[Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"] [Site "Astana, Kazakhstan"] [Date "2023.04.09"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Liren, Ding"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Awonder Liang"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C85"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Closed, Delayed Exchange"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/46lbOGuJ/fxSwtRSO"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by GM Awonder Liang A more action-packed game compared to the rather tame draw that I was expecting. Nepo got in the first surprise with a delayed Exchange Ruy Lopez, and Ding reacted rather poorly, in my opinion. There were definitely a lot of nerves at play in this game, and I think more so on Ding's part, as he made several serious inaccuracies and was under a good amount... } 1. e4 { of pressure on the board and the clock. As for Nepo, he never had an objectively winning advantage, although he could have posed more difficult problems to Ding right before the time control. } 1... e5 { Most pundits suggested 1. e4 as Ian's most likely choice for the first game, and they were correct. Still, it was interesting to see the idea prepared against Ding's Marshall, which has long been his main weapon as Black. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 (4. Bxc6 { To compare with the delayed Exchange Variation, we can see the difference most clearly in the following line: } 4... dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. Re1 (6. d3 Ne7 7. Nc3 Ng6 8. Be3 Bd6 { And Black is very harmonious in this structure, supporting the e5-pawn, preparing against the f2-f4 break, and preparing ... Bc8-e6, and ... Qd8-c7, when castling on either side would be reasonable. }) (6. d4 { is the main move, with approximate equality in the ensuing endgame. }) 6... g5! $15 { and White is already getting quite a bit worse. }) 4... Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6!? { An opening I've tried once or twice as White. Essentially White takes advantage of the fact that the Be7 and Nf6 are (somewhat) misplaced. } 6... dxc6 7. Re1!? { Delaying d2-d3 temporarily, and now there are a wide range of options for Black. I doubt Nepomniatchi will repeat this line, as there are a few clear ways to equality. } (7. d3 Nd7 8. Nbd2 (8. Nc3 { was played in the bullet portion of the SCC, and Ding eventually won this game } 8... O-O 9. Be3 Re8 10. Nd2 Nf8 11. a4 Ng6 { was Grischuk – Ding, Chess.com, 2022. }) 8... f6 9. Nc4 (9. Nh4 g6 10. f4 exf4 11. Rxf4 Ne5) 9... Nc5 10. Nh4 Be6 11. Nf5 Bf8 $15) 7... Nd7 { Ding played this after a good think, probably trying to understand Ian's idea. ... Bc8-g4 was not a realistic attempt if he didn't know the line. } (7... Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 (8... Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd7 10. d3 { and White has a clear advantage with the better pawn structure, as Black has given up the bishop pair. }) 9. g4 Nxg4 (9... Bg6!? 10. Nxe5 Qd4 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Qf3 Nh7 (12... O-O-O 13. Nc3 Rh4 14. Kg2 { is fine for White, although the line continues } 14... Rdh8 15. Ne2 Qc5 16. Ng1 Nxg4!? { and some mess at the end. }) 13. d3 Ng5 14. Bxg5 Bxg5 15. Nc3 Bd2 16. Re2 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Qxc3 { and it's hard to imagine Black suffering too much here, despite the lack of center. White just has a lot of weaknesses. }) 10. hxg4 Bxg4 { and here there are many ideas for White, and I've thrown in a few sample lines to get us started. } 11. d3 (11. d4 exd4 12. Qd3 (12. Bf4!? Bc5 (12... c5 13. Nbd2 Qd7 14. Qe2 O-O-O 15. Ne5 Bxe2 16. Nxd7 Bg4 17. Ne5 Be6) 13. Kg2 g5 14. Bh2 h5 15. Qd3 Qe7 16. Nbd2 $132) 12... c5 13. Nbd2 (13. c3 c4 14. Qe2 d3 15. Qe3 a5 16. Nbd2 Ra6) 13... Qd6 14. c3 Bd7 15. Nf1 $13) 11... f5 12. d4!? { is kind of cute, but not very serious. } (12. exf5 O-O 13. Qe2 Bb4 { is some kind of draw at the end. }) 12... Rf8 (12... exd4 13. Qd3 O-O 14. exf5 (14. Nbd2) 14... Bd6 15. Ne5 Qh4 16. Qb3+ Kh8 17. Qg3 Qxg3+ 18. fxg3 Bxf5 19. c3 { and with three pawns for the piece, Black should be alright. }) 13. Nbd2 f4 14. Nc4 exd4 15. Qd3 { is a big mess though }) (7... Qd6!? { is somehow not losing on the spot to d2-d4 and is also playable. }) 8. d4!? { It is somewhat counter-intuitive to open up the center with bishops on the board, but the position is pretty concrete. } 8... exd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Bf4 { This is basically the idea: White targets the weak black c7-pawn, which will haunt Black for the entire game. } 10... Nc5 11. Qe3 (11. Qxd8 Bxd8 12. Nc3 Ne6 { is not serious for White. }) 11... Bg4?! { Ding's first inaccuracy of this game. The idea — to bring the bishop out before playing Ne6 — is natural, but Black's position is somewhat loose here. } (11... Ne6 12. Bg3 (12. Nc3 Nxf4 13. Qxf4 Qd6 14. e5 Qg6) 12... Bc5! { I like this concrete way of solving the issue by harassing White's queen. } (12... Re8 13. Nc3 Bf8 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Ne5 f6 16. Nd3 { If Black plays passively, it can be somewhat hard to develop, with f2-f4 coming soon. }) (12... b5 { This was Giri's suggestion in commentary, with a very complex position. } 13. Nbd2 (13. Nc3 Bc5 14. Qe2 Qe7) 13... c5 14. Rad1 Qe8 { was Lanin – Khairullin, St Petersburg, 2004, and there are many ideas here for both players. }) 13. Qc3 (13. Qe2 Qf6 14. Nc3 (14. e5 Qg6) 14... Re8 15. Rad1 b5 { and with Bb6 coming to defend c7, White's pressure has dissipated a little bit. }) 13... a5! 14. Nbd2 (14. a3 Bb4 $17) 14... Bb4 15. Qe3 Bc5 16. Qe2 Re8 17. Rad1 Qf6 18. c3 a4 19. a3 b6 { and Black has pretty good counterplay here. }) 12. Nd4 { This was probably also preparation, although it's hard to tell exactly. } (12. Ne5 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. Nc3 f6 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Rad1 $13) 12... Qd7 13. Nc3 { Here Nepo had his first long think, as Black's last move was undoubtedly not part of his preparation. On the other hand, it's not super clear where White's advantage lies. As it happens with these types of lines, Black often makes a small inaccuracy, and White needs to be very accurate to put on the pressure. } (13. h3!? Rad8 (13... Ne6 14. Nxe6 Bxe6 15. Nc3 Bd6 16. Rad1 Bxf4 17. Qxf4 Qe7 18. Nd5 cxd5 19. exd5 Qc5 20. dxe6 fxe6) 14. Nc3 (14. Nb3 Nxb3 15. Qxb3 Be6 16. Qxb7 Rb8 17. Qxa6 Rxb2 { with very good compensation. }) 14... Rfe8! { is very weird but somewhat forced. } (14... Qxd4 15. Nd5! { was mentioned by Giri (and, separately, by Anand) in commentary as a nice trick. }) 15. hxg4 (15. Qg3 Qxd4 16. Bxc7 Rd7 17. hxg4 Bf8 18. Rad1 Qb4 19. Rxd7 Nxd7 20. Rb1 Nf6 { is a pretty unrealistic line, but anyway, Black has enough compensation here. }) 15... Qxd4 16. Qxd4 Rxd4 17. Bxc7 Ne6 18. Be5 Rd2 19. Rac1 Bg5 20. Kf1 h6 $44) 13... Rad8 14. Nf5 Ne6?! { I think this move shows a bit of nerves from Ding's part, as there was a clear path to equality. Of course, everything is easier behind the computer screen, but this was definitely findable for a player of Ding's caliber. } (14... Bxf5 { I can't quite understand what was missed here, as Black goes for the patented and true strategy of "trade everything." } 15. exf5 Rfe8 16. g4 (16. Rad1 Bd6 { is not really working for White. }) (16. f6 Bf8 17. Qg3 g6 18. Bxc7 Qd2! { and Black is fine. }) 16... Bd6 17. Qf3 Bxf4 18. Qxf4 Qd6 { with a draw soon to come. }) 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Bg3 Bh5 { Keeping in line with his previous play, Ding prefers to defend somewhat passively. } (16... f5!? 17. Ne2 fxe4 (17... Qf6 18. f3 f4 19. e5 fxe3 20. exf6 Bf5 21. fxg7 Rfe8 22. Be5 Nxg7 23. f4 $14) 18. Qxe4 Bf5 19. Qc4 Qf7 20. Rad1 c5 $132 { Sometimes such structures can appear in the Berlin endgame, and there can be some pressure. But here Black is kind of okay, in my opinion. }) 17. f3 f6 18. h3 h6 19. Kh2 Bf7 20. Rad1 b6 21. a3 { Both sides play natural improving moves as the position settles down. White has made their king a bit safer, getting out of the way of any checks, and has also prevented ... Qe7-b4 ideas. Black has also created some luft and now seeks to gain a bit of space on the queenside. } 21... a5 22. Ne2 { Just keeping the tension, without making any committal moves. } (22. f4 { Intuitively I feel this is the way to press as White, threatening f4-f5 with a dangerous strategic hold. Black has some randomness to keep the equality as follows: } 22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Bh5 { gaining a tempo while avoiding f5-xe6 in the future. } (23... Rd8 24. f5 Nc5 25. Re1 $16 { with the threat of e4-e5 and a dangerous attack on the queenside. }) 24. Re1 (24. Rd2 Rd8 25. f5 Rxd2 { and in the other line, f5-xe6 with e6-xf7 would have been possible. } 26. Qxd2 Ng5 27. Qf4 b5 28. Qxc7 Qxc7 29. Bxc7 b4 30. axb4) 24... Qd7! 25. f5 Nd4 26. Qf2 Re8 { and Black controls the activity in the center. } 27. e5 fxe5 28. Rxe5 c5 29. f6 Rxe5 30. Bxe5 g5) 22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Rd3 { Very clever! White wants to play Qe3-d2, forcing ... Rd8-xd3 after which White has inroads into Black's queenside. } 24... c5?! { A bit panicky, in my opinion. At the risk of excessively criticizing Ding's play, there was a more natural way to deal with the problem of the c7-pawn: } (24... Kf8! 25. Qd2 (25. Rxd8+ Qxd8 26. f4 c5 27. f5 Nd4 28. Qd3 Qd7 29. Nf4 Ke7 30. c3 Nc6 31. Qa6 Ne5) 25... Ke8 26. Qc3 Rxd3 (26... c5 27. Rd5 Rd7 28. Qd3) 27. Qxd3 Qd7 28. Qa6 Qd2 29. Qc8+ Ke7 30. Nf4 Nd4 31. Qxc7+ Ke8) (24... Rxd3 25. Qxd3 b5 26. Qd2 a4 27. Nc3 Kh7 { Somehow this is also okay, but I would think there is some strategic risk here as Black has no active plan. }) 25. Qd2 c6 (25... Rxd3 26. Qxd3 Be8 { is the computer's preferred method, but it's all a bit unpleasant. }) 26. Rxd8+ Nxd8 27. Qf4 { Now this is Nepo's first serious advantage of the game, and Black needs to be very careful to hold. } 27... b5 (27... Qb7 28. Qc7) 28. Qb8 Kh7 29. Bd6?! { Ian spent a lot of time here, and goes for a typical Ian move, keeping a lot of tension on the board and not simplifying the position. I think he was probably trying to play on Ding's time pressure, but when it really mattered, Ding was completely up to the task. I've spent some time analyzing the position after 29. Bc7, and it's objectively still not winning for White. Thus, we cannot criticize Ian's decision too much, because it's not easy to say which move posed stronger practical problems. As a side note, here I briefly switch into analyzing from a practical perspective into a purely objective perspective, so many lines are just for entertainment only. } (29. Bc7! { See ch 2. }) 29... Qd7 30. Ng3! { Ian's concept: he wants to put Black into a bind and advance on the kingside. } 30... Ne6 31. f4 (31. c3 c4 32. f4 Qd8 33. Qxd8 Nxd8 { and Black should still be able to defend here. }) 31... h5 (31... Nd4 32. c3 Nb3 33. Qf8 Nd2 34. Bxc5 h5 { with good counterplay, although it is understandable that Ding was focused on trading off the queens. }) 32. c3 c4 { Preparing ... Qd7-d8, and somehow White doesn't really have a way to prevent this. } (32... h4 33. Nf1 Bh5 34. Ne3 c4 35. Nf5 Bg6 { with some dynamic equality. }) 33. h4 (33. f5 h4 34. Nf1 Ng5 35. Nd2 Be8 { and Black doesn't seem to have real problems here, although practically it could be difficult still after e.g. } 36. Bf4 Bh5 37. Qc7 Qxc7 38. Bxc7 Bd1 39. Bf4 Nf7 40. Kg1 { where White is advancing strongly in the center. However, the opposite-colored bishops provide black a lot of drawing chances. }) 33... Qd8 34. Qb7 Be8 35. Nf5 Qd7 36. Qb8 Qd8 37. Qxd8 Nxd8 { The worst is over: Ding can breathe a sigh of relief. } 38. Nd4 Nb7 39. e5 Kg8 40. Kg3 Bd7 41. Bc7 Nc5! { Accurately calculated. Basically the game is drawn now, as there is equal material and Black no longer has any weaknesses. } 42. Bxa5 Kf7 43. Bb4 Nd3 44. e6+ Bxe6 45. Nxc6 Bd7 46. Nd4 Nxb2 47. Kf3 Nd3 48. g3 Nc1 49. Ke3 Nb3 { Overall, Nepomniatchi came prepared with a somewhat innocuous but annoying idea. Ding didn't defend in the best way and Ian created some very dangerous pressure. It's hard to draw so many conclusions from the first game, but my impression is that Ding has some nerves to settle - especially not playing 14. ... Bxf5 seems to show a little too much respect for Ian. I think Ian has good reason to be pleased with the outcome of this game, while Ding is also somewhat fortunate to have survived a dangerous time trouble phase. } 1/2-1/2