[Event "CHN-chT"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/egAthq7H/GuMyHJ6E"] [Date "2017.11.04"] [Round "18.1"] [White "Bai, Jinshi"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2585"] [WhiteTeam "Hangzhou"] [BlackElo "2759"] [BlackTeam "Zhejiang"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E21"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/rizenchik"] [StudyName "Best Games of Ding and Gukesh"] [ChapterName "Bai Jinshi vs Ding Liren"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/egAthq7H/GuMyHJ6E"] [Orientation "black"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 { Not a great move! Taking the queen out early is generally not recommended as it can leave it vulnerable. As we will soon see, White's queen is about to come under attack. } (7. exd4 { Is the main line }) 7... Nc6 8. Qd3 h6 9. Bh4 d5 { The game is out of the theory already, which is good for Ding. } 10. Rd1 g5 { A bold move! } (10... Be7!? { Was an alternative, more solid approach. If Ding were playing against a top player, he might have chosen this move. } 11. cxd5 (11. a3 dxc4 12. Qxc4 Qb6) 11... Nb4 12. Qc4 Nfxd5) 11. Bg3 Ne4! { Now Black starts applying pressure with the pin along the a5-e1 diagonal. } 12. Nd2 Nc5 13. Qc2 (13. Qb1 d4 14. exd4 Qxd4 15. Be2 Qg7 $13) 13... d4 14. Nf3 e5!! { An excellent move that opens up the bishop on c8 while also securing the pawn on d4. } 15. Nxe5 dxc3!! { Here comes the beautiful queen sacrifice... } 16. Rxd8 cxb2+ 17. Ke2?? (17. Rd2! Rd8 18. Bd3 Nxe5 19. Bh7+ Kf8 20. Bxe5 Rxd2 21. Qxd2 Bxd2+ 22. Kxd2 Be6 23. Bxb2 Bxc4 { White has a slight advantage due to the bishop pair, but in general, the position is very close to a draw. }) 17... Rxd8 18. Qxb2 Na4 19. Qc2 (19. Nxc6 Nxb2 20. Nxd8 Ba5 $19) 19... Nc3+ 20. Kf3 Rd4!! { Threatening a checkmate with g4. } 21. h3 (21. exd4 Nxd4+ $19) 21... h5 22. Bh2 g4+ 23. Kg3 Rd2!! { Just enjoy the beauty of it. } 24. Qb3 (24. Qxd2 Ne4+ $19) 24... Ne4+ 25. Kh4 Be7+ 26. Kxh5 Kg7!! { Simply planning to play Bf5 and Rh8 mate. } 27. Bf4 Bf5 28. Bh6+ Kh7 29. Qxb7 Rxf2 { And a checkmate from g3 is upcoming. } 30. Bg5 Rh8 31. Nxf7 Bg6+ 32. Kxg4 Ne5+ { 0-1 Black wins. } 33. Nxe5 { Just to show you the full checkmating sequence. } 33... Bf5+ 34. Kh5 Kg7+ 35. Bh6+ Rxh6# 0-1