[Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana"] [Date "2023.04.09"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C85"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] [EventType "match"] [EventCountry "KAZ"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] {[%evp 0,97,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,10,12,19,9,24,-1,2,28,7,-7,9,7,30,-16,6,13,11,4,25,13,23,14,12,16,19,22,40,9,28,2,14,22,23,23,16,15,30,29,29,27,28,32,64,88,102,97,99,99,96,92,103,36,32,42,49,53,53,53,57,58,46,48,37,24,48,33,28,25,19,10,25,13,22,6,35,21,20,25,24,23,24,27,11,15,14,7,17,17,10,7] Game one of the World Championship Match 2023. It is Nepo with the white pieces fighting it out against Ding Liren.} 1. e4 {7 Nepo sticks to the move that he played against Magnus at the World Championship 2021.} e5 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 4. Ba4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 5. O-O {[%emt 0:00:27]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 6. Bxc6 $5 {25 This is a very interesting decision by Nepo. Generally this line is considered harmless for Black. But lines which are considered dangerous and looked at deeply with an engine these days are less venomous than less dangerous lines which have not been checked thoroughly with an engine. Nepo is banking upon Ding Liren's lack of preparation in this line, than on the fact that he would find some earth shattering novelty here.} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 7. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:04]} (7. d3 {was what Anish Giri had played against Ding Liren at the Candidates 2020-21 where White had won.}) 7... Nd7 {557} (7... Bg4 {is another line worth looking at.} 8. h3 Bh5 9. g4 Nxg4 $1 (9... Bg6 10. Nxe5 {leads to interesting positions.}) 10. hxg4 Bxg4 11. d3 h5 $15) 8. d4 {[%emt 0:00:35]} (8. c3 $5) 8... exd4 {88} 9. Qxd4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:42]} 10. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nc5 {240} 11. Qe3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} (11. Qxd8 Bxd8 $11) 11... Bg4 $146 {475} (11... Be6 {The most amazing thing about this position is that the bishop doesn't belong on the e6 square. White has a very big advantage here because the knight on c5 doesn't have squares to go to.} 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Rad1 Qc8 14. Nd4 $16) (11... Ne6 {has been played before.} 12. Bg3 Bc5 13. Qe2 a5 14. Nc3 Qe7 $11) 12. Nd4 $1 {220 A strong move. White now has a small edge.} Qd7 {526} 13. Nc3 {1443 Played after 24 minutes of thought. Nepo was clearly considering ideas like h3 and then decided to go for Nc3.} (13. h3 $5 Rad8 14. Nc3 $1 {Transposes to the next line.}) 13... Rad8 {127} 14. Nf5 $6 {187} (14. h3 $1 {This is a very tough move to foresee. The main reason is that the knight on d4 is untouchable.} Qxd4 (14... Rfe8 $1 15. Nb3 Nxb3 16. cxb3 Bh5 17. Qg3 Bd6 18. e5 Bf8 19. Bg5 $14) (14... Bh5 15. Nf5 $16) (14... Ne6 15. Nxe6 Bxe6 16. Qg3 $16) 15. Nd5 $3 {This is such an unusual tactic! You give up a piece and then just move a knight, but it turns out that White will not only regain the piece, but do so with interest.} Bf6 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Bg5 Qg6 18. Bxd8 Rxd8 19. hxg4 $18) 14... Ne6 {333} (14... Bxf5 15. exf5 Rfe8 {This looks like it solves all of Black's issues.} 16. g4 (16. Rad1 Bd6 $19) 16... Bd6 $11) 15. Nxe7+ {318} (15. Bh6 $5 Bxf5 16. exf5 $16) 15... Qxe7 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 16. Bg3 {42 Nepo's idea here is that his bishop on g3 works better than the bishop on g4. The pressure on the c7 pawn can be quite irritating.} Bh5 {72} (16... f5 17. exf5 Bxf5 {might have been a better way to play for Black. Active.}) 17. f3 {244 In the next few moves, you will see how Ian Nepomniachtchi slowly builds up his position. It's a waiting game.} f6 {62} 18. h3 {214} h6 {[%emt 0:00:56]} 19. Kh2 {137} Bf7 {885} 20. Rad1 {317} b6 {422} 21. a3 {473} a5 {246} 22. Ne2 $5 {304 I liked this idea. The point can be to go Nf4 to trade the knights on e6 and then put pressure on the c7 pawn.} Rxd1 {608} (22... c5 23. Nf4 Nd4 24. Qf2 $14) 23. Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 24. Rd3 $5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} c5 $6 {505} (24... Rxd3 25. Qxd3 b5 $14 {This was a better way to play here.}) 25. Qd2 $1 {134 The queen moves to d2 and forces the trade of rooks.} c6 {644} 26. Rxd8+ {164} Nxd8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} (26... Qxd8 27. Qxd8+ Nxd8 28. Bc7 $18) 27. Qf4 $1 {18 A beautiful move. The queen and the bishop battery is looking at the c7 and b8 squares.} b5 {302} 28. Qb8 $1 {204} (28. Qc7 Qxc7 29. Bxc7 Nb7 {is a pleasant endgame for White but Black is not losing any material.}) 28... Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 29. Bd6 $6 {865} (29. Bc7 $1 Ne6 30. Bxa5 {This does seem like a solid extra pawn.} Qd7 31. Nf4 Nxf4 (31... Nd4 32. Bb6 Nxc2 33. Bxc5 $16) 32. Qxf4 $16) 29... Qd7 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 30. Ng3 {417} (30. Qc7 Qxc7 31. Bxc7 Nb7) 30... Ne6 {87} 31. f4 {109} (31. c3 {might have kept the pressure better on the position.}) 31... h5 $1 {218 Ding defends really well now.} (31... Nd4 $1 32. Bxc5 (32. c3 Nb3 $11) 32... Nxc2 $11) 32. c3 {141} c4 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 33. h4 $1 {161} Qd8 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 34. Qb7 {272} (34. Qxd8 Nxd8 35. f5 Nb7 36. Be7 $16) 34... Be8 $1 {[%emt 0:00:42]} (34... Qxd6 35. Qxf7 $18) 35. Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Qd7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 36. Qb8 {64} Qd8 {88} 37. Qxd8 {218} Nxd8 $11 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 38. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:46]} Nb7 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 39. e5 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Kg8 {106} 40. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bc7 {596} Nc5 {294} 42. Bxa5 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Kf7 {138} 43. Bb4 {314} Nd3 {814} 44. e6+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} Bxe6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 45. Nxc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bd7 {75} (45... Nxb2 $2 46. Nd8+ $18) 46. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Nxb2 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 47. Kf3 {130} Nd3 {463} 48. g3 {114} Nc1 {206} 49. Ke3 {65  1/2-1/} 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,58,19,31,14,1,-3,6,6,-25,-29,0,35,16,16,-6,14,3,12,12,-3,4,12,17,32,3,-13,-20,-12,-19,-20,-23,-39,-19,15,7,20,-49,-49,-65,6,-82,-44,-49,-7,-7,-35,-114,-187,-205,-157,-283,-264,-406,-373,-373,-418,-440,-488,-488,-536]} 1. d4 Nf6 (1... d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Nc3 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 {Black is doing very well because the knight is not developed on c6.}) 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. h3 $5 {An interesting move that is not about the venom it possesses but the main idea is to take Nepo out of his preparation.} dxc4 {Nepo makes a very safe choice. He decides to transpose the game into a version of Queen's Gambit Accepted which is considered to be quite safe for Black.} (4... Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nc3) 5. e3 c5 6. Bxc4 a6 7. O-O Nc6 (7... b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. a4 $1 b4 10. Nbd2 $14) 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 {The knight on c6, helps White to fight for an advantage.} 10. a4 $1 b4 11. Ne4 Na5 12. Nxf6+ {It is surprising that Ding Liren plays this move. As he mentioned in the press conference, he didn't expect Nepo's next move.} (12. Nxc5 {was much better.} Bxc5 13. dxc5 Be4 (13... Rc8 14. e4 $1 Nxe4 15. c6 $1 Bxc6 16. Bxa6 Ra8 17. Qe2 $16) 14. Bxe4 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 Nxe4 16. c6 Nb3 (16... Nxc6 17. Bd2 a5 18. Rac1 $18) 17. Rb1 Rd8 18. Nd4 Ke7 (18... e5 19. c7 $18) 19. f3 $14) 12... gxf6 $1 {The bishop on b7 combined with the rook coming on g8 gives Black some pressure.} (12... Qxf6 13. e4 {was what Ding had on his mind.}) 13. e4 (13. dxc5 Qd7 $5) 13... c4 $1 {A great move. The reason why this move is special is because you are releasing the tension in the center. But Nepo understood it excellently that this is extremely strong.} 14. Bc2 Qc7 $5 15. Bd2 $5 {Ding Liren plans to hit the pawn on b4.} (15. Qe2 Rg8 16. Be3) 15... Rg8 16. Rc1 {A very logical move. Ding wants to put pressure on the c4 pawn.} (16. Qe1 {This was also possible.} f5 $1 17. d5 O-O-O $15) 16... O-O-O $1 {A beautiful fearless move.} 17. Bd3 $6 {Ding puts pressure on the c4 pawn.} (17. Qe1 f5 18. Kh1 Nc6 19. Rg1 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21. Be3 Rd7 22. exf5 Qe5 $15) 17... Kb8 $1 {Such a calm and cool move by Nepo.} 18. Re1 (18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. b3 Nb2 $1 $19 (19... Bxe4 20. Rxc4 Qb7 $19)) 18... f5 $1 {With this move Ding Liren is completely tied up.} 19. Bc2 (19. exf5 Rxd4 $1 {A brilliant move.} (19... Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Rxd4 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. fxe6 fxe6 23. Rxc4 Nxc4 24. Rxe6 Bd6 $17) 20. Nxd4 Rxg2+ 21. Kf1 (21. Kh1 Qh2#) 21... Rxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Qh2+ 23. Ke3 Bh6#) 19... Nc6 $1 {Nepo puts pressure on the d4 pawn. It is wonderful to see how he is putting pressure on the e4 and d4 pawns.} (19... f6) 20. Bg5 (20. Bb1 fxe4 21. Bxe4 f5 22. Bxc6 Qxc6 23. Bf4+ Ka8 $19) 20... Rxg5 $1 {Nepo gives up an exchange to destroy White's center.} 21. Nxg5 Nxd4 (21... Rxd4) 22. Qh5 (22. exf5 Nb3 23. Qg4 Nxc1 24. Rxc1 exf5 25. Qxf5 Bg7 $19) 22... f6 23. Nf3 (23. Nf7 Rd7 24. exf5 e5 $19) (23. Nxh7 Bc5 24. Nxf6 Qf4 $19) 23... Nxc2 24. Rxc2 Bxe4 25. Rd2 Bd6 $1 {Not exchanging the rooks is the right decision.} (25... Rxd2 26. Nxd2 $16) 26. Kh1 c3 $1 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Rd4 c2 29. Qh6 e5 {The rook is trapped on e5. Nepo wins his first game after playing 13 games of World Championship Match.  0-} 0-1 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.12"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,60,19,31,14,1,-3,4,6,6,-15,8,10,23,15,3,22,33,47,25,25,17,14,13,25,19,49,38,35,26,43,1,17,-1,-10,-3,12,32,47,22,17,17,49,24,0,0,-3,-35,-10,-7,-18,-18,-24,0,0,0,0,0,-6,0,0,0,-6]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Nge2 Nbd7 11. O-O a5 12. a3 Nh5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rae1 Nf8 15. Nc1 Nf6 16. f3 Ne6 17. N1e2 c5 18. Bb5 Rd8 19. dxc5 Qxc5 20. Qd2 Bd7 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 22. Nd4 (22. Qxd5 Qxe3+ 23. Kh1 Ndc5 24. Ng3 Qf4) 22... Nb6 23. Rd1 Nc4 24. Qf2 Rac8 25. Na4 Qe7 26. Rfe1 Qf6 27. Nb5 Nc7 28. Nd4 Ne6 29. Nb5 Nc7 30. Nd4 Ne6 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.13"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,93,19,-12,-9,-12,-13,-13,-19,-19,-17,-25,-6,3,-1,-17,-3,-3,26,38,45,41,40,40,31,42,37,19,20,42,78,7,11,9,9,4,1,-34,2,6,6,3,12,0,16,0,-8,0,43,42,38,31,31,31,31,31,31,13,77,47,49,50,38,20,26,61,48,70,62,67,73,89,171,162,292,292,301,262,303,282,473,586,620,617,630,656,660,601,601,616,618,632,632,652,681,681]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 7. e4 O-O 8. Be2 Nh5 9. d4 Nf4 10. Bxf4 exf4 11. O-O Qf6 12. Rfe1 Re8 13. Bd3 Bg4 14. Nd2 Na5 15. c5 $1 dxc5 16. e5 Qh6 17. d5 Rad8 18. c4 b6 19. h3 Bh5 20. Be4 Re7 21. Qc3 Rde8 22. Bf3 Nb7 23. Re2 f6 24. e6 Nd6 25. Rae1 Nf5 (25... Bg6) 26. Bxh5 Qxh5 27. Re4 Qh6 28. Qf3 Nd4 $4 29. Rxd4 cxd4 30. Nb3 g5 (30... c5 $4 31. d6) 31. Nxd4 Qg6 32. g4 fxg3 33. fxg3 h5 34. Nf5 Rh7 35. Qe4 Kh8 36. e7 Qf7 37. d6 cxd6 38. Nxd6 Qg8 39. Nxe8 Qxe8 40. Qe6 Kg7 41. Rf1 Rh6 42. Rd1 f5 43. Qe5+ Kf7 44. Qxf5+ Rf6 45. Qh7+ Ke6 46. Qg7 Rg6 47. Qf8 1-0 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.15"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,95,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,10,12,19,2,16,7,32,-11,-5,-4,2,0,4,-21,-10,-29,3,0,0,0,0,-20,-15,-19,-7,2,-5,-18,-19,-8,10,11,11,3,12,0,23,-16,0,-6,-5,-2,0,14,0,0,0,-26,-3,-26,-8,-6,51,36,39,39,22,31,42,9,40,35,42,17,48,-46,-16,-61,-17,13,129,175,176,148,368,97,182,107,99,151,155,197,258,167,156,192,267,267]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. a4 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. axb5 axb5 15. Nbd2 Nc6 16. Bd5 Rxa1 17. Qxa1 Qd7 18. Re1 Ra8 19. Qd1 Bd8 20. Nf1 Ne7 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Ne3 Bb6 23. h4 Qc6 24. h5 c4 25. d4 exd4 (25... Qxe4 $6 26. Nxc4 $18) 26. Nxd4 Qc5 27. Qg4 Qe5 28. Nf3 Qe6 29. Nf5 Nxf5 (29... Qf6) 30. exf5 Qf6 31. Qe4 Rb8 32. Re2 Bc5 33. g4 Qd8 34. Qd5 Kf8 35. Kf1 Rc8 36. Re4 Rb8 37. g5 hxg5 $4 (37... Qd7 38. gxh6 gxh6 39. f6) 38. Rg4 $18 Ra8 39. Nxg5 Ra1+ 40. Ke2 Qe7+ 41. Ne4 Qe8 42. Kf3 Qa8 43. Qxa8+ Rxa8 44. f6 g6 45. hxg6 fxg6 46. Rxg6 Ra2 47. Kg4 Rxb2 48. Rh6 1-0 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.16"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,87,30,29,28,28,28,28,27,20,43,-9,29,16,19,19,10,6,-4,-1,-1,-1,-9,-9,8,8,6,8,7,-3,10,11,11,11,12,-14,-12,-27,0,1,9,-4,26,6,19,5,67,80,73,68,79,68,78,74,90,43,101,68,80,80,80,83,53,44,129,53,76,76,108,124,120,114,108,116,127,132,132,132,130,124,102,124,146,165,806,1305,1797,1797,1797,1797]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. c3 e6 8. Bb5 Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 h6 12. Ne5 Ne7 13. a4 a6 14. Bf1 Nd7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. a5 Qc7 17. Qf3 Rfc8 18. Ra3 (18. Nb3 Nc6 19. Qg3) 18... Bg6 19. Nb3 Nc6 20. Qg3 Qe7 21. h4 Re8 22. Nc5 e5 23. Rb3 Nxa5 24. Rxe5 Qf6 25. Ra3 Nc4 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. h5 Bc2 (27... Rxe5 28. dxe5 Qd8 29. Qf3 Qd2) (27... Bd3 28. b4 Rxe5 29. Qxe5 Qxe5 30. dxe5 Rb8 31. Ra1 $18) 28. Nxb7 Qb6 29. Nd6 Rxe5 30. Qxe5 Qxb2 31. Ra5 (31. Nxc4 Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Bd3 33. Qe3 Qd1 34. Ne5 Qxh5+ 35. Qh3 {Ding felt this endgame is not so easy to win}) 31... Kh7 32. Rc5 Qc1+ 33. Kh2 f6 34. Qg3 a5 35. Nxc4 a4 36. Ne3 Bb1 (36... a3 $18 37. Rc7 Rg8 38. Nd5 Kh8 39. Ra7) 37. Rc7 Rg8 38. Nd5 Kh8 39. Ra7 a3 40. Ne7 Rf8 41. d5 a2 42. Qc7 Kh7 43. Ng6 Rg8 44. Qf7 1-0 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.18"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,74,19,38,43,18,28,33,22,31,27,6,6,13,35,35,34,23,25,40,23,15,23,28,15,19,3,11,3,3,15,43,42,0,106,-9,81,0,9,9,35,-8,13,-15,126,29,45,35,28,36,36,-57,10,28,0,8,1,1,51,14,21,58,44,22,16,21,47,81,153,143,200,199,222,219,370,367,382]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. N2f3 Be7 8. Bc4 Nc6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qe2 Bb7 12. Bd3 Qc7 13. Qe4 Nf6 14. Qh4 c5 15. Bf4 Qb6 16. Ne5 Rad8 17. Rae1 (17. Ng4 h5 (17... Rxd3 18. cxd3 Nd5)) 17... g6 18. Bg5 Rd4 19. Qh3 Qc7 20. b3 (20. c3 Rd5 21. f4) 20... Nh5 21. f4 Bd6 22. c3 Nxf4 $1 23. Bxf4 Rxf4 24. Rxf4 Bxe5 25. Rh4 Rd8 26. Be4 Bxe4 27. Rhxe4 Rd5 28. Rh4 Qd6 (28... Bf6 29. Rxh7 $2 Qd6) 29. Qe3 h5 30. g3 Bf6 31. Rc4 h4 32. gxh4 Rd2 33. Re2 Rd3 $4 (33... Rd5) 34. Qxc5 $18 Rd1+ (34... Bd4+ 35. cxd4 Qf4 (35... Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Qf4 37. Qe5 Qg4+ 38. Kf2 Qxh4+ 39. Qg3) 36. Rc1 $18 Qg4+ 37. Rg2 Rd1+ 38. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 39. Kf2 Qd2+ 40. Kf3) 35. Kg2 Qd3 36. Rf2 Kg7 37. Rcf4 Qxc3 1-0 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, I.."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E28"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,89,19,31,14,1,-3,4,26,25,26,-25,-11,-10,16,-25,7,-28,7,-26,-23,-40,-31,-96,-94,-151,-65,-87,-81,-84,-84,-125,-120,-142,-36,-36,-10,33,14,3,3,17,-20,18,18,14,48,75,78,74,106,83,77,80,83,56,83,83,83,78,78,83,35,78,328,0,15,21,38,62,48,69,83,108,111,43,65,0,0,-1,7,7,55,51,13,32,8,15,11,35,29,29]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d6 7. Ne2 c5 8. Ng3 Nc6 9. Ra2 b6 10. e4 Ba6 11. Bg5 h6 12. h4 hxg5 (12... cxd4 13. cxd4) 13. hxg5 g6 14. gxf6 Qxf6 15. e5 dxe5 (15... Qf4 $2 16. Re2 $18 cxd4 17. Re4 Qg5 18. cxd4) 16. d5 Ne7 17. d6 Nf5 18. Ne4 Qd8 19. Qd3 Kg7 20. g4 Bb7 21. Rh3 Nh4 (21... Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Nxd6 (22... Qxd6 23. Rd2 Qc7 24. gxf5 exf5)) (21... Rh8) 22. g5 Bxe4 $2 (22... Rh8) 23. Qxe4 Nf5 24. Rd2 $18 Rh8 25. Rxh8 (25. d7) 25... Qxh8 26. d7 (26. Rd3 $18) 26... Rd8 27. Qxe5+ Kh7 28. Qh2+ Kg7 29. Qe5+ Kh7 30. Qh2+ Kg7 31. Qc7 Qh4 $4 (31... Qf8) 32. Kd1 (32. Qxd8 $18 Qe4+ 33. Re2 Qb1+ 34. Kd2 Qb2+ 35. Kd3 Qb1+ 36. Rc2 Qxf1+ 37. Kd2) 32... Qxg5 33. Kc2 Qe7 34. Bg2 e5 35. Be4 Nh6 36. Qxa7 Ng4 37. Bf3 Nxf2 38. Rxf2 e4 39. Re2 f5 40. Qxb6 Rxd7 41. Qb8 Qd6 42. Qxd6 Rxd6 43. Bxe4 fxe4 44. Rxe4 Kf6 45. Re8 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.21"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,163,22,17,17,28,17,16,25,22,17,-15,-6,-16,11,7,21,3,17,-19,-7,-3,5,5,-3,-12,1,9,-9,22,23,-1,11,7,12,11,12,-16,29,-2,56,-30,15,-38,-20,-13,-6,-54,8,8,45,43,47,40,41,-6,-21,-24,-18,-42,-3,-38,-3,14,-8,-1,9,30,53,43,51,35,26,34,40,24,35,24,107,105,99,105,103,97,93,87,91,85,138,79,90,68,78,78,83,86,86,88,96,100,120,103,89,96,109,112,120,123,129,124,102,100,148,146,144,128,123,123,121,102,102,100,100,90,105,113,110,110,110,84,65,110,110,110,110,110,110,110,110,110,110,103,110,110,110,110,110,111,116,110,110,20,96,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. Nbd2 dxe4 8. dxe4 a5 9. a4 Qe7 10. Qc2 Nb8 11. Re1 Rd8 12. h3 h6 13. Nf1 c6 14. Bc4 Na6 15. Ng3 Qc7 16. Ba2 b5 17. Qe2 Rb8 (17... Bf8 18. axb5 cxb5 19. Qxb5 Nc5 20. b4) 18. Nh4 Bf8 19. Qf3 bxa4 20. Bxh6 (20. Nhf5) 20... Nc5 21. Ng6 Rxb2 22. Nxf8 Rxf8 23. Bg5 Nh7 24. Bc1 Rb5 25. Ba3 Re8 26. Bc4 Be6 27. Bxe6 (27. Bxb5 cxb5 28. Red1 Nf6) 27... Nxe6 28. Nf5 c5 29. Qe2 Rb3 30. Qc4 Qc6 31. Bc1 Nf6 32. Qxa4 Qxa4 33. Rxa4 Rxc3 34. Bb2 Rb3 35. Bxe5 Rb4 36. Rxa5 Rxe4 37. Rxe4 Nxe4 38. Ra4 Nd4 39. Bxd4 cxd4 40. Rxd4 g6 41. Ne3 Kg7 42. Rb4 Ng3 43. Rb7 Nf5 44. Ng4 Re7 45. Rb5 Re1+ 46. Kh2 Re2 47. Rb7 Nd6 48. Ra7 Kf8 49. Kg3 f5 50. Kf3 Re7 51. Ra8+ Re8 52. Rxe8+ Kxe8 53. Ne5 g5 54. h4 gxh4 55. Kf4 h3 $1 (55... Ne4 $4 56. Nd3 Nd6 57. Ne5 $18) (55... Ke7 56. Kg5) 56. gxh3 Ke7 57. Nc6+ Kf6 58. Nd4 Ne4 59. f3 Nf2 60. h4 Nd3+ 61. Kg3 Kg6 62. Ne6 Kf6 63. Nf4 Nb4 64. Kf2 Ke5 65. Ke3 Nc2+ 66. Kd2 Nd4 67. Nd3+ Kf6 68. Ke3 Nc2+ 69. Kf4 Nd4 70. Kg3 Ne2+ 71. Kf2 Nd4 72. Nf4 Ke5 73. Ne2 Ne6 74. Kg3 Kf6 75. Kg2 Kg7 76. Kf2 f4 77. Kg1 Kg6 78. Kg2 Kh6 79. Nc1 Kh5 80. Kh3 Nd4 81. Nd3 Nxf3 82. Nxf4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.23"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,90,19,-12,-9,-12,-13,-13,-19,-10,-12,6,30,36,34,37,29,35,8,31,55,35,61,22,24,34,16,14,57,23,75,50,72,93,94,77,78,72,72,78,79,67,67,67,82,70,63,58,53,62,57,51,40,51,53,52,50,60,58,58,58,16,71,81,75,70,69,47,56,55,89,53,51,39,39,38,40,37,22,12,11,11,11,5,5,5,2,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 Bc5 5. Nxe5 Nxe5 6. d4 Bb4 7. dxe5 Nxe4 8. Qf3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bc5 (9... Ba5 10. Bf4 O-O 11. O-O-O Rb8 12. Qe3 Qe7 13. Kb2 b5 14. c5 b4 15. c4 b3 16. a3 f6 17. f3 Re8 18. Bd3 Bb7 19. Bf5 Bc6 20. Qd3 fxe5 21. Bxh7+ Kh8 22. Bd2 Bxd2 23. Rxd2 Qxc5 24. Re1 Re6 25. Be4 Rd6 26. Bd5 Bxd5 27. cxd5 Re8 28. Re4 Kg8 29. Rh4 Rf6 30. Qh7+ Kf7 31. Rg4 Rg8 32. Qh5+ g6 33. Qxe5 Re8 34. Qd4 Qxd4+ 35. Rgxd4 Rb6 36. R4d3 Reb8 37. Rc3 R8b7 38. h4 a5 39. Rd4 Kf6 40. Re3 Rb5 41. Rf4+ Kg7 42. Re7+ Kg8 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Ref8 g5 45. R4f7+ Kg6 46. Rf6+ Kh7 47. R8f7+ Kg8 48. h5 Rb8 49. Rxd7 Re8 50. h6 Re2+ 51. Kc3 Re8 52. Rg7+ Kh8 53. Rff7 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2773)-Aronian,L (2772) Tata Steel India blitz Kolkata 2019 (9)}) 10. Qg3 Kf8 (10... g6) 11. Be2 d6 12. Bf4 Qe7 13. Rd1 h5 14. O-O (14. h4 dxe5 15. Bxe5 Bg4 16. Bxg4 hxg4 17. Kd2 Re8 18. Rhe1 Qd7+ 19. Kc1 Ba3+ 20. Kb1 Qf5+ 21. Ka1 Qc2 22. Rb1 f6 23. Rb3 Rxe5 24. Reb1 Re2 25. Rxa3 Rd2 26. Qxc7 Rd1 27. Qb8+ Kf7 28. Qxb7+ Kg6 29. Qb3 Rxb1+ 30. Qxb1 Qxb1+ 31. Kxb1 Rxh4 32. c5 g3 33. fxg3 Rc4 34. Kc2 Rxc5 35. Rxa7 Rg5 36. Rd7 Rxg3 37. Rd2 Kf7 38. a4 Rg4 39. Kb3 Re4 40. a5 f5 41. a6 f4 42. a7 Re8 43. Kb4 Ra8 44. Ra2 Ke6 45. Kc5 Kd7 46. Kb6 g5 47. Kb7 Rf8 48. a8=Q Rxa8 49. Rxa8 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Cardoso Cardoso,J (2414) Titled Tuesday intern op 5th May Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (4)}) 14... h4 15. Qd3 g5 16. exd6 cxd6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Qxd6+ Bxd6 19. Rxd6 Be6 20. f4 Ke7 21. Rd4 gxf4 22. Rfxf4 h3 (22... Rac8) 23. g4 Rac8 24. Kf2 Rc5 25. a4 Ra5 26. Bd1 b6 27. Kg3 Rh6 28. Rfe4 Kf8 29. Rd8+ Kg7 30. Ra8 Rc5 31. Rxa7 Bxc4 32. Rae7 Rhc6 33. R7e5 Rxe5 34. Rxe5 Bb3 35. Bxb3 Rxc3+ 36. Kh4 Rxb3 37. Rb5 Ra3 38. Rxb6 Rxa4 39. Kxh3 f5 40. gxf5 Rf4 41. Rb5 Kf6 42. Kg3 Rxf5 43. Rxf5+ Kxf5 44. h4 Kg6 45. h5+ Kxh5 1/2-1/2