[Event "World Chess Championship match 2023"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2023.04.29"] [Round "14"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "GM Elshan Moradiabadi"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E46"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/46lbOGuJ/IZMF2OZ8"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by GM Elshan Moradiabadi } 1. d4 { The last classical game of the match was exciting, but not in the way this author expected. In a game subpar to the general level of this match, the players made many mistakes, and again it is Ian Nepomniachtchi who has all the reasons to kick himself for all the missed opportunities. Anand remains the only player who won his last game of a tied world championship match, in 2010 against Topalov. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 { When I saw this move, I expected a quick draw, as Black has many ways to "destroy" the game. The term is now part of the chess lexicon after Carlsen used it to describe a situation where his opponents would exhaust all the resources in a game to achieve a drawish position. } 5... d5 6. a3 Be7 7. Nf3 c5 (7... b6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 c5 10. Ne5 { Or even 10. Rc1 were the lines that Ding was hoping for, but a fighting game was not part of today's plan for Nepo. } (10. Rc1 Bb7 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Ne5 { would have make Ding very happy. })) 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Qc2 (9. Rc1 Nc6 10. cxd5 (10. Be2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 b6 12. Bb5 Ne7 13. Qe2 Bb7 14. O-O Ng6 15. Rfd1 Qe7 { and the game will peter out soon once Black places his rooks on the c- and d-files. }) 10... exd5 11. Be2 d4 { dries out to a complete 'nada!' }) 9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nbd7 { Now, White cannot hope for any form of long-castle plans, so the question remains how Ding can go for any complications, should he wish to do so. } 11. Rd1 Be7?! (11... b6 12. Ne4 Bb7 13. Nxc5 Nxc5 14. Bc3 Qe7 { This position looks totally fine, so I have a hard time understanding what triggered Nepomniachtchi's retreat to e7. }) 12. Ng5? { Nepo's provocation paid of and Ding heavily overestimated his margin of risk. This could work in my online blitz games, but not in the final of the world championship! It was better to go for } (12. e4! Qc7 { Now this is an only-move, otherwise e4-e5 is a major threat. } 13. Nb5 Qb8 14. Be2 b6! 15. Nc7 Bb7 16. Nxa8 Rc8 17. Bc3 Bxe4 18. Qd2 Qxa8 19. O-O Nd5 { when Black has reasonable compensation, but it is a risk-free game for White to try playing for a win. I wonder why Ding did not choose 12. e4 over almost any other candidate move. }) 12... h6 13. h4? { Continuing with the same 'wrong plan'. } (13. Nge4 b6 14. O-O Bb7 { is only better for Black but not to a very large extent. }) 13... Qc7 14. Be2 Rd8?! { Nepo does not try to test what Ding had in mind and goes for a solid line. It, eventually, almost paid off! } (14... b6! 15. Rc1 (15. Nge4 Bb7 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. O-O Rfd8 { and due to the h4-pawn White is clearly worse. } 18. h5 Nc5 19. f3 Rac8 20. Be1 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Bc6 22. Nc3 Qe5 $17) (15. Bf3 { [#] } 15... Ba6!! 16. Bxa8 Nc5 17. Bc1 Rxa8 18. Nh3 Nfe4!! 19. Nf4 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Bc4 { You need a vey deep understanding of chess to know that this position is actually close to winning for Black. The h1-rook will never join the main action and Black will gradually build a winning position with ... b6-b5 and ... Qc7-c6 followed by an eventual ... e6-e5. }) 15... Qb8! 16. Nge4 (16. Bf3 Ne5! 17. Bxa8 Ba6 18. Be4 Nxe4! $19) 16... Bb7 17. O-O Rc8 18. Qb1 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Bxh4 { And Ding would have kicked himself for choosing the whole plan with 12. Ng5 and 13. h4. }) 15. Rc1! { Ding begins to make a number of accurate defensive moves. } 15... Nf8 16. Nge4 Nxe4 (16... Ne8!? { Trying to make e4 a 'superfluous' square! A theme introduced by Dvoretsky in his 'Positional Play' book commenting on Zukertort-Blackburne, Vienna 1883 (see ch 22). I had a fond memory of this theme from a game against GM Jesse Kraai (see ch 23). Sadly for Nepo, it is not as advantageous here. } 17. Qb3 Qb8 18. Nb5 a5 19. Nd4 e5 20. Nf3 Be6 21. Bc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 b5 23. Qc2 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. O-O Ne6 { and Black is comfortable but not more. }) 17. Nxe4 Qxc2 18. Rxc2 Bd7 { Ok, a quick draw, but... } 19. Bb4? { and Ding panics again. } (19. Rc7 Rab8 20. h5 Rdc8 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Nc3 Bc6 23. f3 { and a draw is the plausible outcome. Although it is clear that Black has easier play after going ... Bc6-e8 and ... f7-f5. How much was Ding blaming himself for pushing his h-pawn hastily during this match?! }) 19... Bxb4+ 20. axb4 Bc6 21. Nc5? { The panic continues. } (21. Bf3 Ng6 22. Nc3 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rac8 24. h5 Ne5 25. Ke2 Nd3 26. b5 Nxb2 27. Ra1 Nc4 28. Ne4 { and despite the struggles White faces ahead, and Black's extra pawn, he should be able to secure a drawn rook ending one way or another. } 28... Nb6 29. Rxc8 Nxc8 30. Rc1 Nb6 31. Ra1) 21... Bxg2 22. Rg1 Bd5? (22... Bc6 23. b5 Bd5 24. e4 b6! $17 25. exd5 bxc5 26. Rxc5 Rxd5 { A pawn up, right?! }) 23. e4 Bc6 24. b5 Be8 25. Nxb7 Rd4 26. Rc4 Rd7 27. Nc5 Rc7 { Nepo tries to play on, not going for a repetition with ... Rd7-d8, allowing White to play Nc5-b7 with repetition. } 28. Rc3 Rac8 (28... Ng6 { would have been more testing. } 29. Na6 Rb7 30. Rg4 Rd8 31. Rc7 Rxc7 32. Nxc7 e5 { and the rook on g4 is awkward. }) 29. b4?! (29. Nb7 Rxc3 30. bxc3 Rxc3 31. Kd2 Rc7 32. Nd6 { This doesn't seem that easy to see, but Caruana mentioned it on the live commentary, so it was not crazy-hard either. The idea is simple: White gives up a pawn but now all of his pieces are more active than their counterparts in Black's camp, and that gives him enough compensation. }) 29... Nd7 30. Rcg3? { Another moment of panic from Ding. } (30. Kd2 Nxc5 31. bxc5 Rxc5 32. Rxc5?! (32. Rgc1! Rxc3 33. Rxc3 Rxc3 34. Kxc3 g5 35. hxg5 hxg5 36. Kd4 Kf8 37. Kc5 Ke7 38. e5 { Again not super hard, but let us say that it is a bit too long of a line. }) 32... Rxc5 33. Rb1 e5 34. b6 axb6 35. Rxb6 Bd7 36. h5 Be6 37. Ra6 Kh7 38. Ra7! { Now, this is a hard position to evaluate. At first, it appears winning for Black, but after } 38... g5 39. hxg6+ Kxg6 40. Ra1! Kg5 41. Rg1+ Kf4 42. Rh1 { we realize White is close to make a draw. }) 30... Nxc5? (30... g6! { I am not sure why neither of the players considered this move during the game. It appears to me that Black will win a pawn after } 31. Kd2 Nxc5 32. bxc5 Rxc5 33. Rb3 Rc2+ 34. Ke3 Ra2! { when Black's rook goes to c5 and his king comes to f6. White is probably just losing the weak h4-pawn. } 35. Bd3 Rc5 36. Rgb1 e5! 37. b6 (37. f3 Bd7 { with ... Bd7-e6 and the king coming to f6. }) 37... axb6 38. Rxb6 Ba4 39. R1b2 Ra3 40. Kd2 Kg7 41. R2b4 Bd7 42. Rb3 Ra1 43. Rb1 Ra2+ 44. R1b2 Rxb2+ 45. Rxb2 Be6 46. Rb1 Ra5 47. Ke3 Kf6 { Now ... Ra5-a3 and ... h6-h5 followed by ... g6-g5 looks winning enough. }) 31. bxc5 Rxc5 32. Rxg7+ Kf8 33. Bd3 Rd8 34. Ke2? { Another blunder! } (34. Rg8+ Ke7 35. Kd2 Bxb5 36. Rxd8 { would have led to the same drawish rook ending we had in the game, but without the 'twist' we are about to see. }) 34... Rc3 35. Rg8+ Ke7 36. R1g3 e5? { This was the last chance for Nepo to win this game. } (36... Rb3 37. Rh8 (37. Bc4 Rb2+ 38. Kf1 Rd4 $19 { and Black begins picking up the pawns left and right }) 37... Rd4! { preparing ... Rb3xd3 and now White is hopeless on all fronts. } 38. e5 (38. Re3 Rbxd3 39. Rxe8+ Kxe8 40. Rxd3 Rxe4+ $19) (38. Rxh6 Rdxd3 $19) (38. Bc2 Rb2 39. Rc3 Rxe4+ $19) 38... Rxh4 $19) 37. Rh8! Rd6 38. b6! { Accurate and thematic. Ding secures a drawn rook ending. } 38... Rxb6 39. Rxe8+ Kxe8 40. Bb5+ Rxb5 41. Rxc3 Kd7 42. Rf3 Ke7 43. Rc3 a5 44. Rc7+ Kf6 45. Rc6+ Kg7 46. Ra6 { We know this from the great Dr. Tarrasch: rooks should always be behind the pawn, either yours or your opponent's! } 46... Rb2+ 47. Kf3 Ra2 48. Kg3 (48. h5 a4 49. Kg3 a3 50. Kf3 Ra1 51. Kg4 { Was a more active way of making a draw. Ding's choice is fine too. }) 48... h5 49. Ra8 Ra1 50. Kg2 a4 51. Ra5 f6 52. Kf3 a3 53. Ra6 Kf7 54. Ke3 { It is funny to see that some strong engines cannot see that this as a draw (some even give -3) without a tablebase. } 54... Ke8 55. Ke2 Ke7 56. Kf3 Ra2 57. Ke3 Ra1 58. Ke2 Kf7 59. Kf3 Ra2 60. Ke3 Ke7 61. Kf3 Kd7 { Nepo tries something. } 62. Rxf6 Rb2 63. Ra6 Rb3+ 64. Kg2 Kc7 65. f4! { You may be all nervous, tired or agitated, but 'class' is acquired through years of practice. Ding knows that he needs some counterplay to keep Black's king at bay. } 65... exf4 66. e5 Kb7 67. Ra4 Kc6 68. Ra6+ Kb5 69. Ra7 Kb6 70. Ra8 Kc5 71. Ra6 Kb5 72. Ra7 Kb6 73. Ra8 Kc6 74. Ra6+ Kd7 75. Kf2 Ke7 76. Kg2 Re3 77. Kf2 { White has a fortress, and it is a simple draw now. } 77... Rg3 78. Kf1 Rc3 79. Kf2 Re3 80. Kg2 Kd7 81. Kf2 Kc7 82. e6 Kd8 83. Ra7 Ke8 84. Kg2 Rxe6 85. Rxa3 Rg6+ 86. Kf2 Rg4 87. Ra5 Rxh4 88. Kf3 Ke7 89. Rf5 Ke6 90. Rxf4 Rxf4+ { Another escape for Ding. He was close to lost in this game and was dead lost in game 12. I would consider the outcome of the classical games a victory for Ding. He was surely not himself throughout, but his tenacity grew as the match proceeded. Nepo is better prepared, but tomorrow is all about nerve and control over emotions. Is Nepo over his 12th game? Let us wait and see! } 1/2-1/2