I think when he played Be6, it was going to be a draw already. So at that point, yes, I agree, there was not much to play for… but there were so many ways to defend c-pawn and let Gukesh suffer for a while. Carlsen and maybe even other elite chess players might have pressed on with this position.
To be fair to Ding, even with the other moves, it might still be a draw with accurate play by Gukesh.
The point though is, Ding should press on when his opponent is in a difficult position. Putting pressure on might cause Gukesh some inaccuracies or mistakes or even a blunder!
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The point though is, Ding should press on when his opponent is in a difficult position. Putting pressure on might cause Gukesh some inaccuracies or mistakes or even a blunder!