Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh had successfully managed to take a lead in the eleventh round of the World Chess Championship on Sunday, however, it was then slipped when holder Ding Liren bounced back in the 12th game to again level score at 6-6.
The pending two games will be quite a roller-coaster for both players.
The deadlock continued for the 18-year-old Gukesh and the 32-year-old holder Liren. The battle that has come to a nearing end will resume on Wednesday and continue till Thursday to decide whether the game will go towards tiebreaks or an ultimatum.
The scores are currently tied at 6-6 with the first to reach 7.5 will assured of the coveted crown.
After squandering away a full-point lead with just three games to go, the 12th-round loss was heartbreaking for the young Indian and many experts believe that he will go for an aggressive approach in his last game with white pieces under Classical time control.
It won't be off the mark to say that nerves are likely to play a crucial role in the final stretch.
The scores were tied 5-5 after game 10 but the last two decisive games thereafter have breathed new life into an otherwise draw-led match in which both players have had their chances.
After what he described as a see-saw victory in the 11th game, Gukesh was simply not himself in the 12th game and his idea to play a new position for the first time backfired spectacularly.
If the scores are still tied in the USD 2.5 million championship, tie-break games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
Generally a smooth operator, Liren looked a pale shadow of himself after the 11th game and the case was no different for Gukesh when he was completely outplayed for the first time in Singapore on Monday.
To regain composure is the name of the game here and Gukesh has shown resolve in the past.
Liren, on the other hand, was in a similar situation in the last world championships match against Ian Nepomniachtchi that he won, rallying as many as three times before eventually clinching the tiebreaker.
Liren's precision was simply immaculate in the 12th game.
Gukesh did not look the same player and the Chinese took advantage of the situation right from the go to earn high praise from many in the elite chess circles.
Five-time world champion across formats, Viswanathan Anand, called it a "very impressive game" while Liren himself said, "It was the best game that I have played in recent times."
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 Liren's favour.
"Ding did not have to calculate a single line in this whole game, he can play the game based on positional understanding where he is very good," said Carlsen on his new YouTube channel.
It might be a tightrope walk for Gukesh but the young Indian is likely to go out there and give his best in the penultimate game.
In case of another draw, there is a decent chance that the chess buffs will get to see the tie-break games.
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