[Event "Superbet Chess Classic Romania"] [Site "Bucharest, Romania"] [Date "2023.05.08"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2789"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D35"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Positional Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/gLTaYxXi/DyakYtQj"] [Orientation "white"] { The highly anticipated rematch delivered on its promise of excitement, if not the promise of another excellent game. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 { Nepomniachtchi opened every game, except for a loss in game four, with 1. e4, so it was exciting to see what preparation Ding had here. He paused for several minutes, likely choosing between a Queen's Gambit and a Nimzo-Indian. Maybe his second Richard Rapport had talked him into preparing something in the Benoni, but probably not. Or maybe Ding really was considering 3. ... c5 here. Probably not. But maybe! } 3... d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 { A relatively popular move, although less common than 6. ... Be7. Black attemps to exploit White's move order and prevent simple development with Bf1-d3 and Qd1-c2. White sometimes plays 6. Qc2 to avoid this. } 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 { Ding seemed willing to take on difficult positions as Black but hold them with relative ease. That seems to be the strategy here. } 10. Nf3 a5 { A rare move, but likely part of Ding's preparation. } (10... Nd7 11. Nh4 Be7 12. g3 (12. Ne2 { is a move Ding himself has tried as White, against another member of his rare club! } 12... f5 13. g3 Bxh4 14. gxh4 Nf6 15. Nf4 Nh5 16. Kd2 Nxf4 17. exf4 { was a funny structure, although there isn't much for either side to play for, and the players drew on move 54 in Ding – Anand, Chess.com, 2020. }) 12... Nb6 13. O-O-O Nc8 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Rxd3 Nd6 16. Kc2 f5 17. Ng2 h5 18. h4 Ne4 19. Rf1 Bd6 20. Ne2 Kd7 21. Nef4 a5 { was the most recent game in this variation, which Andreikin eventually won in Andreikin – Hammer, Chess.com, 2023. }) 11. Nh4 a4 12. a3 Nd7 13. f4 $146 Bc2? { By now, things have gone wrong. As Ding succinctly put it after the game, "today, I forgot the moves." It happens! } 14. Rc1 Bb3 15. Nb1! { Now, Black will have a harder time playing ... c6-c5, and White's knight belongs on d2 anyways. } 15... Ra5 16. Be2!? { By no means a bad move, but Nepo gives Ding a little more time to complicate the position. } (16. Nd2 c5 (16... Ba2 17. Kf2 Nb6 18. Bd3 { and White's pieces just make more sense. }) 17. Nxb3 axb3 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Nf5! { is a wonderful position for White, with the knight totally dominating Black's bishop and effectively freezing Black's entire kingside. }) 16... c5 17. Nf5!? { Again, a fine move, but missing a chance to clarify a solid advantage. } (17. dxc5! Bxc5 (17... Nxc5 18. Nf5 $16) (17... Rxc5 18. Kf2! $16) 18. Nd2! { is a nice tactical point, as the e3-pawn is not actually a target yet. } 18... Ba2 (18... Bxe3?? 19. Rc8+) 19. Ra1 Bb3 20. Nxb3 axb3 21. Rc1! $16) 17... Nb6 18. Nd2!? (18. dxc5! Rxc5 19. Kf2 Nc4 20. Nd4 { is better for White. }) 18... c4 19. Nb1 Na8! { With the knight re-routing to the nice d5-square via c7, Black has managed to consolidate. } 20. Nc3 Nc7 21. Kf2 b5 22. e4 b4 23. axb4 Bxb4 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. exd5 { The last critical moment. Black still lags in development. } 25... Rxd5?! (25... Kd7! { The pawn can wait. } 26. Ne3 (26. Bxc4 Bd2! 27. Bxb3 Bxc1 28. Bxa4+ Rxa4 29. Rxc1 Rb8) 26... Rb8! 27. Nxc4 Rxd5) 26. Bxc4 (26. g4! { Now, Black's passive kingside rook allows White's pieces to dominate. } 26... Bd2 (26... Kd7 27. Bxc4 Bd2? { is too late. } 28. Bxb3 axb3 (28... Bxc1?? 29. Bxa4+ $18) 29. Ra1 $18) 27. Bxc4 Bxc1 28. Bxd5 Bxd5 29. Rxc1 Kd7 30. Rc5 $16) 26... Rxf5 27. Bxb3 O-O 28. Rc4 Rxf4+ 29. Ke3 Bd2+! { A nice tactical resource, simplifying the position by eliminating the opposite colored bishops. Remember, with other pieces on the board, opposite colored bishops often signify more winning chances, as each side is playing "up a piece" on half the squares. } 30. Kxd2 axb3 31. Re1 Rd8 { Now, Ding holds without much difficulty. } 32. Kd3 f5 33. Rb4 h5 34. Re2 h4 35. h3 Kg7 36. Kc3 Re4 37. Kd3 Rxe2 38. Kxe2 Kf6 39. Kf3 Rg8 40. Rb6+ Ke7 41. Kf4 Rxg2 42. Rxb3 Ke6 43. Re3+ Kd5 44. Rf3 Rxb2 45. Kxf5 Kxd4 46. Rf4+ Ke3 47. Re4+ Kf3 48. Rxh4 Kg3 49. Rg4+ Kxh3 50. Rf4 Kg3 51. Rf1 Rf2+ 52. Rxf2 Kxf2 53. Kf6 Kf3 54. Kxf7 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2