[Event "2024 FIDE World Championship"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Gukesh D"] [Site "Singapore"] [Round "6"] [Annotator "Sundararajan Kidambi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.01"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2783"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2117997566205963"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] [TimeControl "40/7200:1800+30"] 1. d4 {After playing 1.e4 and 1.Nf3 in his first two white games, Ding finally chooses his favorite opening move.} Nf6 2. Bf4 $5 {Ding uses London system again in the 6th game as in the last World Championship. That was one of his best games, he reminisces on those good memories and tries to strike with the White pieces.} d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 (5. Nbd2 $5 {is another popular idea}) 5... Bd6 6. Bb5+ {Ding chooses an option which creates a strategic imbalance.Exchange of Bishop for a Knight and playing for dark squares suits Ding very well. He did this well in the 6th game of his match against Nepo!} ({There are several possible quieter moves such as} 6. Bg3) (6. Ne5) (6. Nbd2) (6. Bd3) 6... Nc6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Qa4 $5 {Not only to put pressure against the doubled pawns, namely c6 and c5, but also to prevent Black's idea of ?a6.} O-O (9... c4 $6 {runs into} 10. b3 $1) (9... cxd4 {is more interesting.} 10. cxd4 O-O 11. O-O (11. Qa3 Qxa3 12. Nxa3 Rb8 13. b3 a5 {[%csl Ra3] The Knight on a3 is misplaced, it is far away from the key square c5.}) 11... c5 {The World Champion had an experience with this position from the Black side. He played and held none other than Magnus Carlsen last year.} 12. Rc1 c4 (12... cxd4 {should also be fine for Black.}) 13. b3 Bd7 14. Qa5 cxb3 15. axb3 Rfb8 16. Nbd2 Rb5 17. Qc7 Ne8 18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19. Ne5 Be8 20. Nd3 a5 21. f3 Rb7 22. Ra2 Rba7 23. Kf2 a4 24. Rca1 Nc8 25. h4 Kf8 26. g4 axb3 27. Rxa7 Rxa7 28. Rxa7 Nxa7 29. Nxb3 Nb5 30. Nbc5 Ke7 31. Nf4 h6 32. g5 hxg5 33. hxg5 Nc7 34. Nh5 Kf8 35. Nf4 Ke7 36. Nh5 Kf8 37. Nf4 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2859)-Ding,L (2811) Tata Steel-A 85th Wijk aan Zee 2023 (3)}) (9... Nd7 $5) 10. Qa3 (10. Nbd2 {is the other option, tried by the expert of London- Kamsky}) 10... Ne4 (10... a5 $5 {is an interesting option too, to gambit the pawn on c5 and capture the a6-f1 diagonal for the light squared bishop.There is a dynamic balance in the fight for respective colour complexes.}) 11. Nfd2 {The main move.} (11. O-O c4 (11... a5 $5 12. Nfd2 e5 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxc5 Qxc5 15. dxc5 Rd8 16. Na3 Ba6 17. Rfd1 Bd3) 12. Qxd6 Nxd6 13. b3 {0-1 Kamsky,G (2655)-Sevian,S (2698) Aimchess Rapid Div 2 W Chess.com INT 2023 (3.5) with a complex strategic battle}) (11. Nbd2 cxd4 12. Qxd6 Nxd6 13. cxd4 Rb8 $1 14. b3 Ba6 {White has coordination problems!}) 11... e5 $1 {Opening the c8-h3 diagonal as well as the third rank, especially the g6-square for the Queen.} (11... Nxd2 12. Nxd2 e5 $1 13. Qxc5 (13. dxe5 Qg6) (13. O-O Qg6) 13... Qg6 {is another dynamic where the sacrifice of a pawn opens the position for Black.}) 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxc5 Qg6 14. Nd2 $1 {This was clearly White's idea, to gambit the kingside pawns and take the king to the safety on the other wing.} Qxg2 15. O-O-O Qxf2 16. dxe5 {As it happens in most of modern games, you can find games in every possible rare line. This has also been played before in a correspondence game.} Rb8 $1 {Gukesh admitted that he was in preparation till here.} 17. Nc4 {Ding played this move also quickly clearly signalling that he is in his preparation and Gukesh went for a very deep think.} Be6 {A new move. Gukesh took some time to play this.} (17... Qf3 $1 {was played in an email game, when a draw was agreed to after} 18. Rhf1 {Martin-Chronopoulos, email 2022.}) (17... Qg2 $1 {Leko had analysed this in 2019 apparently. The point of both ?g2 and ?f3 is to make the Queen like a magnet towards White's Rooks and keep them constantly under attack.This would prevent the freeing ?d2 manoeuvre apparently.} 18. Rhg1 Qf2 19. Rdf1 Qxh2 {and apparently White has nothing better than a draw!}) 18. Rd2 Qf3 19. Re1 Bxc4 $1 {The most practical decision. Potentially the knight can be stronger than the bishop, especially with regard to control of dark squares.} 20. Qxc4 Qf5 {This is the first moment where Ding started thinking for a long time, so this move was not expected in his preparations.} ({apparently stronger was} 20... Rbd8 $1 {but this looks scary, outwardly} 21. Rd6 $5 (21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. e6 $1 fxe6 23. Qxe6+ Qf7 24. Qxc6 (24. Qxf7+ Kxf7 25. Rf1+ Ke6 26. Rf4 Ke5 27. Rf7 Rd3 28. Rxa7 Rxe3 29. Rxg7 Rd3 $11 {Black could be two pawns down, but he is fine because of the active king. This is similar to a line that will happen later on in the game. But these lines are pretty complex!} (29... Re2 $5 $11 {The active King compensates two pawns, as often seen in Rook endgames.})) 24... Qxa2 25. Qxe4 Qa1+ 26. Qb1 Qa4) 21... Rde8 $5 {Without the rook on d2, Black's queen can attack using the second rank with Qf2.} (21... Qf2 {immediately is also possible:} 22. Qe2 $1 Qxe2 23. Rxe2 Rxd6 24. exd6 f5 {with a complex rook endgame.}) (21... h5 $5 {The position remains but both sides can improve their positions and it seems there is no problem at all for Black.}) 22. Rxc6 (22. Qxc6 $2 {loses to} Qf2) (22. e6 {also leads to equality:} Rxe6 23. Rxe6 fxe6 24. Qxe6+ Kh8) 22... Rxe5 {Compared to the game, Black's pieces are very active and so the counterplay is much better.}) 21. Qxc6 {Ding thought for more than 40 minutes on this move. Kramnik and Nakamura were very critical of this time management.} Qxe5 22. Qd5 {After the exchange of Queens, the contention is that White can push his Queenside passed pawns more easily than Black can do so on the kingside.} Qe7 23. Qd6 $6 {Kramnik was very critical of this move, and perhaps rightly so. He summed up the key to the position quite well. He said whoever controls the d-line in this position is better. He also felt that White should maintain Queens on the board, only Black should try and exchange Queens.} (23. Red1 {Both Kramnik and Hikaru thought White could have played until here without much of a thought.}) 23... Qg5 $5 (23... Qxd6 24. Rxd6 f5 {Kramnik felt that this was even more valid, considering that the rook on d6 is placed worser than on d5.}) 24. Qd5 Qe7 25. Qd6 {Ding thought for a long time and could not find a path to an advantage. So he decided to repeat moves is what I understand. Looking deeper rather than criticizing the great players (in this case the world champion!) I had a feeling that Ding was not too keen on pushing the pawns in front of his own king. But after due preparation that seems to be the only way to make progress in the position. The position is quite non standard and in Kramnik's opinion top players should show their conceptual skill here, rather than only the calculative ones.} Qg5 26. Qd5 {[#]} Qh4 $6 {Initially I was very much amazed at the bravado of youth, which made Gukesh spurn the repetition while being slightly worse or under some pressure at least. My reasoning being White is having a risk free position, by spurning the draw, Black is only risking losing, but not creating the additional chances of winning. But, this reasoning is not entirely true as we shall see later on in the game! Purely objectively speaking this is a slightly inferior square for the Queen compared to g5, and hence gives White an easier game.} 27. Red1 g6 28. Qe5 $5 {The natural move in consequence to Black's last move. However, Ding had a stronger move at his disposal.} (28. c4 $1 {This was the moment to start pushing the pawns in front of the king, ever so slightly while maintaining the centralised position of the queen. The king has the protection of the rooks and is not really in any danger, and ofcourse the d-file is the key as Kramnik had suggested.}) 28... Rbe8 29. Qg3 (29. Qc5 $5 {White Queen can also remain in the centre}) 29... Qh5 $6 {Once again Black could have exchanged queens, but was perhaps worried about the fact that the pawn on g3 might make his passer creation more difficult.} (29... Qxg3 $1 30. hxg3 Re5 $1 {But Black does seem to have counterplay even then for example} 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 f5 33. c4 h5 {and apparently Black is quick enough, but this feels hard to find during the game!}) 30. Qf4 Qa5 31. a3 (31. Kb1 {was Kramnik's suggestion}) 31... Qb5 32. Rd4 Qe2 33. R1d2 Qf3 $1 {Finally after all drama , it is Black who offers exchange of Queens.} 34. Kc2 $6 {The World Champion was heavily criticised for the move, if he wanted to goto an endgame, perhaps c4 or h4 saves a move was the viewpoint of Kramnik and Hikaru.} (34. Qg5 $1 {This move was the strongest apparently. What I found interesting was The Queen on g5 controls Black's Queenside as opposed to h6 square. This was a subtle nuance. Commentators were initially analyzing the possibility of ?h6. Also as Magnus Carlsen suggested, little moves with the Queen are always hard, the queen being such a long range piece, its move to one square ( either on the diagonal or the file) is easy to miss. I remember Euwe also mentioning this in his writings.}) (34. Qh6 Qf1+ 35. Kc2 a5 $1 {[%CAl Ye8b8] This would not be possible with the White Queen on g5!}) (34. Qg3 {might make better sense to not to give a passer for Black, but Ding was perhaps worried about} h5 {but things are hardly clear}) 34... Qxf4 $1 35. exf4 f5 {Now Black has a powerful protected passed pawn and is back in the game.} 36. h4 {White wants to prevent Blacks g5 possibilty which will lead to a set of connected passed pawns well supported by the Rooks!} e3 $5 (36... Kg7 $1 {was the move that all were expecting. Magnus made a very startling comment that if Gukesh had played this move he would have most likely won the game!! Given the way the game has turned, this was perhaps a definite possibility, so to think.} 37. Rd7+ Kh6 {the king is ready to start attacking. The game can continue:} 38. Rg2 $5 {The game remains complex and it seems that only White has to be careful.} (38. Rxa7 $2 e3 $1 {Gukesh admitted to missing this move in the press conference and the position can potentially become very dangerous for White. But both players were in time trouble at this point, and perhaps this makes it harder for White, comparatively.} (38... Kh5 39. Rg2 $1 h6 40. Rh7 {was what Gukesh had calculated and thought was better for White.}) 39. Re2 Re4 $1 {Black King is going to get active and that might make all the difference perhaps.})) 37. Re2 Re7 38. Kd3 Rfe8 39. h5 (39. c4 {is slow} Kg7 40. b4 $2 Kh6 41. c5 Kh5 $17 {The active King is extremely dangerous in such endgames.}) 39... gxh5 (39... Kg7 {felt natural to Kramnik.} 40. c4 Kh6 41. hxg6 hxg6 42. Rh2+ $11) 40. Rd5 h4 $1 41. Rxf5 Rd7+ 42. Kc2 Kg7 43. Rg2+ (43. Rh5 {Black's idea is to activate the king after} Kg6 44. Rxh4 Kf5 {which makes a powerful impression.}) (43. Re5 $2 Rxe5 44. fxe5 Rd2+ $1 {is Blacks idea}) 43... Kh8 44. Re2 Kg7 45. Rg2+ Kh8 46. Re2 Kg7 {A very tense fight which finally ended in a repetition after Black spurned one right after the opening. While objectively it may not have been the best decision, Gukesh mentioned that he knew he was slightly worse, but he would always get counterplay as White needed push the passed pawns in front of his king at some point. Initially I felt that the risk taken by Gukesh could not be rewarded with a victory, so it was not worth it, but as it so happened, he did indeed drum up some chances to even win the game! This means that the full psychological battle is on. While am no fan of losing objectivity especially at such a high level, it remains to be seen, if Ding would err on the side of caution or Gukesh would err on the side of optimism, in the games to come! The match is reaching a more climactic stage with everything to look forward to. Let us welcome and stay tuned to watch a battle of characters as Korchnoi would have called!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World-ch Nepomniachtchi-Ding"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "Astana"] [Round "6"] [Annotator "Giri,Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2023.04.16"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [PlyCount "87"] [GameId "464447543930"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "KAZ"] [SourceTitle "CBM 214"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2023.06.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.06.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,87,16,28,29,23,23,16,67,45,71,11,11,56,23,24,23,1,-6,-6,-13,-11,-7,-2,22,9,-3,5,12,-4,-4,-7,7,-15,-15,-12,-9,-26,-7,-18,3,5,15,-6,6,-3,-4,-4,66,59,64,56,87,87,87,36,58,122,88,88,88,88,97,58,97,51,130,73,93,133,133,121,121,116,115,104,105,138,142,142,142,142,69,122,233,786,563,1157,1158,1362]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 {A London System! The first of its kind in the entire history of the World Championships. Ein Londoner System! Das erste seiner Art in der gesamten Geschichte der Weltmeisterschaften.} c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 {Voluntarily going for a Carlsbad structure, in hindsight was perhaps not the most practical of choices, given that Ding has more experience in those. Sich freiwillig für eine Karlsbader Struktur zu entscheiden, war im Nachhinein vielleicht nicht die praktischste Entscheidung, da Ding mehr Erfahrung mit solchen Strukturen hat.} 6. exd4 Bf5 {Probably the prep of Team Nepo was mainly revolving around the complications after 7.Bb5 Qb6 8.c4 here, but Ding chooses a very innocuous system. Wahrscheinlich drehte sich die Vorbereitung von Team Nepo hauptsächlich um die Komplikationen nach 7.Lb5 Db6 8.c4, aber Ding wählt ein sehr harmloses System.} 7. c3 (7. Bb5 Qb6 8. c4) 7... e6 8. Bb5 {The bishop is a little more actively placed here than on e2. Der Läufer ist hier etwas aktiver platziert als auf e2.} Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 {There are many games of Gata Kamsky here, a famous legend, who likes the slow positional grinds as well. Black has plenty of options, but shouldn't play this position too carelessly. Es gibt hier viele Partien von Gata Kamsky, einer berühmten Legende, die auch die langsamen positionellen Knetereien mag. Schwarz hat viele Möglichkeiten, sollte diese Stellung aber nicht zu sorglos spielen.} h6 $6 {To call this an inaccuracy would be too strong a statement, but Dies als Ungenauigkeit zu bezeichnen, wäre eine zu starke Aussage, aber} (11... Qc7 $5 {would have been more cunning, anticipating 12.Ne5 after which Black can capture the knight, without losing a piece. wäre geschickter gewesen, da es 12.Se5 vorwegnimmt, wonach Schwarz den Springer schlagen kann, ohne eine Figur zu verlieren.}) 12. Ne5 $1 {This is somewhat unpleasant now, as Bxc6 bxc6 b4 starts looking like a positional threat. Das ist jetzt etwas unangenehm, da Lxc6 bxc6 b4 langsam wie eine positionelle Drohung aussieht.} Ne7 {I liked this retreat, not allowing White to change the pawn structure. That said, having the knight sitting firmly on e5 is an achievement for White. Ich mochte diesen Rückzug, der es Weiß nicht erlaubt, die Bauernstruktur zu verändern. Abgesehen davon ist es ein Erfolg für Weiß, dass der Springer fest auf e5 steht.} 13. a4 {Gaining space on the queenside is a good idea. Es ist eine gute Idee, auf dem Damenflügel Platz zu gewinnen.} a6 $6 {This move, especially in connection with the next one is a big positional mistake. Black has to take good care of the squares on the queenside. Dieser Zug, besonders in Verbindung mit dem nächsten, ist ein großer positioneller Fehler. Schwarz muss sich gut um die Felder am Damenflügel kümmern.} 14. Bf1 Nd7 $2 {Having played a6, Black's only chance of fixing the queenside pawn structure in a decent way was to go Nachdem Schwarz a6 gespielt hatte, war die einzige Chance, die Bauernstruktur am Damenflügel auf anständige Weise zu reparieren,} (14... a5 $1 {here. The weakness of b5 square is far less relevant than the nightmare that happens in the game. hier. Die Schwäche des Feldes b5 ist weit weniger relevant als der Albtraum, der in der Partie passiert.}) 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. a5 $1 {Of course. Now with Nb3-Nc5 being imminent, Black is strategically busted. The issues is that the knight can't be moved from c5, from which it targets both the b7 pawn and also some important central squares- e6 and e4. Ja, natürlich. Jetzt, wo Sb3-Nc5 unmittelbar bevorsteht, ist Schwarz strategisch am Ende. Das Problem ist, dass der Springer nicht von c5 vertrieben werden kann, von wo aus er sowohl auf den b7-Bauern als auch auf einige wichtige zentrale Felder - e6 und e4 - zielt.} Qc7 {Aiming to at least stop Nb3-Nc5 with Nc6, but White is in no rush. Ziel ist es, zumindest Sb3-Sc5 mit Sc6 zu verhindern, aber Weiß hat es nicht eilig.} 17. Qf3 $1 {The queen is heading to g3. Die Dame ist auf dem Weg nach g3.} Rfc8 18. Ra3 $5 {An interesting waiting move. Ding is trying to get a better version of the Qg3 endgame, waiting for Black to waste a tempo on the bishop retreat, while getting a free move on the queenside, intending Rea1-Rb3 potentially. Ein interessanter Wartezug. Ding versucht, eine bessere Version des Dg3-Endspiels zu erreichen, indem er darauf wartet, dass Schwarz ein Tempo für den Rückzug des Läufers verliert, während er am Damenflügel einen freien Zug erhält, wobei er möglicherweise Tea1-Tb3 beabsichtigt.} Bg6 19. Nb3 Nc6 20. Qg3 {The endgame is now particularly appealing, with Nc5 followed by Ra1-Rb3 on the cards. Das Endspiel ist jetzt besonders reizvoll, mit Sc5 nebst Ta1-Tb3 in der Trommel.} Qe7 {Keeping the queens is not a good idea, but the endgame was very depressing. Die Damen zu behalten ist keine gute Idee, aber das Endspiel war sehr deprimierend.} 21. h4 {A clever, useful move. Ein kluger und nützlicher Zug.} Re8 22. Nc5 {Now 22...Nxa5 tactic doesn't work- 23.Rxa5 b6 24.h5! Bxh5 25.Nxe6! fxe6 26.Rxd5 with a large advantage. Jetzt funktioniert die Taktik 22...Sxa5 nicht - 23.Txa5 b6 24.h5! Lxh5 25.Sxe6! fxe6 26.Txd5 mit großem Vorteil.} e5 {Interestingly this push is barely an achievement for Black. Ding could have just ignored it. Interessanterweise ist dieser Vorstoß kaum ein Erfolg für Schwarz. Ding hätte ihn einfach ignorieren können.} (22... Nxa5 23. Rxa5 b6 24. h5 $1 Bxh5 25. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 26. Rxd5 $18) 23. Rb3 $6 {Ding goes for a tempting forced sequence, but stronger was the simple 23.b4! ignoring Black's play in the center. Ding wählt eine verlockende forcierte Sequenz, aber stärker war das einfache 23.b4!, das Schwarz' Spiel im Zentrum ignoriert.} (23. b4 $1 e4 24. f3 {Intending to bring the a3 rook into action with Ra2-Rf2. Black is in a very tough spot here, main issue being the knight on c6, which can't actually join the game, now that all squares it attacks are irrelevant, with b4-c3-d4 structure being granite. Mit der Absicht, den Turm auf a3 mit Ta2-Tf2 in Aktion zu bringen. Schwarz befindet sich hier in einer sehr schwierigen Lage. Das Hauptproblem ist der Springer auf c6, der nicht wirklich am Spiel teilnehmen kann, da alle Felder, die er angreift, irrelevant sind und die Struktur b4-c3-d4 Granit ist.}) 23... Nxa5 24. Rxe5 Qf6 25. Ra3 {All semi-forced. Alles halb erzwungen.} Nc4 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. h5 $6 {Tempting to include this move, but it actually allows Black a remarkable chance to escape. Es ist verlockend, diesen Zug einzuschalten, aber er bietet Schwarz eine bemerkenswerte Chance, zu entkommen.} Bc2 $2 {Nepo not grabbing his chance this time. Nepo ergreift seine Chance diesmal nicht.} (27... Rxe5 $1 28. dxe5 Qd8 $1 {Qd1-Qh5 idea is key. Dd1-Dh5-Idee ist der Schlüssel.} 29. Qf3 {and here Black has to find the second resource. und hier muss Schwarz die zweite Ressource finden.} Qd2 $1 {Intending Qe1-xe5-xc5, saving the day. Beabsichtigt De1-xe5-xc5 und rettet den Tag.}) 28. Nxb7 Qb6 29. Nd6 Rxe5 30. Qxe5 $1 {Idea of Ne8 are now in the air. Die Idee Se8 liegt nun in der Luft.} Qxb2 31. Ra5 $1 {Precise calculation by Ding. 31...Qxc3 now loses to 32.Ne8! when Black doesn't have a good reply to the simple threat of Qxg7. Präzise Berechnung von Ding. 31...Dxc3 verliert nun gegen 32.Se8!, wonach Schwarz keine gute Antwort auf die einfache Drohung mit Qxg7 hat.} Kh7 {A good practical defense. Eine gute praktische Verteidigung.} (31... Qxc3 32. Ne8 $1 {[%CAl Ge5g7]}) 32. Rc5 $6 ({I think the greedy Ich denke, das gierige} 32. Qe1 $1 {is almost impossible to play, but it was winning. ist fast unmöglich zu spielen, aber es war gewinnbringend.}) 32... Qc1+ $2 {This doesn't quite do it. Das reicht nicht ganz aus.} (32... Qxc3 $1 {Was the correct way to defend. Das war die richtige Art der Verteidigung.} 33. Nxf7 Bd3 $1 {Preparing a beautiful drawing idea. Bereitet eine schöne Remisidee vor.} 34. Rc7 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Re8 $1 {And if White takes the rook it's a perpetual with Qf4-Qc1, a familiar motive, but the preface with 32....Qxc3! and 33...Bd3! was the hard part. Und wenn Weiß den Turm nimmt, ist es ein Dauerschach mit Df4-Dc1, ein bekanntes Motiv, aber das Vorspiel mit 32....Dxc3! und 33...Ld3! war der schwierige Teil.}) 33. Kh2 f6 34. Qg3 a5 {It is very tempting to try and get counterplay thanks to the passed a-pawn, making sense of the rook on a8, but it just comes too slow. Es ist sehr verlockend zu versuchen, dank des Freibauern auf dem a-Bauern Gegenspiel zu bekommen, um den Turm auf a8 zu nutzen, aber es geht einfach zu langsam.} 35. Nxc4 a4 36. Ne3 $1 {White can take the time and regroup, only to unleash the second wave of attack. Weiß kann die Zeit nutzen und sich neu formieren, um dann die zweite Angriffswelle zu entfesseln.} Bb1 37. Rc7 {White's moves play themselves at this point. An diesem Punkt spielen sich die Züge von Weiß von selbst.} Rg8 38. Nd5 Kh8 39. Ra7 a3 40. Ne7 {So far all White's move are natural, but the clincher is yet to be found. Bis jetzt sind alle Züge von Weiß natürlich, aber der entscheidende ist noch nicht gefunden.} Rf8 {There are multiple ways to win here, the slow 41.Ng6+ Bxg6 42.hxg6 should do it, as does 41.Nd5 back Rg8 42.Qf4. The most clinical is 41.Rb7!? intending Rb8 next which is unstoppable. Instead, Ding has found the most brilliant of the available checkmates. Es gibt mehrere Möglichkeiten, hier zu gewinnen, das langsame 41.Sg6+ Lxg6 42.hxg6 sollte ausreichen, ebenso wie 41.Sd5 zurück Tg8 42.Df4. Das klinischste ist 41.Tb7!? mit der Absicht, Tb8 als nächstes zu spielen, was unaufhaltsam ist. Stattdessen hat Ding das brillanteste der verfügbaren Schachmattvarianten gefunden.} 41. d5 $3 {Closing one of the most elegant mating nets you will ever see. Schließt eines der elegantesten Mattnetze, die Sie je gesehen haben.} (41. Ng6+ Bxg6 42. hxg6) (41. Nd5 Rg8 42. Qf4) (41. Rb7 $5) 41... a2 42. Qc7 Kh7 {This is the defense. Dies ist die Verteidigung.} 43. Ng6 Rg8 {And here comes the point behind 41.d5. Und hier kommt die Pointe hinter 41.d5.} 44. Qf7 $1 {And it transpires that the threat of Qxg8 is unstoppable. After Kxg8 Ra8+ Kf7 Rf8# the pawn on d5 is vital. What a finale! Und es zeigt sich, dass die Drohung Dxg8+ nicht zu parieren ist. Nach Kxg8 Ta8+ Kf7 Tf8# ist der Bauer auf d5 entscheidend. Was für ein Finale!} (44. Qf7 $1 Qg5 45. Qxg8+ Kxg8 46. Ra8+ Kf7 47. Rf8#) 1-0