The match-up had plenty of misses and blunders as neither player was able to take advantage in Astana.

Ding, controlling the white side, played a 9.Ra2 in the opening moments as he decided to swing the rook to king's side.

He had to sacrifice his bishop on g5 in order to get an open h-file for his rook and went on an attack, while Nepomniachtchi went 13 on the g6 to return the pieces.

Nepomniachtchi had a major blunder on the 22nd move, which potentially cost him the win.

The game was equal at that point as he looked to exchange his bishop for the knight , giving a chance for the white rook and queen to attack.

Ding exchanged the rooks on h-file, but went 26.d7 later which allowed the Russian to rebound.

Nepomniachtchi left his d8 rook in the open for the white queen.

Following that, Ding went kd1 instead of capturing the rook, which lead to his kings escaping the checks and equalised the game.

Both players exchanged queens on move 42, as Ding had to forfeit his bishop to counter the pawn chain on the king's side.

Nepomniachtchi will go into game nine, which takes place tomorrow, leading 4.5 to 3.5.

The series will be 14 games, with the final game occurring on April 30.

In case of a tie, the champion will be crowned in a rapid chess playoff.