Both Gukesh and Liren shared their thoughts on the ongoing contest, highlighting the challenges and nuances of competing at the highest level while maintaining a touch of humour during the press conference.
Gukesh, Liren eye breakthrough after series of draws in the Chess World C'ship.
Grandmaster D Gukesh will face his first major challenge since becoming world champion when he begins his campaign in the Tata Steel Chess tournament, which starts on Friday in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded India's young chess players for their historic achievement at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where both the men's and women's teams clinched their maiden gold medals.
R Praggnanandhaa split points with Czech hero David Navara while compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram escaped with a draw with another local star Nguyen Thai Dai Van in the first round of the Prague Masters.
The second, fourth, fifth and sixth games had ended in draws.
Gukesh secured a decisive victory in just 37 moves, showcasing his exceptional tactical prowess and strategic acumen.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated compatriot Pentala Harikrishna, while Arjun Erigaisi settled for a draw in the second round of 87th Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
R Praggnanandhaa, the newly-crowned Tata Steel Chess champion, was given a warm reception upon his return to Chennai. The 19-year-old made history by defeating reigning World Champion D Gukesh in the final, marking the biggest win of his career. Fans, officials from the Tamil Nadu government, and the national federation gathered at the airport to welcome the young chess prodigy. Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the Tata Steel Chess title.
Known to be very competitive, Gukesh said the approach will not change even though he needs three draws from the remaining three games.
The years of sacrifice and hard work is finally paying dividends. The iconic Vellamal School, which is the alma mater of World champion Gukesh, now has another international player of repute to boast about. After all, Aravindh is Gukesh's senior.
'The match,' asserted FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, 'has been played at the highest standards of fair play, no investigation is required.'
The draw left both players on an identical tally of 6.5 points each, with just one game left in the 14-round classical time control format, still shy of 1 point in order to win the title.
'Gukesh displayed incredible fighting spirit, outstanding mental toughness, insane self-confidence, all qualities of a champion, and he just turned 18 at the end of May.'
During the felicitation ceremony honoring the gold-medal winning teams, she heard Hanvika's voice calling out from the audience. Harika stepped off the stage, hugged her daughter, and carried her to the back of the hall.
Magnus Carlsen lauds D Gukesh but rules out world title clash with him
The 18-year-old Gukesh's triumph was celebrated far and wide across the country with the PM joining the sports fraternity and others in lauding his incredible achievement.
Interestingly, all of R Praggnanandhaa's victories have come at the expense of the Indians so far in the tournament.
D GukeshGrandmaster R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal put up impressive performances as Indian women defeated Georgia while World Championship challenger D Gukesh led the men to victory over China in the seventh round as both teams continued their unbeaten streak in 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
Kasparov, who held the record for being the youngest world championship contender before Gukesh broke the record as a 17-year-old by winning this year's Candidates tournament, supported Carlsen's decision to forfeit his title.
World's youngest chess champion D Gukesh was felicitated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and others at a function organised by the state government in Chennai on Tuesday.
Newly-crowned world chess champion D Gukesh is looking forward to the day when the sport will become a part of the Olympic curriculum, which, he said, would take it to an altogether different level not just in India but across the world.
With her family in tow, Humpy met the PM and described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
'You need hard work along with talent to reach exceptional heights.'
Gukesh said he wanted to just win the game cleanly but there was excitement as Liren had very little time left.
While the mind games will go on in the last two games and a potential tiebreaker, American Hikaru Nakamura and world number one Magnus Carlsen feel that the balance had tilted slightly in Ding Liren's favour.
Winning three and drawing the remaining six games, Firouzja remained undefeated throughout the event.
D Gukesh and R Praggnanadhaa played out their eighth draw in as many games at the Sinquefield Cup.
India men dropped their first point, but carried enough steam to beat Hungary to maintain a clean slate in the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad.
'With an achievement like this, Gukesh could even be endorsing global brands.'
R Praggnanandhaa squandered a winning position against Wesley So of America while World Championship challenger D Gukesh settled for a hard-fought draw
The image of a smiling D Gukesh standing with outstretched hands will forever be embossed in the memory of a nation of billions.
'I am still the kid who loves chess. It used to be the coolest toy.'
After securing his victory, an emotional Gukesh couldn't hold back tears. The weight of the moment hit him as tears streamed down his face.
The 18-year-old Gukesh is the youngest ever challenger for the crown and had won the third game on Wednesday.
Magnus Carlsen of Norway feels that on current form Indian star D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship
With a maximum of 11 games remaining under classical time control, the scores are tied at 1.5-1.5. This was after Liren won the opener and the second game ended in a draw.
The World Chess Championship remained deadlocked as the 10th game between Indian challenger D. Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China ended in yet another draw on Saturday in Singapore.
First-time challenger D. Gukesh on Tuesday insisted he is not weighed down by the favourite's tag heading into the World Championship clash against China's Ding Liren, having enjoyed a purple patch after overcoming a rough phase.
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