At World Chess Championship, stressed and downcast Ding Liren is grappling with much more than Ian Nepomniachtchi. (Photo: FIDE/ANNA SHTOURMAN)
Nepomniachtchi vs Ding LIVE: Our columnist GM Pravin Thipsay weighs in on Game 1 and 2
Analysing Game 1 for The Indian Express, GM Pravin Thipsay wrote that by the 8th move of the game itself it was apparent that the game was staggering its way to a draw.
“d3 is a normal move on move 8, but by playing d4 on the eighth move, Nepomniachtchi made it clear that he was playing a sort of impotent and unambitious position.
He was just trying to see if his Chinese opponent blunders or something. It was not ambitious play at all by the Russian: wrote Thipsay, who added: “Perhaps, Nepomniachtchi was just trying to see how bad his opponent is in some simple strategic positions. Maybe that was the type of test he was taking of his opponent.”
But Thipsay was scathing in his opinion about Game 2, which he called the “worst game of chess played in history of World Championships.”
“You could know Game 2 was going to end badly for Ding the moment he played the fourth move. He played h3, a move played by only two amateurs in the past. It is a waste of precious time and achieves nothing in return. It’s a very strange move that gives away all the advantage and position to the opponent, rather than gaining an advantage while playing with white. If I had seen this move played in a club match, I would say that the player is not a good one.”
Stressed and downcast Ding Liren grappling with much more than Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ding Liren looked lost. It was a fairly simple, release-the-pressure sorta question, posed by a Twitter user at the press conference on Monday: “What would you be if not a chess player?”
Ian Nepomniachtchi would go first, saying how there are many teachers in his family and that he might have become one himself.
Ding thought long and hard. For 25 seconds, he struggled to think of an alternate career option before managing, “It’s hard to say”.
At the same press conference, he had been asked if he felt better while playing game 2 than he did in game 1. Once again, he could only say: “It’s hard to say”.
Monday had been a demoralising day for Ding, who had lost Game 2 to his Russian rival in 29 moves. But you needn’t look at the scoreboard to know what had happened; one look at the body language of both contenders at the post-game media interaction at Astana’s St Regis Hotel would have sufficed. [Read More]
World Chess Championship Live Updates, Round 3: Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren
And with that, we have come to the end of our live coverage of Game 3 of the World Chess Championship. We'll be back with our live blog of game 4 tomorrow. Till then, see ya!
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
15 Nc1 Nf6
16 f3 Ne6
17 N1e2 c5
18 Bb5 Rd8
19 dxc5 Qxc5
20 Qd2 Bd7
21 Bxd7 Nxd7
22 Nd4 Nb6
23 Rd1 Nc4
24 Qf2 Rac8
25 Na4 Qe7
26 Rfe1 Qf6
27 Nb5 Nc7
28 Nd4 Ne6
29 Nb5 Nc7
30 Nd4 Ne6
"Last one we listened to together was Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind," says Ding, who had previously said that Richárd Rapport and he had bonded over 80s music.
"At some point I thought I had some problem with my mind. In the end, it was not so serious as I expected. My friends talked to me and even asked me if I needed a doctor. But in the end, it was not that serious. It was just pressure before match," says Ding.
How do you deal with and manage anxiety during a manage?
"It's normal. If you don't feel anything, then something is wrong. it;s just part of the job," says Nepo.
Ding, meanwhile, says: "I'm getting better and better. You can see I spent more time on the stage today than hiding in the rest room today."
"Nothing to complain about," he says.
'Nothing special, was just walking around and working on my preparations,' says the Russian.
"Interesting battle, but not so happy with the result. I was at least not worse (than game 2) and was playing for a win at some point," says Ding Liren in his press conference.
He says draw is pretty decent result for both players.
Both players have a conversation over the board after agreeing to a draw after 30 moves. Nepo leads the points tally thanks to his win in Game 2.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
15 Nc1 Nf6
16 f3 Ne6
17 N1e2 c5
18 Bb5 Rd8
19 dxc5 Qxc5
20 Qd2 Bd7
21 Bxd7 Nxd7
22 Nd4 Nb6
23 Rd1 Nc4
24 Qf2 Rac8
25 Na4 Qe7
26 Rfe1 Qf6
27 Nb5 Nc7
28 Nd4 Ne6
"So far, I think this game has been a huge blessing for Ding; he has equalised comfortably... There are positions you feel uncomfortable, even though they are objectively fine, and I think this is very much one of them for Ian," says Anand.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
15 Nc1 Nf6
16 f3 Ne6
17 N1e2 c5
18 Bb5 Rd8
19 dxc5 Qxc5
20 Qd2 Bd7
21 Bxd7 Nxd7
22 Nd4 Nb6
23 Rd1 Nc4
After 22 moves, Ding Liren now has almost as much time on the clock as Nepo.
'Maybe that's because Ian just feels slightly uncomfortable. He doesn't feel any obvious way fow white to be better. And his pieces are just a tad bit awkward,' says Vishy Anand in FIDE commentary.
He points out that the same knight that's on b6 would have been great for white on f6.
'There's no serious advantage yet,' he adds.
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
15 Nc1 Nf6
16 f3 Ne6
17 N1e2 c5
18 Bb5 Rd8
19 dxc5 Qxc5
20 Qd2 Bd7
21 Bxd7 Nxd7
No man from China has ever made it to the World Chess Championship game.
Can Ding Liren become the first male World Champion from China?
Russia’s next big hope to join long line of world champions is critic of Ukraine war
... you can read our piece on how chess players resorting to different tricks to gain the slightest of advantages to become world champion: from hiring hypnotists, adding undercover spies to the team, wearing mirrored sunglasses, and taking multiple toilet breaks.
Anand says he can speak Tamil, Spanish, English, German. 'On the board, I think in chess language. And probably curse myself in Tamil! If I'm thinking, 'You idiot what have you just gone and done!' I think that in Tamil, which comes naturally.'
Anand asked by a Twitter user about conditions being favourable for Nepo, and whether that was affecting Ding, Vishy Anand says in FIDE commentary: "Not sure how conditions are favourable to Nepo. Yes, the Russian probably knows a lot of people here. But the Chinese players has come with a fairly big delegation as well. When I was playing, once I had made sure i was confortable what the other team had didn't really matter to me."
He then goes on add an example about GM Tigran Petrosian, who contended for World Championships against GM Mikhail Botvinnik in 1963. When Botvinnik tried to switch dates, Petrosian stood his ground. "His point was that these little things matter. He was of the opinion that once you make consessions off the chess board, you will end up making them on the board."
Anand adds: "Yes, you should fight for every square inch. You don't want the opponent to get the sense that he's dictating events"
Chinese GM moves pawn to c5, and the time difference between him and the Russian is now 30 minutes!
Here are all the mvoes so far...
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
15 Nc1 Nf6
16 f3 Ne6
17 N1e2
The Chinese GM is trailing on time again.
As he rode his train of thought for 25 minutes, his Russian challenger turned up on the stage, took one look at the board and the Chinese GM staring hard at the pieces, picked up his bottle of water and walked off again.
Finally, when Ding made his move -- Nf6 -- Nepo came out to the stage inside 2 minutes, moved f3, and walked off.
Once again time for Liren to show up on stage! Just no respite for the Chinese challenger. He's now 22 mintues behind Nepo.
Eight-time US Women’s Champion Irina Krush asks Viswanathan Anand if Nepo holds the opening prep advantage considering the Russian has now a near 20-minute advantage on the clock.
The Indian GM replies: "Yes, the advantage is quite small. But if Ian manages to refine it, it could be persistent. If you know the right moves to make, and exactly why they're good, then you can put some pressure on black."
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3 Nh5
13 Bxe7 Qxe7
14 Rae1 Nf8
Viswanathan Anand, in the commentary box for game 3, says: "Not only did Ding lose, he lost badly. He was flailing with white, which is bad for the psyche. Particularly for someone who is known for virtuoso performances with the white."
On being asked what he would do in Ding's shoes, the Indian GM says: "I would put some water on the face, pretend the game starts today. Whatever works to get over what was a lousy game."
Ding puts some thought into his 11th move before playing a5. Nepo, who has wandered off stage, strides back on, sits, plays a3 in the blink of an eye and strolls off again. Ding, who has stayed rooted to his chair on the stage, goes into another long phase of thinking.
Here are all the moves:
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
9 Qc2 Re8
10 Nge2 Nbd7
11 O-O a5
12 a3
Here's whart the board looks like after 11 moves...
Ding Liren's preparations for the World Championships did not go as per plan. One day before Game 1 versus Nepo, he moved hotels from the St Regis, where the games of the World Championship are being held.
This led Anand to pull out one anecdote from his book of anecdotes.
“At the Interpolis International Chess Tournament, held in Tilburg (The Netherlands), Garry Kasparov and other players were given amazing cottages to stay in the woods. But the Russian checked out of his cottage and moved into a city hotel. Clearly a downgrade in my opinion. He moved because he couldn’t handle the quiet! But it worked! He started playing brilliantly. At that event, Kasparov broke Bobby Fischer’s record for the first time (of the highest rating in chess history, 2785).
While Kasparov’s move had worked, Ding’s clearly hasn’t. (READ)
"A slightly sleepy opening," is Vishy Anand's verdict on Nepo's start.
In the blink of an eye, both players have made eight moves!
Here's what the moves are:
1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 Nc3 d5
4 cxd5 exd5
5 Bg5 c6
6 e3 h6
7 Bh4 Be7
8 Bd3 O-O
Ian Nepomniachtchi, playing with white pieces in Round 3, starts with d4. Remember, he had started with e4 in the first game againt Ding Liren. And straight away we see the Grunfeld defence
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 d5
Can your knight face sideways, instead of staring at the army of the opponent on a chess board?
Ding Liren's habit of having his chess pieces looking sideways even caught Viswanathan Anand by surprise.
“I didn’t even realise that (keeping the knight facing) sideways was an option! Have you ever seen a horse facing sideways to its own army? It’s got to face the other one right? It’s got to charge that way? But yeah, Garry (Kasparov) would always turn it sideways,” said Anand said in the commentary at the start of the second game.
(READ)
Monday was a demoralising day for China's Ding Liren, who lost Game 2 to his Russian rival in 29 moves. But you needn’t look at the scoreboard to know what had happened; one look at the body language of both contenders at the press conference immediately after the game at Astana’s St Regis Hotel would have sufficed.
The Russian, Nepomniachtchi, was so buoyed that he was cracking self-deprecating jokes about not being able to part with snacks in his room back at the Dubai World Championship two years ago.
The Chinese challenger seemed to be in a mental state of turmoil, which by itself is not rare for a high-stakes game like the World Championship. But while most chess players get adept at hiding their inner mental state behind poker-faced visages, at every public appearance in Astana so far, Ding had dropped his guard and shown his cards.
(Read)
Thipsay called the Game 2 as the “worst game of chess played in history of World Championships.”
“You could know Game 2 was going to end badly for Ding the moment he played the fourth move. He played h3, a move played by only two amateurs in the past. It is a waste of precious time and achieves nothing in return. It’s a very strange move that gives away all the advantage and position to the opponent, rather than gaining an advantage while playing with white. If I had seen this move played in a club match, I would say that the player is not a good one.” (Read)
Analysing Game 1 for The Indian Express, GM Pravin Thipsay wrote that by the 8th move of the game itself it was apparent that the game was staggering its way to a draw.
“d3 is a normal move on move 8, but by playing d4 on the eighth move, Nepomniachtchi made it clear that he was playing a sort of impotent and unambitious position.
He was just trying to see if his Chinese opponent blunders or something. It was not ambitious play at all by the Russian: wrote Thipsay, who added: “Perhaps, Nepomniachtchi was just trying to see how bad his opponent is in some simple strategic positions. Maybe that was the type of test he was taking of his opponent.” [Read]
April 12: Round 3
April 13: Round 4
April 15: Round 5
April 16: Round 6
April 18: Round 7
April 20: Round 8
April 21: Round 9
April 23: Round 10
April 24: Round 11
April 26: Round 12
April 27: Round 13
April 29: Round 14
April 30: Tie-breaker if needed or Closing Ceremony
If we look at the recent history of the World Chess Championship battles, most opening games have been draws. In fact, the last time there was a result in Game 1 was when India’s Viswanathan Anand lost to Topalov in 2010 in Sofia. To be fair, the Indian had barely made it to the Bulgarian capital after an epic 40-hour road journey from Germany due to a volcano erupting in Iceland which had ground planes in Europe. So by those standards, it was not surprising to see Game 1 ending in a draw.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 3 of the World Chess Championship. In Game 1, Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi and China’s Ding Liren battled for just under five hours and after 49 moves decided to call it a day and split the point at Astana’s St Regis hotel. Game 2 saw Ding gamble early on a unique opening in move 4. But that didn;t work and he faltered in 29 moves to hand the Russian a victory.