Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju survived a scare before escaping with an improbably stress-free draw on Saturday in the fifth game of his world championship match with Ding Liren that left the $2.5m showdown deadlocked at 2½-2½.
After Ding opted for another French Defense (1 e4 e6), which he’d played in Monday’s surprise Game 1 win, Gukesh blitzed into the drawish Exchange Variation (2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5). The passive opening was out of step with the challenger’s aggressive reputation, particularly while armed with the favored white pieces.
