Ding Liren makes history, becoming World Champion
Ding Liren made history by becoming the 17th World Champion in chess, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final game of the tiebreaks The atmosphere was charged with tension as Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi faced off at the luxurious St. Regis hotel, where they had been locked in a battle for three gruelling weeks. The hotel was filled with spectators closely following the live commentary, eagerly anticipating the decisive moment. The tiebreak consisted of four rapid games, with a time control of 25 minutes each, plus a 10-second increment per move. If the winner was undecided in the rapid, Blitz games would follow. In rapid chess, which is rated separately from classical chess, Ding Liren is ranked second in the world, just behind Magnus Carlsen. Meanwhile, Ian Nepomniachtchi is ranked seventh. Although Ding has a slightly higher rating, their head-to-head record suggests that they are evenly matched. In the 21 rapid games they have played against each other, Ding has won eight, Ian has won seven, and six have ended in a draw. In the drawing of lots conducted yesterday after the game 14 press conference, it was determined that Ding Liren would lead the white pieces in the first game. Ian was the first to appear in the playing hall, in a blue shirt without a jacket. Ding came in two minutes later. Unlike in the previous days, a trophy was placed close to the players, reminding them what they stand to gain or lose. Game 1: A fantastic queen sacrifice by Nepomniachtchi In the Queen’s pawn game, the two were following the lines of the game of Ding’s second Richard Rapport, which he played against Sam Shankland in 2019. On move six Nepo deviated and the two reached a new position fairly quickly. The players entered a sharp line, with mutual threats and tactics all over the board. 11…exd4 12.hxg4 dxc3 13.Nxc3 Nxb4 14.a3 Bf6 15.Rc1 Bxc3 16.Rxc3 Nc6 After exchanges, White achieved a slightly better position because his pieces were more active and had more control over the centre, but Black was just fine. However, as the game progressed, Ding gained the upper hand, managing to plant an extremely strong knight on d6 and having more open space for activity. White is better, but the position is double-edged. 23.Qc2 and 23.Qb2 were the best options, according to chess engines. Here Ding blundered. 23.Rb1? Nepomniachtchi gave Ding a look which said – “are you sure you want to play that”? Now, White’s advantage disappeared, and the initiative transferred to Black. “The power of prophylaxis – 23.Rfc1! (or 23.Qc2) instead of 23.Rb1? would have killed off Black’s idea and kept a solid edge”, said Grandmaster and BCM columnist Alex Colovic. 23…Ne5 24.e4 b6 25.cxb6 axb6! White cannot take the queen with 26.Rxc7 because of 26…Nf3+ 27.Bxf3 Bxf3 and White cannot avoid checkmate. If 27.Kf1 then 27…Nxd2+ collecting the rook. In both cases, White is lost. Although the situation on the board was extremely dangerous, the evaluation bar gave Black just a slight advantage here. Ding spent some time thinking what to do and played the only move here – 26.Nb5!, trading the queens. 26…Rxd2 27.Nxc7 Bh3 28.Bxh3 Rxh3 29.Kg2 Rh5 30.Rb5! Ding fights back – activating his rook and pinning Black’s rook on h5. 30…Rd1, planning to get a rook to h1, which looks threatening but leads to a forced draw after 31.Nd5 Rdh1 32.Ne7+ Kh7 33.Rxe5 R1h2+ 34.Kg1 Rh1+ 35.Kg2. Former World Champion Vishy Anand praised the players for their initiative and creativeness in the first game of the playoff: “The depth of ideas really impressed me.” Game 2: A small advantage for White, but not enough for a win It was Ian’s turn to play with white pieces. In the closed line of the Ruy Lopez, the two had a positional debate, reorganising their pieces and tiptoeing around the board. Ian introduced a new move 12.Bd2 and got some edge. Until this point, Ian was blitzing his moves. Here, he paused for a while. The queenside is open for Black’s rook. However, the opening of the queenside favours White here as his pieces have more activity. Black needed to find a good plan on how to develop. 14.Nxa4 Nd4 played by Ding, centralizing his knight, offering an exchange and hoping to solidify the centre. 14…a5 or 14…h6 were considered better moves. “Again seems like White has something to work with. Puzzled that Ding keeps aiming for this”, said Vishy Anand. 15.Bc4 Attacking the weak a6 pawn and after Ian opted to take Black’s knight on d4 counting on Black’s weaker pawn structure. 15…c6 16.Nxd4 exd4 17.Bf4. In the subsequent play, White pushed in the centre and got a chance to increase pressure. Here White should have avoided giving up his bishop on f4, instead, Ian took on d6, after which Black is over the hump. The position was further simplified with the exchange of a pair of bishops and the queens. White has a small advantage: Black’s pawns were hanging, and he was behind on time. The only chance for White to maintain tension was 27.g3, driving Black’s knight back, whereas after 27.Rc5 d3! the pawns on the queenside were exchanged, and the two ended in an even rook and knight endgame. Nepo tried to edge victory, but Ding defended well and the game ended in a draw. Game 3: The opposite-coloured bishops matter much more than a pawn Ding opened with 1.Nf3 – the first time this was played in the match. In a popular line of the Reti, the two quickly exchanged pieces in the centre and ended up in an even position. Black just played 12…Nf4 (the move was introduced back in 1981 and also was recently played by such well-known players as Kramnik, Duda, Artemiev and So), forcing White to decide which exchange he wants. 13.gxf4 Qxd2 14.Nxd2 Bxb2 15.Rad1 Bf6 Black has a pair of bishops but still has to develop his queenside. Here Black opted for 17…Rd8. In this position 17…b6, to open the diagonal for the white-squared bishop is considered
U15 and U18 Qualification Tournaments for the FIDE – ISF World School Teams cancelled
We regret to inform you that, due to technical reasons, the Qualification Tournaments for the U15 and U18 groups of the FIDE – ISF World School Teams have been cancelled. All players who registered to participate in the Qualification Tournaments will be compensated by being automatically entered into the Final Tournaments. The Final Tournaments are scheduled for May 6th at 14:00 UTC for U-15 School Teams and May 7th at 14:00 UTC for U-18 School Teams. FIDE has issued a communication to the participants apologising for the inconvenience this may cause and the disruption of their plans. If you have been affected by this cancellation or you have any feedback you would like to send to the Organizing Committee, please contact us at isf@fide.com. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Organising Committee,FIDE – ISF World School Teams Online Chess Cup 2023