Such an entertaining World Chess Championships, which has seen both players attack, win and defend whenever they have to, could be decided by a single point. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who leads Ding Liren 5.5-4.5 after 10 games, is probably banking on it. He has his task cut out: he just can’t afford to lose a game.
Game 10 on Sunday at the St Regis in Astana, Kazakhstan, was a clear indication that Nepo is not going to go on the offensive when playing with Black pieces. More importantly, he’s prepared to not give Ding any chance of getting that equalising win. This means that Ding will have to come up with something truly extraordinary in order to win. With only four games to go, it seems a Herculean task. [Read More]
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It's a draw after 39 moves. Nepo and Ding have a rook and two pawns each on the board. With no options open for either white or black they decide to shake hands. Nepo stays one point ahead with a 6-5 lead over Ding.
A burst of energy on the board as both players take off each other's pieces. Here are the 32 moves from both players:
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
11 Bg5 O-O
12 Bxf6 Bxf6
13 Nd5 g6
14 Qd2 Bg7
15 Ng5 c4
16 Nxe6 fxe6
17 Ne3 Bh6
18 Rad1 Rb8
19 dxc4 Nxc4
20 Bxc4 bxc4
21 Qxd6 Qxd6
22 Rxd6 Bxe3
23 fxe3 Rxf1+
24 Kxf1 Rxb2
25 Rxe6 Rxc2
26 Rxa6 Ra2
27 Rc6 Rxa3
28 Rxc4 Rxe3
29 Kf2 Ra3
30 Rc5 Ra2+
31 Kf3 Ra3+
32 Kg4 Ra2
Over on Chess.com, Tania Sachdev points out: "The b line has opened up. Just looks to me that these traits definitely favour Ding. And whatever chances we were talking about, the dangers in the position of the pawn structure... it looks like Ding will not have too much trouble anymore. Things are definitely in control for black here"
GM Fabiano Caruana adds: "This is heading towards the D word. We are heading towards a draw."
This game seems heading towards a draw.
Both players now have made 25 moves. Here are all the moves:
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
11 Bg5 O-O
12 Bxf6 Bxf6
13 Nd5 g6
14 Qd2 Bg7
15 Ng5 c4
16 Nxe6 fxe6
17 Ne3 Bh6
18 Rad1 Rb8
19 dxc4 Nxc4
20 Bxc4 bxc4
21 Qxd6 Qxd6
22 Rxd6 Bxe3
23 fxe3 Rxf1+
24 Kxf1 Rxb2
25 Rxe6 Rxc2
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
11 Bg5 O-O
12 Bxf6 Bxf6
13 Nd5 g6
14 Qd2 Bg7
15 Ng5 c4
16 Nxe6 fxe6
17 Ne3 Bh6
18 Rad1 Rb8
The Chinese GM played 18...Rb8, which also was the computer's top choice.
"It seems like Nepo is the one who has the main choices here, but it doesn't seem like it's *that* desperate for black at the moment," says Irina Krush.
"All the bad signs for black are already there on the board," says Irina Krush in commentary. GM Daniil Dubov agrees. "It's hard to come up with some good news for black," he adds.
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
11 Bg5 O-O
12 Bxf6 Bxf6
13 Nd5 g6
14 Qd2 Bg7
15 Ng5 c4
No surprise that Dign Liren is down on time once again. He's nearly 25 minutes behind Nepo.
"Yesterday we saw a nearly perfect, one could say even perfect game of chess. But at the moment, Ding doesn't want a perfect game of chess. He wants a mess, he wants some blood. As Tal said, you want to take your opponent into a deep dark forest and that's what Ding needs at the moment," says GM Fabiano Caruana.
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
11 Bg5 O-O
12 Bxf6 Bxf6
13 Nd5 g6
14 Qd2 Bg7
So Nepo is still very comfortable with the way the game is shaping up. 10 moves played so far. The Russian is not staying still in one spot.
Here are all the 10 moves so far:
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
9 Ba2 c5
10 Nc3 Be6
When Nepo played 8.a3, it varied from the 8.c3 that saw the Russian win Game 5 of the match!
It must also be noted that Nepomniachtchi beat Ding Liren from this position in the 2020 Candidates tournament.
As five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand points out, "Nepo sticks to his Ruy Lopez which was also his main line against Magnus (Carlsen)."
In a flash we have the first seven moves of the game. As soon as Nepo makes his eighth move, he retreats to his lounge with Ding contemplating.
Finally Ding moves his knight to a5.
Here are the first eight moves:
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Nf6
5 O-O Be7
6 d3 b5
7 Bb3 d6
8 a3 Na5
Nepo starts with an 1...e4, Ding responds with an 1...e5.
They go 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6..... Most of you surely expected this . It's the Ruy Lopez. It has been the Russian GM's favourite against Ding.
Once again, it's Nepo who is the first to get on the stage and Ding shows up some time later.
The 2023 World Chess Championship has been a rollercoaster ride so far with five out of 10 games yielding results. Nepo won three while Ding won two. One feels that there are still many twists and turns in this contest left.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the World Chess Championship 2023 Game 11 between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. With the last three games ending in draws, Ian Nepomniachtchi comes into Monday's game with a 5.5-4.5 lead over Ding Liren. Stay tuned for all the live updates.