[Event "FIDE World Chess Championship 2023"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2023.04.16"] [Round "6"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Jennifer Yu"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D02"] [Opening "Queen's Pawn Game: London System"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/46lbOGuJ/VdkuOpHF"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by WGM Jennifer Yu It was tough to guess what would happen heading into the sixth round of the match. Ding has proven that he can quickly come back from a loss, and many people were excited to see whether he would push to equalize the score as the match neared the halfway mark. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 { London enthusiasts must be thrilled! Surprisingly this is the first time that the London has been played in any world championship match, although it isn't unexpected for this to be in Ding's repertoire. } 3... c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. c3 e6 8. Bb5 { Ding diverges from the most popular options. } (8. Qb3 Qc8 9. Nh4 Be4 { . }) 8... Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. O-O O-O { We are only ten moves into the game, and yet there are few games left in the database. Interestingly, the majority of them are blitz games by GM Kamsky, who has been a longtime proponent of the London. The position is calm and playable for both sides, with many different options and plans. Some ideas for White are to centralize the knight on e5 and to push on the queenside to create weaknesses. } 11. Re1 h6 { The two previous moves are commonly seen in these types of pawn structures, with the rook creating support for a knight on e5 and the h-pawn push allowing for a timely bishop retreat. } 12. Ne5 Ne7 { Avoiding a knight exchange. The position might become uncomfortable for Black if the bishop is allowed to capture the c6-knight. Black's dark squares are weak and the d2-knight can relocate to the tempting c5-square via Nd2-b3-c5. It's understandable why Nepo would want to avoid the long-term repercussions of the trade. } 13. a4 { A multifunctional move that defends the bishop from any ... Qd6-b6 ideas while opening up the possibility of pushing the a-pawn up the board to create queenside weaknesses in Black's camp. This idea is crucial to creating a stronghold on c5 for the knight, as it locks in the b7-pawn, which is a weakness White exploits later in the game. } 13... a6 (13... Qb6 { This would be an interesting idea to avoid the creation of weaknesses on the queenside, which Black instead played after White's a-pawn was traded off. By playing it now, Black would momentarily halt White's queenside push and threaten ... a7-a6. } 14. Nb3 a6 15. Bf1 a5 { Stopping White's a4-a5 push. Although Black gives up the b5-square, preventing the loss of space and loss of control over the c5-square that would've occurred once White pushed a4-a5 is worth it. Black also has the option to take his time and maneuver his minor pieces such as with ... Ne7-c8-d6, where it has control over the center as well as ideas to jump onto the c4-square. }) 14. Bf1 Nd7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. a5! { This fixes the queenside and creates the permanent b-pawn target for White to attack. This is a common idea when there's a pawn push like ... a7-a6, as it prevents the b-pawn from moving forward, in turn allowing White to take control of the c5-square since there are no more possibilities of Black pushing ... b7-b6 to kick the knight off of its quasi-outpost. } 16... Qc7 17. Qf3 Rfc8 18. Ra3 { Although this move looks strange, there's several different ideas behind it. One is that White has the option to add extra support to the a5-pawn, such as in the case of a Nd2-b3 maneuver to get to c5, when Black might play ... Ne7-c6 and White can now play, e.g., Qd1-a1 to provide backup for the rook on the a-file. The rook has other useful functions on the third rank as well, which we will see later on in the game with Ra3-b3, adding extra pressure on the b7-pawn. This also opens the possibility of a b2-b4 pawn push. } (18. Rec1 { Another reasonable idea would be to prepare b2-b4 and then maneuver the knight to c5, with a clamp on the queenside. } 18... Bg6 19. b4 Nf5 20. Nb3) 18... Bg6 { A smart "waiting move" that opens up the f5-square for the knight and preemptively responds to any attacks on the bishop such as g2-g4 pushes that now will no longer come with tempo. } 19. Nb3 Nc6 20. Qg3 Qe7 { Although the position is evaluated as only slightly better for White, it's hard for Black to find productive moves here. This move avoids the queen trade, after which White could have maintained his pressure on Black's queenside. However, now Ding has time to improve on his position further. } 21. h4 { No rush! Ding takes the time to grab space on the kingside. } 21... Re8 22. Nc5 e5 { An active move hoping to create some counterplay and chances. } (22... Rac8 23. b4 { White can comfortably push on for the rest of the game. }) (22... Nxa5?? { doesn't work because } 23. Rxa5 b6 { and then } 24. h5! { would illustrate another reason why the h4-pawn push was useful. } 24... Bxh5 (24... bxa5 25. hxg6 { and Black's kingside will fall apart soon. }) (24... Bh7 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Rxd5 exd5 27. Rxe7 Rxe7 28. Qd6 $18) 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Rxd5! exd5? 27. Rxe7 Rxe7 28. Qh4 $18 { The tactics work out in White's favor. }) 23. Rb3 { White forces an exchange of pieces that opens up the center. } (23. b4! { This is a clever move that defends the c5-knight, threatening to capture on e5. After } 23... e4 { White can put pressure on Black's center without allowing chances of counterplay on the queenside like in the White allowed in the game. } (23... Bf5 { then } 24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Raa1 { and Black has too many weaknesses to defend, as White is threatening Nc5xb7 and f2-f4. }) 24. f3 e3 25. Ra2 $16 { The e3-pawn will fall at some point. }) 23... Nxa5 24. Rxe5 Qf6 25. Ra3 Nc4 (25... b6 26. Nd7 Qc6 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Ne5 $16) 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. h5?! (27. Nxb7 { is a good alternative. After } 27... Qb6 28. Nd6 Rxe5 29. Qxe5 Qxb2 30. Nxc4 { White has a solid extra pawn. }) 27... Bc2 (27... Rxe5! 28. dxe5 Qd8! { This is the clever idea behind the trade of rooks, creating counterplay. This move takes advantage of the now-awkward position of the a3-rook that would much rather be on the back rank defending against a possible perpetual check. } 29. Qf3 (29. hxg6 Qd1+ 30. Kh2 Qh5+ 31. Kg1 Qd1+ 32. Kh2 Qh5+ 33. Qh3) 29... Bc2 30. Ra1 (30. Nxb7? Qd2! 31. Ra1 Bd3 { With good chances of holding a draw due to Black's active pieces. }) 30... b6 31. Nb7 Qd3) 28. Nxb7 { The b7-pawn finally goes down. At a quick glance, it looks like Black can get the material back quickly, but some clever tactical ideas work out in White's favor, keeping the advantage. } 28... Qb6 29. Nd6! { A monster square for the knight, attacking the c4-pawn and creating ideas of a kingside attack. } 29... Rxe5 (29... Qxd6?? 30. Rxe8+ $18) 30. Qxe5 Qxb2 31. Ra5 { White's rook is getting back into the game and now he is threatening the deadly Nd6-e8. } (31. Ne8? { right away doesn't work because of } 31... Rxe8! 32. Qxe8+ Kh7 { and there is no way for White to prevent the perpetual check while still defending the rook. } 33. Ra5 Qc1+ 34. Kh2 Qf4+) 31... Kh7 { A useful move to get the king off the back rank and out of some tactical troubles. Ding uses this time to improve his pieces further. } (31... Qxc3?? 32. Ne8! f6 33. Nxf6+! gxf6 34. Qd5+ Kg7 35. Qb7+) 32. Rc5?! (32. Ne8 Rxe8 33. Qxe8 { no longer comes with check } 33... Qc1+ 34. Kh2 Qf4+) (32. Nxf7?? Rf8 33. Nd6 Qb1+ 34. Kh2 Rxf2 { and Black is back in the game. }) (32. Qe1! { Going backwards in this position is the correct idea. Now that Black has multiple weaknesses that can't be simultaneously covered, White has the time to defend his own weaknesses. } 32... Bd3 33. Nxc4! Qb7 (33... Bxc4 34. Qe4+) 34. Ne5 { with a solid advantage. }) 32... Qc1+? { After this, Black loses his opportunities for counterplay. White's superior pieces and Black's weak king will be the deciding factor. Nepomniachtchi did spend nine minutes on this decision, but he still had 36 minutes remaining to Ding's 19 after he played it. } (32... Qxc3! { It won't be easy, but Black has some good ideas that may hold the position. } 33. Nxf7 (33. Rc7 Qd2! 34. Rxf7 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Qg5 { Everything is defended for now, and in the upcoming moves, Black can push his a-pawn to create some counterplay. After a queen trade, there are good chances for Black to hold the endgame. }) 33... Bd3 34. Rc7 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Re8!! { This is the idea! The activated black rook is a game-changer. } 36. Qg3 (36. Qxe8 Qf4+ 37. Kg1 Qc1+) 36... Re1) 33. Kh2 f6 34. Qg3 a5 35. Nxc4 a4 36. Ne3 Bb1 37. Rc7! Rg8 38. Nd5 Kh8 39. Ra7 a3 40. Ne7 Rf8 41. d5 { Preparing a very sneaky idea... } 41... a2 42. Qc7! { Forced mate is incoming! The d5-pawn takes away the escape square on e6 for Black's king in the situation where White sacrifices the queen for the rook. } 42... Kh7 43. Ng6 Rg8 44. Qf7! { Qf7xg8 is coming with a beautiful forced mate. This concludes the first six-game stretch of the world championship match! Thoughts on whether the chaos will continue? } 1-0