Ding snatches draw from jaws of defeat

Gukesh has Ding on the ropes for most of Game 7 but the world champion digs deep to escape with scores level at halfway

Bengaluru: After a quiet game in his previous turn with the White, Gukesh arrived for Game 7, armed and ready to spill blood on the board. He drove daggers through Ding Liren and nearly mummified him before the reigning world champion returned from the dead with some stellar endgame defence to force a draw. The spectators’ arena broke into a rapturous applause as the players shook hands after a game that lasted 72 moves and over five hours. It’s the longest game played so far in this World Championship match and the contest remains tied at 3.5-3.5, with seven more classical games remaining.

It mustn’t be easy for Gukesh to reconcile with a setback like this, having had his opponent on the ropes through the greater part of the game. “It’s never pleasant to miss a winning position but I’m happy that I could outplay my opponent quite easily in the opening,” said Gukesh in the press conference that followed, “It’s a missed chance but he also missed some chances earlier in the match… but quite a few positives to take away from it. I guess the biggest lesson is to stay focused and convert good positions.”

The Indian teen won the opening battle on trotting out 1.Nf3 for the first time in this match and went on to uncork a rare, ingenious 7.Re1 move that was clearly cooked up by his team. It cast Ding right away into contemplation for over 20 minutes. “Re1 is a relatively new move and the point was to go dxc4-e4 and get a new position on the board… he didn’t react in a very precise way so I guess the idea worked,” Gukesh said.

Ding later admitted that he was completely thrown off by the move. “I came back from the toilet and was totally shocked,” he said. “I took a lot of time to come up with a reply. Even then it wasn’t accurate.” The world champion ended up responding with the principled 7. dxc4 which led to a fascinating fight for the centre. Ding was soon down to 24 minutes on the clock by move 21.

Gukesh went on to make the strategic mistake of rushing to trade the dark-squared bishops, and then went after Black’s c4 pawn. Here he perhaps overlooked Ding’s resource of springing his knight back into the game. Ding defended bravely and even looked like he might make it over the line alive, with a draw. All he had to do was manoeuvre his knight, hit move 41 and then figure out the rest. But nerves can make players do the inexplicable things. With the clock ticking down to its dying seconds on move 40, Ding blundered. Seven seconds on his clock, he pushed his King to the e5 square instead of galloping his knight to c8 – which would have kept his drawing chances intact. Leela Chess Zero right away pegged Gukesh’s chances for a win at 75 percent, from roughly 19 percent.

After the players reached time control, Ding was on the ropes. Down a pawn, with a weak king on d5 in an objectively lost endgame, he was again back burning through his clock, shaking his head, occasionally looking up at his opponent and trying to pick out the right move out of twenty-odd tempting, false continuations. Gukesh sat at the other end, hands folded across his chest, watching the reigning world champion suffer. Around move 44, Leela gave Gukesh 92 per cent chance of winning the game.

But after spending over 22 minutes trawling through defensive resources, Ding had a few answers. “I was fearing that I was getting outplayed,” Ding said, “But my position was maybe not so bad, I should be more confident of my position.”

Gukesh’s decision to go Bd1 on move 46 allowed Ding to stir up activity. It’s here that Ding brought his endgame skills and resilience to bear – not faltering, even though Gukesh found ways to keep the game going.

Ding’s idea was to restrict White’s bishop and drum up counterplay for his knight. Black’s knight was centralised, King was activated while White’s bishop was on the first rank. Ding went on to trade off the rooks and got rid of White’s final pawn to make a miraculous escape and take a half a point for his efforts. Ding’s team heaved a sigh of relief. “Today I did not give up in a very difficult position… My second (Ni Hua) said I saved my life,” Ding told Chess.com. In the end it was brilliant preparation from Gukesh, outplaying his opponent thoroughly before the reigning world champion dug deep and summoned a fightback. Gukesh was not quite able to see through his opponent’s resources in the endgame.

The match moves to Game 8 on Wednesday and Ding will have the White pieces. It’s possible he might want to play a solid, quiet game and we could see the fireworks back again for Gukesh’s game with the White pieces on Thursday.

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Neha Bhasin lashes out at ‘below-average male rappers’ for offensive lyrics on women: Is there a limit to the hypocrisy?

Neha Bhasin called out the sexism in the music industry in a new post on her Instagram. The singer said that even the audience are normalizing the lines.

Singer Neha Bhasin did not mince words in her new Instagram post, slamming below-average male rappers and audiences for normalising offensive lyrics. The singer said that not only are these male rappers continuing to pen these songs, but even the audience are complicit in being okay with it. (Also read: Anurag Kashyap’s daughter Aaliyah Kashyap and Shane Gregoire kick off wedding prep; Khushi Kapoor offers sneak peek)

Neha Bhasin calls out sexism in music industry
Neha took to her Instagram on Wednesday morning and wrote a statement that read: “Am so fed up of below average male rappers and wanna be singers calling women weird stuff in their songs. And all Indian men and women folks are OK WITH IT. Is there a limit to the hypocrisy in India? Ladka kare to bhai, dude. Ladki kare toh character dheela (If men do it they are called a dude, but if the women does the same, she is called loose character).”

‘I am certainly not a banta ki bottle’
The singer did not take any names of singers or male rappers in the post. In the caption, she wrote: “I don’t have a cage i want to open. I am not doodh malai and I am certainly not a banta ki bottle. Grow the F up already.”

Reacting to the post, when a user commented, “Tumhara character dheela hi hai (You are character dheela).” She schooled the user and replied, “all mediocre frustrated people feel that way.”

Neha Bhasin has worked with several well-known music directors in the industry and sung songs like Asalaam-e-Ishquum from Gunday, Dhunki from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Swag se Swagat from Tiger Zinda Hai among others.

The singer often takes to her Instagram to share updates about her health and spread awareness. She had earlier shared that she had Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of PMS, from her teenage years.

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Bandish Bandits 2 trailer: Love, conflict and musical legacy take center stage as Ritwik Bhowmik, Shreya Chaudhry return

The Bandish Bandits 2 trailer opens with a revelation that Naseeruddin Shah’s character has passed away. It also introduces Divya Dutta into the world.

Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry are all set to be back with another musical chapter with the second season of Bandish Bandits. The trailer of the show has finally dropped, and it teases a conflict between love and ambitions. It also shows one fighting to protect the musical legacy. Also read: Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry-starrer Bandish Bandits returns for season two, will premiere in December

About the trailer
The trailer, which dropped on Monday, sets the tone for a poignant and musical journey. It opens with the revelation that Naseeruddin Shah’s character has passed away. His demise sets off a chain of events, as his family embarks on a quest to preserve his musical legacy, which appears to have been tarnished.

The romantic drama show features actors Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry as Radhe and Tamanna, two musicians who come from different worlds of music. The trailer shows both of them come face to face in a musical battle where they have to navigate their passion while confronting their feelings.

The trailer also introduces Divya Dutta as a teacher. Sheeba Chaddha, Atul Kulkarni, Rajesh Tailang, and Kunaal Roy Kapur are also reprising their characters in the show.

The trailer also comes with hints that the season will also explore bigger issues such as the world of reality shows, and gender roles in the musical industry. Staying true to the premise, music seems to be the focus for the second part as well.

Team excited about chapter two
Actor Ritwik Bhowmik is happy to be back in the musical world of the show. “For me, stepping into the shoes of Radhe is like coming home after a long day. It is a character I am grateful to have played for several reasons, most importantly, how much it has taught me as an actor and a person,” Ritwik said in a statement, adding, “With the second season we see Radhe really grow into his own and embrace the responsibility of keeping his family’s traditions and legacy alive in an increasingly fast-paced and modern world while navigating his relationship with Tamanna”.

For Shreya Chaudhry, stepping back into Tamanna’s world was like reconnecting with an old friend. “There’s something deeply special about playing a character who is chasing her dreams while navigating love and the pressures of legacy—it mirrors the journey so many of us go through. It has been an absolute honour to watch and learn from the series’ incredible cast and I hope this season inspires people to believe in the beauty of their passion, just as it has reminded me of my own,” she said.

Talking about the show, creator and director Anand Tiwari shared, “This season we have pushed the boundaries and strived to tell a story that is rooted, relatable and immensely engaging. I’m grateful to have the most collaborative team of actors and technicians working on this series, and I am looking forward to the premiere of this much-awaited season”.

More about the show
The show has been created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari. The first season of Bandish Bandits was released in August 2020. The sophomore chapter was directed by Anand and has co-written the series alongside Atmika Didwania and Karan Singh Tyagi.

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