[Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"] [Site "Astana, Kazakhstan"] [Date "2023.04.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Liren, Ding"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/loepare"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2023.??.??"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. d4 {[%eval 0,0] [%emt 0:00:03]} Nf6 {[%eval 28,0] [%emt 0:00:07]} 2. c4 {[%eval 16,0] [%emt 0:00:03]} e6 {[%eval 23,0] [%emt 0:00:11]} 3. Nf3 {[%eval 0,0] [%emt 0:00:04]} d5 {[%eval 17,0] [%emt 0:00:06]} 4. h3 {[%eval 0,0] [%emt 0:00:04]} dxc4 {[%eval 11,0] [%emt 0:08:47]} 5. e3 {[%eval 15,0] [%emt 0:02:10]} c5 {[%eval 33,0] [%emt 0:02:11]} 6. Bxc4 {[%eval 12,0] [%emt 0:00:33]} a6 {[%eval 12,0] [%emt 0:00:23]} 7. O-O {[%eval 13,0] [%emt 0:00:10]} Nc6 {[%eval 25,0] [%emt 0:11:12]} 8. Nc3 {[%eval 31,0] [%emt 0:03:33]} b5 {[%eval 33,0] [%emt 0:02:10]} 9. Bd3 {[%eval 32,0] [%emt 0:00:37]} Bb7 {[%eval 44,0] [%emt 0:02:04]} 10. a4 {[%eval 38,0] [%emt 0:00:51]} b4 {[%eval 37,0] [%emt 0:10:02]} 11. Ne4 {[%eval 52,0] [%emt 0:00:34]} Na5 {[%eval 32,0] [%emt 0:03:14]} 12. Nxf6+ $6 {[%eval 46,0] [%emt 0:33:22] Inaccuracy. Nxc5 was best.} (12. Nxc5 Bxc5 13. dxc5 Nd7 14. c6 Bxc6 15. Nd4 Nc5 16. Bc2 Bd5 17. Qg4 Qf6 18. Bd2 Rb8) 12... gxf6 {[%eval 23,0] [%emt 0:02:42]} 13. e4 {[%eval 73,0] [%emt 0:03:50]} c4 {[%eval 9,0] [%emt 0:06:26]} 14. Bc2 {[%eval 63,0] [%emt 0:02:04]} Qc7 {[%eval 86,0] [%emt 0:01:06]} 15. Bd2 {[%eval 87,0] [%emt 0:07:11]} Rg8 $6 {[%eval 22,0] [%emt 0:05:47] Inaccuracy. O-O-O was best.} (15... O-O-O) 16. Rc1 $6 {[%eval 96,0] [%emt 0:05:12] Inaccuracy. Qe1 was best.} (16. Qe1 f5) 16... O-O-O {[%eval -96,0] [%emt 0:00:56]} 17. Bd3 {[%eval -53,0] [%emt 0:14:49]} Kb8 {[%eval -37,0] [%emt 0:02:15]} 18. Re1 $6 {[%eval -153,0] [%emt 0:00:24] Inaccuracy. Bxc4 was best.} (18. Bxc4 Nxc4) 18... f5 {[%eval -162,0] [%emt 0:03:25]} 19. Bc2 {[%eval -172,0] [%emt 0:20:40]} Nc6 {[%eval -186,0] [%emt 0:03:22]} 20. Bg5 {[%eval -177,0] [%emt 0:04:46]} Rxg5 {[%eval -162,0] [%emt 0:06:16]} 21. Nxg5 {[%eval -127,0] [%emt 0:00:19]} Nxd4 {[%eval -184,0] [%emt 0:01:29]} 22. Qh5 {[%eval -154,0] [%emt 0:00:59]} f6 {[%eval -5,0] [%emt 0:00:49]} 23. Nf3 $4 {[%eval -363,0] [%emt 0:01:39] Blunder. Nxh7 was best.} (23. Nxh7 Bc5) 23... Nxc2 {[%eval -361,0] [%emt 0:00:36]} 24. Rxc2 {[%eval -356,0] [%emt 0:00:05]} Bxe4 $6 {[%eval -263,0] [%emt 0:00:34] Inaccuracy. b3 was best.} (24... b3) 25. Rd2 {[%eval -375,0] [%emt 0:01:38]} Bd6 {[%eval -381,0] [%emt 0:05:40]} 26. Kh1 $2 {[%eval -591,0] [%emt 0:12:13] Mistake. Nd4 was best.} (26. Nd4 c3) 26... c3 {[%eval -689,0] [%emt 0:01:55]} 27. bxc3 {[%eval -541,0] [%emt 0:00:05]} bxc3 {[%eval -523,0] [%emt 0:00:03]} 28. Rd4 {[%eval -624,0] [%emt 0:00:04]} c2 {[%eval -644,0] [%emt 0:01:08]} 29. Qh6 {[%eval -601,0] [%emt 0:01:12]} e5 {[%eval -793,0] [%emt 0:02:14]} 0-1 [Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,58,19,31,14,-14,3,-15,0,-40,-7,-26,23,18,31,19,18,-2,9,12,15,-5,31,23,28,9,9,-57,2,-30,-28,-6,-33,-7,19,-19,28,-54,-49,-98,18,-82,-71,-71,12,20,0,-114,-116,-162,-174,-284,-317,-404,-420,-400,-396,-410,-410,-473,-469]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. h3 $1 {A very large surprise. Richard Rapport is in Astana, working for Ding and this has his stamp all over it. That said the main point of the move is one of move order and white might end up regretting this.} dxc4 {[#]} 5. e3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qc2 b5 8. e4 Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Be2 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. O-O Rc8 13. Qd1 Qc7 14. a4 b4 15. Nbd2 Nxe5 16. Nb3 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 O-O 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 19. Bg5 h6 20. Rc1 Qa5 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Bd2 Bc6 23. b3 Nc3 24. Bxc3 bxc3 25. Bxc6 Rxc6 26. Qc2 g6 27. Rc1 Qb4 28. g3 a5 29. Kg2 Qc5 30. h4 Qd4 31. Rd1 Qe5 32. Kh2 Rb6 33. Rd3 Rc6 34. Rd8+ Kg7 {Gatineau,Y (2423)-Gago Padreny,I (2289) Chess.com INT 2020 0-1}) 5... c5 6. Bxc4 a6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. a4 b4 11. Ne4 Na5 {This position has already been seen in the game Ding-Aronian by a different move order and without the move h3 but with Re1 instead. This difference seemed to be very important.} 12. Nxf6+ {Although not bad this seems to be the start of a wrong plan.} (12. Nxc5 Bxc5 13. dxc5 {is about equal.}) 12... gxf6 13. e4 {Computers don't like this so much, they think black is a tiny bit better now. But this is an interesting and unbalanced position and I'm not clear quite how seriously we can take their evaluations here between say equality and slight edge to black.} (13. dxc5 {with equality is the computer's choice.}) 13... c4 $1 {The correct response.} 14. Bc2 Qc7 (14... Rg8) 15. Bd2 Rg8 16. Rc1 (16. Qe1) 16... O-O-O 17. Bd3 $2 {Computers really don't like this.} Kb8 18. Re1 $2 {Another bad idea.} (18. Qe1) 18... f5 $1 {And suddenly black is winning.} 19. Bc2 {A very sad retreat.} Nc6 $1 20. Bg5 Rxg5 $1 {Another good move.} 21. Nxg5 Nxd4 22. Qh5 f6 23. Nf3 Nxc2 24. Rxc2 Bxe4 25. Rd2 Bd6 {Already pretty much job done for Nepomniachtchi.} 26. Kh1 c3 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Rd4 c2 29. Qh6 e5 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"] [Site "Astana"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Europe-Echecs"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] [EventType "match"] [EventCountry "KAZ"] [SourceTitle "europe-echecs.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,58,25,14,14,7,-3,0,6,-22,-26,-13,18,18,18,18,9,15,14,31,26,21,38,8,51,11,1,-7,-10,-10,-7,-31,-19,-19,4,-12,63,-70,-53,-70,-68,-70,0,0,0,0,0,-144,-134,-141,-108,-274,-298,-408,-408,-423,-418,-469,-468,-469,-549]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. h3 $5 {Une surprise qui, d'une certaine manière, réfute ce que Daniil Dubov pense des parties classiques : « Le problème c'est qu'aujourd'hui, normalement, la partie commence au 25e coup, parfois au 30e, et puis vous avez deux heures pour jouer 10 coups... » En fait, il faut être deux à vouloir jouer 25 ou 30 coups de théorie, mais il est possible de lui échapper, comme le démontre Ding Liren avec ce 4.h3!?.} dxc4 {Évidemment, de nombreuses transpositions vers des sentiers connus restent possibles, mais dans le cas présent nous avons d'un côté un joueur qui les a étudiées avec précision et un autre qui doit les découvrir.} 5. e3 {Le 4.h3!? est certainement une idée d'un des secondants de Ding Liren, le Hongrois Richard Rapport, connu pour son originalité.} (5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qc2 b5 8. e4 Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Be2 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. O-O Rc8 13. Qd1 Qc7 14. a4 b4 15. Nbd2 Nxe5 {0-1 (52) Gatineau,Y (2423)-Gago Padreny,I (2289) Titled Tuesday INT blitz 2020}) 5... c5 6. Bxc4 a6 7. O-O {Nous obtenons maintenant une sorte de Gambit de la Dame accepté.} Nc6 {Et nous retrouvons quelques parties jouées par email dans la base, mais seulement deux entre des plus de 2400 Elo.} 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. a4 {1h51-1h30. Nous avons une pensée pour les secondants de Ian Nepomniachtchi et leurs innombrables heures passées à préparer cette partie qui n'ont finalement servies à rien.} b4 {Vishy Anand : « Je pense qu'il [Ding Liren] a une préparation profonde, mais elle est large. Il a une idée ici et là, pour savoir quand jouer a4, Ce4 ou b3. Je ne sais pas jusqu'à quel point vont ses analyses, il y a tellement d'alternatives. »} 11. Ne4 Na5 {?Anish Giri pense que le choix de Nepomniachtchi pour 4...dxc4 était fondé sur des principes. « Il est difficile d'imaginer un scénario pire que celui-ci... tout ce qui pouvait mal tourner s'est mal passé ! » Toujours est-il que Ding Liren est arrivé au bout de sa préparation et prend, pour la première fois, du temps de réflexion.} 12. Nxf6+ $6 {Une déception. Après 33 minutes de réflexion le Chinois rate le coup le plus entreprenant.} ({Critique était} 12. Nxc5 $1 Bxc5 13. dxc5) 12... gxf6 $1 {Il n'était pas question de prendre avec la Dame. Selon Vladislav Tkachiev, il est possible que Ding Liren n'ait pas considéré sérieusement la reprise avec le pion, que l'on retrouve pourtant dans la semi-Slave.} 13. e4 $5 {Ding Liren s'engage sur une route dangereuse. Toutefois, Daniel Naroditsky et Anish Giri ont dit tous les deux que 13.e4!? était leur premier réflexe, mais l'ordinateur n'aime pas.} (13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. e4 Qd6 {ne donnait pas d'avantage aux Blancs, mais cela semblait moins pire que le coup joué par Ding Liren.}) 13... c4 $1 14. Bc2 Qc7 {Il peut être intéressant de comparer les évaluations des ordinateurs. Stockfish 15.1 donne des -0.40, alors que Sesse.net se contente de 0.00. Il reste que les Noirs ont une bonne position, surtout que 4.h3!? n'a pas prouvé son utilité.} (14... Qb6 $5) 15. Bd2 Rg8 ({L'alternative, à peu près équivalente, était l'immédiat} 15... O-O-O) 16. Rc1 {L'entraîneur Tom Rendle est inquiet pour Ding : « Je me demande si Ding Liren est vraiment concentré. Nepo, quant à lui, joue rapidement et en confiance depuis qu'il a résolu ses problèmes d'ouverture. »} ({Ici aussi} 16. Qe1 {était possible.}) 16... O-O-O {Susan Polgar : « C'est exactement ce que Nepo peut espérer de mieux avec les Noirs. Je pense qu'il est super dangereux pour Ding de jouer dans la zone de confort de Nepo. Peut-être que Ding essaie de mettre en place la stratégie de Muhammad Ali dans les cordes. »} 17. Bd3 $2 {Une faute ! Ding Liren est K.O. debout !} (17. Qe1 $1 {était, selon les machines, la seule bonne façon de continuer.}) 17... Kb8 $1 {Simple, mais très fort.} 18. Re1 {Anish Giri : « Je pense que je vais m'en tenir à ma prédiction selon laquelle Ding va se faire écraser ici ! »} f5 $1 {La position noire est au bord du gouffre, et comme aux échecs il n'est pas possible de passer son tour, Ding Liren va être obligé de faire un pas en avant. Daniel King : « Ding a l'air désespéré. Son idée défensive de reculer le Fou en f1 a été empêchée et son Roi fait face à la colonne g. »} 19. Bc2 {Ding Liren reconnaît qu'il vient de gaspiller deux tempi avec 17.Fd3 et 18.Te1. Sesse.net donne -2.63 à Nepo. Si d'un côté cette évaluation exige les meilleurs coups blancs, elle prend aussi en compte les meilleures défenses.} Nc6 20. Bg5 {Ian Nepomniachtchi a l'occasion de faire pencher définitivement la balance en sa faveur grâce à la tactique.} Rxg5 $1 {Et le Russe ne laisse pas passer sa chance !} 21. Nxg5 Nxd4 22. Qh5 f6 23. Nf3 Nxc2 24. Rxc2 Bxe4 {Avec deux pions pour la qualité, la paire de Fous et une majorité sur l'aile-Dame, la cause est entendue.} 25. Rd2 Bd6 $1 ({Il était toujours possible de tout gâcher par} 25... Rxd2 $4 26. Nxd2 {[%csl Yc4,Ye6][%CAl Yh5e8] et les Blancs sont très bien !}) 26. Kh1 {Joué avec seulement 2 minutes à la pendule, mais le temps n'a plus d'importance, la position est perdue.} c3 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Rd4 c2 29. Qh6 e5 {Les Blancs abandonnent. Demain, mardi 11 avril, est le premier jour de repos. Rendez-vous mercredi à partir de 11h00 pour voir si Ding Liren est capable de réagir après cette défaite qui doit le plonger encore plus dans la déprime. Une chose est certaine, le Chinois n'est pas [encore] à son meilleur niveau. Quant à Ian Nepomniachtchi, qui vient de remporter sa première partie lors d'un Championnat du Monde, le match ne pouvait pas mieux débuter.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"] [Site "Astana"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "2"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "3700"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1k1r1br1/1bq2p1p/p3p3/n4p2/PppPP3/3B1N1P/1P1B1PP1/2RQR1K1 w - - 0 19"] [PlyCount "10"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.11"] {The position after Black's 18th move. White cannot recapture with} 19. exf5 {because there follows:} Rxd4 $1 {[%c_effect d4;square;d4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] and if White accepts the sacrifice with} 20. Nxd4 {Black has} Rxg2+ 21. Kf1 (21. Kh1 Qh2#) 21... Rxf2+ $3 {[%c_effect f2;square;f2;type;Brilliant;persistent;true]} 22. Kxf2 Qh2+ 23. Ke3 (23. Kf1 Qg2#) 23... Bh6# {0-} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "rafael"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2023.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {[%evp 0,58,38,24,24,4,6,6,6,-12,-14,16,16,14,12,-14,16,18,1,12,6,37,21,-2,50,0,-5,-12,-21,-11,-18,-18,-13,-25,-11,-1,13,-51,-51,-54,-26,-56,-55,-37,0,0,0,-184,-194,-183,-174,-277,-277,-401,-405,-414,-416,-459,-482,-482,-598]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. h3 $4 {Much will be said about this curious and rare choice as early as move four, probably an influence of the creative GM Rapport, one of Ding's seconds. Of course, the idea didn't work in the game, but let's not be too quick to judge its merits. The job of studying openings for those who play White at the highest level is very difficult: you have to come up with ideas that your opponent hasn't studied much with the computer. In chess, as in other sports, it is easier to destroy than to create. For this reason, more and more exotic ideas are sought after. The move has no specific idea, but now we have to think about how the h2-h3 move affects Black's choice for different moves and transpositions, such as 4...c6, 4...Bb4+, 4...Be7, 4... c5 and so on.} (4. Nc3) (4. g3) (4. Bg5) (4. e3) (4. cxd5) 4... dxc4 {Nepomniachtchi decides to take the game to typical Queen's Gambit Accepted positions. The next moves are very natural and I believed that at some point the game would transpose to some position well known by theory, but it didn't.} 5. e3 c5 6. Bxc4 a6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 (9... cxd4 10. exd4 Nb4 {is also possible.}) 10. a4 b4 11. Ne4 Na5 $1 {[%c_effect a5;square;a5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Interestingly, Ding had this position with White against Aronian in a blitz game in 2021, with the difference that the rook was on e1 and the pawn on h2. The move 11...Na5 works much better in the case of the present game, as this version is better for Black. Nepomniachtchi was evasive during the press conference when asked if he was familiar with this blitz game between Ding and Aronian, but my impression is that he was familiar with it and that helped him in making his decision. Black has other options as well:} (11... cxd4 12. exd4 Be7 13. Be3 {followed by 14.Rc1 and White tries to exploit the weaknesses on the queenside, compensating for the isolated pawn.}) (11... Nxe4 12. Bxe4 f5 {it's always risky to advance pawns this way. White can fight for an advantage after} 13. Bxc6+ Bxc6 14. Ne5 Qd5 15. Nxc6 Qxc6 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. b3 O-O 18. Bb2) 12. Nxf6+ $6 {[%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Opening the g-file is a risky decision, as the combination of this file with a bishop on b7 can be very dangerous.} (12. Nxc5 {is the best move. That was Ding's choice in the aforementioned game against Aronian.} Bxc5 13. dxc5 Nd7 {The most natural move, seeking to recover the pawn immediately.} (13... Be4 {is also an interesting option.}) 14. c6 $1 {[%c_effect c6;square;c6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} (14. Bd2 {leads to a position of approximate equality after} Nxc5 15. Bxb4 Nxd3 16. Bxa5 Qxa5 17. Qxd3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 O-O {Black has enough compensation for the pawn.}) 14... Nxc6 15. Qe2 O-O 16. Rd1 Qe7 17. e4 Nde5 {With a normal position, roughly equal and safe for White.}) 12... gxf6 $1 {[%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Perhaps Ding underestimated the strength of this move, which weakens Black's structure for a good reason. This is a difficult move for chess players with a very positional style, but it's a natural one for someone who likes the initiative like Nepomniachtchi.} 13. e4 $6 {[%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] This makes things worse.} (13. dxc5 {is necessary, since in that case, Black's king will have no refuge on the queenside.} Bxc5 14. e4 Rg8 {With a complicated position, with chances for both sides.}) 13... c4 $1 {[%c_effect c4;square;c4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Despite handing over central control to the opponent, Black can now take the king to the queenside and start a threatening attack with all his pieces playing.} 14. Bc2 Qc7 15. Bd2 Rg8 (15... O-O-O {is also good.}) 16. Rc1 O-O-O 17. Bd3 $2 {[%c_effect d3;square;d3;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A bad decision. Ding probably wanted to bring the bishop to f1 and secure the king's defense, but he won't have time for that.} (17. Qe1 {it is better. Play can continue:} f5 18. Kh1 $1 {[%c_effect h1;square;h1;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} Nc6 $1 {[%c_effect c6;square;c6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] and Black's initiative persists, but White has much more resources than in the game.}) 17... Kb8 18. Re1 (18. b3 {loses to} c3) (18. Bxc4 {doesn't work:} Nxc4 19. b3 (19. Qe2 Rc8 20. b3 Nxd2 21. Rxc7 Nxf3+ 22. Qxf3 Rxc7 {with a decisive material advantage for Black.}) 19... Nb2 (19... Nxd2 $6 {[%c_effect d2;square;d2;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] is not clear now:} 20. Rxc7 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Kxc7 22. Qxf6) (19... Bxe4 {is also very good.} 20. Rxc4 Qb7) 20. Rxc7 Nxd1 21. Rxb7+ Kxb7 22. Rxd1 Bd6 {And White doesn't have enough compensation for the exchange.}) 18... f5 $1 {[%c_effect f5;square;f5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] This move received high praise from Ding at the press conference.} 19. Bc2 (19. exf5 {is brutally refuted.} Rxd4 $3 {[%c_effect d4;square;d4;type;Brilliant;persistent;true] and White's position collapses:} 20. Nxd4 Rxg2+ 21. Kf1 Rxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Qh2+ 23. Ke3 (23. Kf1 Qg2#) 23... Bh6#) 19... Nc6 (19... f6 $5 {[%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;Interesting;persistent;true] is also very good and was mentioned by Nepomniachtchi during the interview. The plan is to move the queen to g7. But the knight is Black's worst piece and he decided to bring it into the game.}) 20. Bg5 {There's not much to recommend for White. I suspect that both players knew that the fate of the game was already sealed by this point. There is no proper way to defend the d4-pawn.} (20. exf5 Nxd4 {with a winning attack.}) (20. Be3 f4 {sends the bishop back home.}) (20. d5 exd5 21. exd5 Bc5 $1 {[%c_effect c5;square;c5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] with a winning attack, for example:} 22. dxc6 Qg3) 20... Rxg5 $1 {[%c_effect g5;square;g5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] A player of Nepomniachtchi's class plays this move by intuition.} 21. Nxg5 Nxd4 {For the exchange, Black has a pawn, active pieces, and an attack, while White is totally uncoordinated.} 22. Qh5 f6 {The simplest path to victory.} 23. Nf3 (23. Nxh7 Bc5 24. Nxf6 Qf4 {All the black pieces take part in the attack.} 25. Bb1 Nb3 26. Rc2 Nd2) 23... Nxc2 24. Rxc2 Bxe4 25. Rd2 Bd6 26. Kh1 c3 $1 {[%c_effect c3;square;c3;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Rd4 c2 29. Qh6 e5 {The rook doesn't have a proper square. An excellent game from Nepomniachtchi, who showed to be in great shape. Ding's performance in these first two games is worrying, but now he will have a free day to rest and continue the fight in the third game. 0-} 0-1 [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,-14,-11,0,0,-48,-13,-9,22,19,17,-16,18,-1,10,-6,-15,6,37,26,51,0,-40,-12,-25,-16,-24,-27,-6,-30,0,-20,-20,-55,-39,-52,6,-82,-71,-71,12,20,0,-114,-147,-212,-190,-274,-275,-383,-383,-383,-386,-446,-434,-482,-482]} 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-} 0-1