game strategy is simple. He wants to take Gukesh off his excellent home preparation. This forces Gukesh to spend a lot of time on the board to come up with the right ideas/moves/plans. Ding believes that Gukesh is more vulnerable when he is out of preparation and low on time,” pointed out chess legend Susan Polgar on X. “Ding got almost nothing in both white games. But it seems that Ding got what he wanted, a slow-paced, strategical game with no risks. Gukesh also got what he wanted, eliminate a black game.”
At the post-game press conference after Friday’s Game 4, both world champion Ding Liren and Gukesh were asked by a journalist if they practise keeping a poker face, especially so that they can stay impassive when an opponent makes a blunder.
“Since I am unable to see my reactions during a game, I don’t know if I am able to keep a poker face,” smiled Ding Liren. “If my opponent makes some mistake, I think I will show some expressions.”
Ding Liren is one of the most emotionally transparent players in the sport, who says what he feels and his face also reflects what he is feeling. Compared to him, Gukesh is a player who can be inscrutable on the board.
“In general I think I’m not a very expressive player. On the board I do show some emotion from time to time. But in general I’m more of a person who always maintains a poker face. I don’t really think too much about it,” Gukesh said while maintaining a poker face.
World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura was less than impressed by Ding Liren’s Game 4 performance. The American grandmaster pointed out that with white pieces in a long match with multiple games, generally the idea is to push for a win. And to try and force draws with black pieces.
“I was shocked to see this opening in the game because frankly this is something I have played many times in online blitz events. It’s definitely not something that’s very aggressive. Objectively, it’s nothing special,” said Nakamura.
Former world champion Magnus Carlsen has made a bold prediction for Game 5 of the World Chess Championship, where Gukesh will play with white pieces. The current world no 1 predicted that ‘Gukesh will go for the throat’ in Game 5 vs Ding Liren.
“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.”
Read why Carlsen thinks Gukesh is currently the better player than Ding Liren
In his bid to retain the world champion’s crown, Ding Liren is collaborating with Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport during the World Chess Championship against Gukesh. This was not a big surprise since Rapport had also helped Ding Liren last time around.
At the last year’s world championship, when Rapport’s identity as Ding Liren’s second became public, it was a surprise as this was a departure from the traditional approach of keeping seconds’ involvement discreet. In contrast, Magnus Carlsen, a former world champion, preferred to keep his seconds in different locations to maintain secrecy and ensure round-the-clock support.
Interestingly, Ding Liren has also revealed the name of another second: Ni Hua, the captain of the Chinese chess team who is known for his opening ideas and use to be China’s best player before Ding Liren came along. Revealaing the identity of two seconds in the middle of the world championship, is an unconventional approach that highlights the evolving dynamics of modern chess and the increasing importance of a strong support team.
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At the post-game 4 press conference yesterday, Gukesh was asked if he believed in numerology. Chess legend Garry Kasparov was a staunch believer and has even said that sicne he was born on the 13th of April, it was fitting that he was the 13th world champion.
Gukesh was asked if he believed that being 18 years of age made him believe that it’s more likely that he will be the 18th world champion.
“I guess I should say I believe more in what Bobby Fischer had said (I believe in good moves). So I am just trying to make good moves,” smiles Gukesh.
READ MORE
Nov 25: Ding Liren wins Game 1
Nov 26: Game 2 drawn
Nov 27: Gukesh wins Game 3
Nov 28: Rest Day
Nov 29: Game 4 drawn
Nov 30: Game 5 TODAY
Dec 1: Game 6
Dec 2: Rest Day
Dec 3: Game 7
Dec 4: Game 8
Dec 5: Game 9
Dec 6: Rest Day
Dec 7: Game 10
Dec 8: Game 11
Dec 9: Game 12
Dec 10: Rest Day
Dec 11: Game 13
Dec 12: Game 14
Dec 13: Tie-Breaks (if required)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 5 of the World Chess Championship where Gukesh will play with white pieces fo rthe third time in the best-of-14 event.
Some shock and some awe as Game 4 of Gukesh vs Ding Liren ends in draw
India’s D Gukesh during his FIDE World Championship 2024 match against Ding Liren of China, in Singapore, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (FIDE/Eng Chin An via PTI Photo)
Game 4 of the World Chess Championship between Gukesh and Ding Liren ended in a largely drama-less draw after 42 moves. The game reached a stalemate position where both players repeated moves three times, leading to the draw.
This is the second draw for Ding Liren with the white pieces in this best-of-14 games match. Previously, Ding Liren had won the first game when Gukesh was playing with white while the 18-year-old from Chennai had won the third battle.
The series is currently tied at 2-2, with both players having secured one victory each.