[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/dTck5m1O"] [Date "2022.06.17"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackElo "2766"] [BlackTeam "FID"] [Annotator "Aagaard"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A20"] [Opening "English Opening: King's English Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/dTck5m1O"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,42,19,-23,-12,-51,13,6,-4,5,-13,-5,-4,8,4,-4,13,15,29,24,58,6,1,-29, 22,11,47,39,23,-10,-1,0,0,1,-3,-13,-11,-16,-11,-7,23,54,77,26,-8] Ding played incredibly passive chess and was deservedly mated. } 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne3!? { A rare move. } (10. d4 exd3 11. Qxd3 { is the main line. }) 10... O-O { A novelty. More rushed than preparation, one would think. Nepomniachtchi has a tendency to play a bit fast. } (10... h5 11. d4 exd3 12. exd3 Qd4 { with unclear play was played in the last Candidates tournament two years ago. Giri - Grischuk, Ekaterinburg 2020. }) (10... Nc5? 11. b4 Ne6 12. Bb2 O-O { Harsha - Barp, Internet 2020. } 13. Rb1! Nd4 { White can now choose between two promising lines. } 14. Nxe4! (14. Nc2!? Nxc2 15. Qxc2 Bf5 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. d3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 $14 { with two bishops and a strong initiative. }) 14... Nxe4 15. f4 Qh5 16. Bxd4 Rd8 17. Nc2 { Black does not seem to have quite enough for the pawn. }) 11. a3 Re8 12. b4 Ng4?! { Sharp, with attitude. } 13. Bb2 { But Ding should have taken the bait. Certainly, after } (13. Bxe4! Nc7 14. Bg2 Qh5 $14 { Black will get some initiative for the pawn. But White is also a pawn up! }) 13... Qh5 14. h4?! (14. Nxg4! Bxg4 15. Bxe4 Nc7 16. Bg2 $14 { was still possible. }) 14... Bf6 (14... f5!? $13) 15. Qc2 Nxe3 16. dxe3 Bf5 17. Na4?! { White's play could be justified by } (17. b5! Nc5 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Rab1 $14) (17. Rfd1 Nc7 18. b5!? { . }) 17... Bxb2 18. Nxb2? { The knight now goes on a journey to a5, where it achieves nothing. White's play makes a lot of sense after } (18. Qxb2 Nc7 19. Rac1 Nd5 20. Rfd1 $14 { , when Black cannot play } 20... Re6? { on account of } 21. Nc5 { with immediate consequences. }) 18... Nc7 19. Nc4 Re6! 20. Rfd1 Nd5 { White has played incredibly slowly. He now had to play energetically here to keep his position acceptable. } 21. Rd4? { After the correct } (21. b5! { now } 21... g5 { can be met with active play: } (21... h6! 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Rd4 g5 24. Bxe4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 Qg6 26. Nd2 gxh4 $15 { . But realistically these white moves are hard to play for humans. }) 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. hxg5 Qxg5 24. Na5! h5 25. Nxc6 Nxe3 26. Qc1! Rc8 27. Rd8+! Rxd8 28. Nxd8 Rd6 29. Nxf7 Kxf7 30. Qxe3 Qxe3 31. fxe3 Rd2 { with a draw soon enough. }) 21... h6? { Nepomniachtchi was not quite ready for } (21... g5! { , although here it really works. The key point is that White is too slow with counterplay in the center. } 22. hxg5 Qxg5 23. Rad1 Qh5 $17 { with lots of attacking ideas. }) 22. Qd2? { I was discussing this position with Topalov and "we" came to the conclusion that it made more sense to bring in the second rook. } (22. Rad1! { , with the intention } 22... g5 23. Rxd5! cxd5 24. Rxd5 { with counterplay. Either 24...gxh4 25.Nd6 or } 24... Qg6 25. Ne5 Qg7 26. Nd7 $44 { . A key point is that after } 26... Qg6? { , White wins with } 27. h5! { . }) 22... Rae8 23. Kh2?! Bg4! 24. Na5? { White is already in trouble. } (24. Qc2! { was best, but the position remains bad. } 24... f5 25. b5 Bxe2 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Bh3!? Bg4 28. Bxg4 Qxg4 29. Qd1 Qg6 $17) 24... Rf6!? { It is hard to understand why Black did not go for } (24... g5! 25. Rh1 gxh4 26. Kg1 h3 { , which looks entirely crushing. }) 25. Kg1 g5 26. Nxb7? { White's last chance came with active play: } (26. b5 gxh4 27. bxc6 hxg3 28. fxg3 Qe5 29. Nc4 Qxg3 30. Qe1 $17 { and the game will be hard to win for Black. }) 26... gxh4 27. Nc5 h3 28. Rxe4 (28. Nxe4 hxg2 $19) 28... hxg2! { A nice combination. But } (28... Rxe4 29. Nxe4 hxg2 { also won. }) 29. Rxe8+ Kg7 30. f4 Qh1+ 31. Kf2 Qxa1 32. Kxg2 Bh3+! { A nice touch. } 0-1