World Chess Championship: Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren battle has intensified after 7th game made the scores 4-3. World Chess Championships 2023 Game 8 Highlights, (Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren): In Game 8 of the World Chess Championship, China’s Ding Liren looked like winning for a while with white pieces. But then he failed to drive home the advantage, and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi forced a draw. Nepo stays in the lead 4.5-3.5 in a championship battle which has seen an exciting seesaw of fortunes. Scroll down below to know how the game progressed.
Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express. You can read his insightful analysis for Game 7 here. You can also read his columns for Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4, Game 5 and Game 6
The first player to 7.5 points will be the new world champion. Ding would look to to win, or at least draw, the next match.
Scroll for Highlights from World Chess Championship, Game 8 👇
Vladimir Kramnik, the last man from Russia to become the World Chess Champion, plays in an exhibition event in Astana. (FIDE/Anna Shtourman)
"In the Nepo vs Ding battle, we’re witnessing the most spirited World Chess Championships since early 19th century," writes Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay in his column analysing Game 8, which ended in a draw.
Read his Game 8 column here.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
19 Qd3 Kg7
20 g4 Bb7
21 Rh3 Nh4
22 g5 Bxe4
23 Qxe4 Nf5
24 Rd2 Rh8
25 Rxh8 Qxh8
26 d7 Rd8
27 Qxe5+ Kh7
28 Qh2+ Kg7
29 Qe5+ Kh7
30 Qh2+ Kg7
31 Qc7 Qh4
32 Kd1 Qxg5
33 Kc2 Qe7
34 Bg2 e5
35 Be4 Nh6
36 Qxa7 Ng4
37 Bf3 Nxf2
38 Rxf2 e4
39 Re2 f5
40 Qxb6 Rxd7
41 Qb8 Qd6
42 Qxd6 Rxd6
43 Bxe4 fxe4
44 Rxe4 Kf6
45 Re8
"Ding deserved more for his courage but Nepo defended brilliantly when he needed to. Nerves are a very big factor. This match is for the ages," tweets Anand.
After Ding Liren's 45th move, the players shake hands. Game 8 has ended in a draw. A game many feel that Ding should have won.
This is rare! A drawn game in the 2023 World Chess Championship. After 45 moves, both players decide to call it even, and will split a point!
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
19 Qd3 Kg7
20 g4 Bb7
21 Rh3 Nh4
22 g5 Bxe4
23 Qxe4 Nf5
24 Rd2 Rh8
25 Rxh8 Qxh8
26 d7 Rd8
27 Qxe5+ Kh7
28 Qh2+ Kg7
29 Qe5+ Kh7
30 Qh2+ Kg7
31 Qc7 Qh4
32 Kd1 Qxg5
33 Kc2 Qe7
34 Bg2 e5
35 Be4 Nh6
36 Qxa7 Ng4
37 Bf3 Nxf2
38 Rxf2 e4
39 Re2 f5
40 Qxb6 Rxd7
41 Qb8 Qd6
42 Qxd6 Rxd6
43 Bxe4 fxe4
44 Rxe4 Kf6
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
19 Qd3 Kg7
20 g4 Bb7
21 Rh3 Nh4
22 g5 Bxe4
23 Qxe4 Nf5
24 Rd2 Rh8
25 Rxh8 Qxh8
26 d7 Rd8
27 Qxe5+ Kh7
28 Qh2+ Kg7
29 Qe5+ Kh7
30 Qh2+ Kg7
31 Qc7 Qh4
32 Kd1 Qxg5
33 Kc2 Qe7
34 Bg2 e5
35 Be4 Nh6
36 Qxa7 Ng4
37 Bf3 Nxf2
38 Rxf2 e4
39 Re2 f5
40 Qxb6 Rxd7
Seems Ding may have squandered the positional advantage he had a few moves ago. All eyes on his 40th move. Will he come up with a move to wrest back the advantage?
Five-time world champion Vishy Anand though believes Ding still has a chance.
"The only good thing for Ding is that he is unlikely to suddenly see the line he missed during the game. He still has good chances," he tweets.
Here are all the 39 moves from both players...
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
19 Qd3 Kg7
20 g4 Bb7
21 Rh3 Nh4
22 g5 Bxe4
23 Qxe4 Nf5
24 Rd2 Rh8
25 Rxh8 Qxh8
26 d7 Rd8
27 Qxe5+ Kh7
28 Qh2+ Kg7
29 Qe5+ Kh7
30 Qh2+ Kg7
31 Qc7 Qh4
32 Kd1 Qxg5
33 Kc2 Qe7
34 Bg2 e5
35 Be4 Nh6
36 Qxa7 Ng4
37 Bf3 Nxf2
38 Rxf2 e4
39 Re2 f5
So there isn't any real pressure on any player to lose on time today. But the pressure is still nerve-wrackingly high!
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
19 Qd3 Kg7
20 g4 Bb7
21 Rh3 Nh4
22 g5 Bxe4
23 Qxe4 Nf5
24 Rd2 Rh8
25 Rxh8 Qxh8
26 d7 Rd8
27 Qxe5+ Kh7
28 Qh2+ Kg7
29 Qe5+ Kh7
30 Qh2+ Kg7
31 Qc7 Qh4
As the Russian moves his queen to h4, Ding looks like he's been caught off-guard.
"Ding looks surprised," remarks GM Daniil Dubov. "He's clearly surprised and it's not a good sign."
After losing Game 7 due to blunders made under time pressure, Ding Liren shows he has learnt his lesson. The Chinese GM repeats his moves to get closer to move 40!
Ding has been on the offensive after the 18th move moving around his rook and queen and pushing his pawns and forcing Nepo to spend more and more time on the clock.
19. Q3 Kg7 20. g4 Bb7 21. Rh3 Nh4 22. g5 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Nf5 24. Rd2... Ding's 24th move has experts super excited.
'Quite..incredible,' said GM Anish Giri. 'Devious,' said IM Tania Sachdev.
Ding Liren is now half an hour behind Nepo.
After 21 moves, he has just over 36 minutes. That means he has to make the next 19 moves in 36 minutes. He's once again flirting with trouble!
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
15 e5 dxe5
16 d5 Ne7
17 d6 Nf5
18 Ne4 Qd8
GM Daniil Dubov, who is in the commentary box for FIDE, says: "His time management is reasonable. In this kind of position, it really makes sense to invest time. If you play the five best moves in a row, it's very likely that you will be completely in a winning position. This is, in general, the way Ding plays chess. Sometimes it works, like in Game 6. Sometiems it does not, like Game 7. But this is the most appropriate moment to use this strategy."
Playing white, Chinese GM Ding Liren is behind on the clock again. As he mulls his 17th move, Nepo has over 20 minutes more time than he has. Remember, he lost the last game after putting himself under immense pressure due to time.
After move 15, both players nearly equal on time. Ding has always shown the tendency in this championship to take his time with his initial moves and then race the clock to beat time control. It got out of hand in Game 7, when he collapsed under time pressure. Today, so far, both players are level on the clock.
Talking to FIDE, Grandmaster Levon Aronian called the 2023 World Championship as "one of the most exciting matches in recent times".
"I can only compare it to Topolaov-Kramnik which had bloodshed throughout. This match is seeing much more nerves (than Topalov vs Kramnik). Players are losing positions that are not really losable on certain levels. The resilience is rather low. And defensive mechanism are somehow missing from the play of both players."
He goes on to add: "Nepo is the clear favourite. So far, he's still dictating the match. I do think game 7 was a big game. When you lose a position that you're not really at a risk of losing because you’re really protected, it makes a huge difference psychologically. It's going to be very tough to come back from that," he said.
Ding Liren starts to take his time to think his moves through. Remember, he lost the previous game because he was short on time and had to rush his moves. Meanwhile, here are the first 14 moves:
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
11 Bg5 h6
12 h4 hxg5
13 hxg5 g6
14 gxf6 Qxf6
Ding plays rook to a2 with his ninth move as a response to Nepo's knight to c6. And then he walks away from the board!
"This is typical of chess players. He plays rook a2 and then leaves the board. Which means, he knows rook a2 is a good move. He knows how rare a move this is. He knows engine doesn't want it as white. He knows Nepo is now out of the book. So have fun!" says Daniil Dubov, who was Magnus Carlsen's second at the last World Championship. Just as he says it, we see Nepo furiously massaging his temples with both palms!
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 d6
7 Ne2 c5
8 Ng3 Nc6
9 Ra2 b6
10 e4 Ba6
"This is a little bit unusual... Already for me, this position is something new," says commentator Irina Krush.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 O-O
5 a3 Bxc3+
This contest has seen some openings that have not been often seen in World Chess Championships. In Game 6, Ding Liren played the London System. In Game 7 he replied with the French Defence to Ian Nepomniachtchi's e4. Ding is playing white today. These are the first moves. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 .. It's the Nimzo Indian Defence.
Both players have arrived at the board. The game has started with the first move being d4.
The best sports coaches often tell their teams to keep it simple, especially under pressure. It’s seldom heard in chess, though. Yet, at the highest level – the World Chess Championship — sometimes, that’s all you need. In Game 6 of the Championships, Ding Liren kept it simple and was able to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi (Nepo) to level the score at 3-3. [Read full article]
One of the world’s greatest chess minds who, when seated across the board, could see well into the future is consumed by a nagging fear that, from behind the microphone, he’d ‘miss something obvious that everyone in the world can see’.
“My fear,” says Viswanathan Anand, “is I’m sitting there rambling and then they play something (else)… I’d be slightly embarrassed. That’s the danger of not having a computer. One of the things I tried in Dubai (during the 2021 World Championship) and I stuck to here was almost never consulting a computer.” [Read full article]
As the World Chess Championship heats up, with Game 7 becoming the fourth game in a row to yield a result, Vladimir Kramnik, the last man from Russia to become the World Chess Champion, emerged from the shadows. Allegedly! In the world of chess, rumour has it that Kramnik is part of Ian Nepomniachtchi’s team as the Russian attempts to wrest away the most coveted crown in the sport from China’s Ding Liren. Of course, the omerta that surrounds contenders’ teams at the World Championship means we are unlikely to find out immediately if this is true. [Read full article]
Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi are trying to win each and every game, which, in the spirit of the sport, has long been forgotten due to the high stakes in such a match. So much so that Ding lost Game 7 on Tuesday due to time trouble, giving Nepo a 4-3 lead in the match. It was such a strange result because Ding, despite playing with Black pieces, had the upper hand for most part of the match. [Read More]
April 21: Round 9
April 23: Round 10
April 24: Round 11
April 26: Round 12
April 27: Round 13
April 29: Round 14
The match is taking place on April 9-30 in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the elegant St. Regis Hotel.
Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Express.
Game 1
Ian Nepomniachtchi made it clear by the 8th move he was playing impotent and unambitious position
Game 2
Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren: Game 2 was the worst game played in the history of World Championships
Game 3
GM Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren now seems like proper contender to be world champion, Game 3 indicates he won’t go down easily
Game 4
GM Pravin Thipsay writes: Finally, it looks like a World Championship match
Game 5
Pravin Thipsay writes: Ding Liren forgot the basic purpose of chess in Game 5
Game 6
GM Pravin Thipsay writes: In Game 6, Ding Liren won battle of errors against Ian Nepomniachtchi
Hello and welcome to World Chess Championship Round 8 live blog on Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren battle. The 14-game match results will determine the next world chess champion. Follow our live updates.