Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju narrowly avoided a potential setback before securing an unexpectedly stress-free draw on Saturday in the fifth game of his world championship match against Ding Liren, leaving the $2.5 million showdown tied at 2½-2½.

Ding chose the French Defense (1 e4 e6) once again, to which Gukesh responded with the drawish Exchange Variation (2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5), a passive opening that contrasts with his aggressive playing style, especially when he has the white pieces. The queens were removed from the board early, simplifying the position by the 10th move. Both players tested each other's defenses, with Gukesh making an aggressive move on the kingside with 17 g4, which was effectively countered by Ding's precise maneuvering (17...Nf4 and 19...Bd7).

The middlegame saw Gukesh's ambitious 22 Ne5, but his subsequent 23 dxe5 was a misstep. Ding capitalized with 23...Nd3, creating strong piece activity and putting his opponent in a difficult position. However, Ding's 29…Bc6 eased the tension, leading to an endgame with equal pawn structure and active kings. After a series of repeated king moves and symmetrical pawn play, the game ended in a draw by repetition on move 40, lasting exactly three hours.

While a draw with the black pieces is not a bad result, Ding's quick play led to an oversight that cost him the chance to pressure his 18-year-old opponent for several hours. "The results are not ideal because I had chances in some games to lead by some points, and it's even," Ding said. "Also today, after some quick check, I had some advantage which I didn't realize, so there is something to improve."

Ding entered the first defense of his world championship on a 28-game winless streak in classical games, causing his world ranking to drop to 23rd and making him a 3-1 longshot in the best-of-14-games match. However, he surprised everyone by winning the first game as black, ending his 304-day winless streak. Game 2 was a 23-move draw, followed by Gukesh's win in Game 3. The fourth game ended in another draw.

At 18 years old, Gukesh, a native of Chennai and currently ranked fifth, has the chance to break Garry Kasparov's record as the youngest undisputed world champion. The competition resumes on Saturday with Ding playing as white in Game 6. The first player to reach seven and a half points will be crowned champion in the world title match at Resorts World Sentosa, an island resort off Singapore's southern coast.

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