[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