Ding Liren made a sedate start to the third set by taking a short draw with white pieces against Magnus Carlsen following a three-fold repetition of moves in their semifinal clash of the $300,000 Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals on Tuesday.
The 22-move draw came after Carlsen sacrificed a pawn early in the game. Ding chose not to be flamboyant by sacrificing his rook for a bishop and an additional pawn.
Boucing back
Carlsen, who made a remarkable recovery following the loss of the opening set by racing away to a 2.5-0.5 triumph in the second set on Monday, will have white pieces in two of the next three rapid games.
In the other semifinal, Hikaru Nakamura was looking for a straight-set whitewash of Daniil Dubov. After doubling his lead following a 3-1 victory on Monday, Nakamura defended an inferior position in 67 moves in the first game of the third set.
The results: Set Three (Game One): Ding Liren (Chn) drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor); Daniil Dubov (Rus) drew with Hikaru Nakamura (USA). Set Two: Carlsen bt Ding 2.5-0.5; Nakamura bt Dubov 3-1.
