China's world champion, Ding Liren, and his Indian opponent, Gukesh Dommaraju, are currently tied at 4.5-4.5 after nine games in their best-of-14 match in Singapore. At just 18 years old, Gukesh is the youngest ever title challenger. Game 10 is set to begin at 9am GMT on Saturday. If the score remains level after the 14th and final classical game next Thursday, the winner will be decided through half-hour rapid and, if necessary, three-minute blitz tie-breakers on Friday.

As the match has progressed, the contrasting styles of the two players have become more apparent. Gukesh has demonstrated deep preparation in various openings, particularly in game seven where his move 7 Re1, which created a small edge against multiple Black structures, was highly praised by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Game seven also presented Gukesh's best chance to take the lead, but he failed to convert a technical endgame with a passed pawn and an active rook and bishop against a knight.

Ding's opening repertoire has been unconventional but effective, featuring a variety of first moves in his first four white games. In game eight, his two central pawns remained at base until move 19, setting a championship record. While Gukesh seeks clarity, Ding is comfortable with obscure positions.

The lack of decisive games may be partly attributed to the time limit, where the normal 30 seconds per move increment only applies from move 41, and players have just 30 minutes plus increment to complete the game. This has influenced decision-making, with players opting for half a point rather than risking tactical errors in a time scramble.

With only five classical games remaining, Ding may be tempted to aim for speed tie-breaks, a format in which he has excelled. Gukesh, on the other hand, has only two white classical games left to deploy any opening surprises. The FIDE has ended the rule that the world championship loser is seeded to the next Candidates, meaning either Ding or Gukesh must start the next title qualifiers from scratch.

Meanwhile, the race for a place in the next Candidates, who will challenge the winner in 2026, is heating up. US champion Fabiano Caruana and India's Arjun Erigaisi are close rivals in the FIDE Circuit of major 2024 tournaments. Both are currently in action, with Caruana leading at the St Louis Masters and Erigaisi at the Qatar Open. If both finish first, their performances at the World Rapid and Blitz on Wall Street in December will decide the Candidates place.

A graph on Reddit, based on Stockfish analysis, shows missed chances in every world championship match since 1886. While the methodology may be debatable, the conclusions align with expectations, showing fewer major errors over decades. Notable exceptions include José Raúl Capablanca's 1921 match against Emanuel Lasker and Mikhail Botvinnik's matches against David Bronstein and Mikhail Tal.

Ding's 2023 match against Ian Nepomniachtchi had more mistakes than other recent matches, while the current series, claimed as the most accurate ever, stopped analysis at game six, excluding the chaotic games seven and eight.

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