Following almost six hours of play, game nine ended in a draw. Nepomniachtchi maintains the lead with 5:4
After a fierce battle in round eight, both players appeared to have dialled down the intensity. Game nine was the calm after the storm, despite lasting for nearly six hours. Although they reached a dead draw by move 50, Nepomniachtchi decided to test his opponent for another 32 moves. This was the longest game of the match so far.
The game started slowly, but the position that transpired on the board had a lot of venom in it. Unlike in previous games, for the first time, Ding was the one who was with some advantage on the clock early on.
In the popular Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez, the two played a familiar line leading to a mostly calm, positional debate on the board. Nepomniachtchi, who played as White, went for an attack on the kingside and sacrificed a pawn for the initiative. At one point, it started looking dangerous for Black. Ding was defending solidly and countered on the queenside, forcing White to reevaluate his chances for a victory. Despite having to defend, it seemed that Ding was more comfortable and played with more ease than his opponent.
As the game progressed, Nepomniachtchi made a few imprecise moves, leading to a mostly even position. The two then proceeded to simplify the position by exchanging heavy pieces, White regained his pawn and the two reached an even position. In the end, Black conceded a pawn to solidify a drawn rook and knight endgame.
Nepomniachtchi decided to test Ding, despite the position being a dead draw. After an exchange of rooks on move 52, Nepomniachtchi had an extra pawn and was pushing in an even knight endgame. Ding was walking a thin line in his defence but managed to hold.
After 82 moves and nearly six hours of play, the game ended in a draw.
Following this critical game, both players will be looking to regroup during the rest day on Saturday and come back stronger in the remaining games of the match.
Game ten is scheduled for Sunday, 23rd April at 3 PM Astana time.
Here follows a closer look at game nine of the match.
The honour of making the first ceremonial move was given to Marat Azilkhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Head of the Secretariat of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
The opponents tested a popular line of Anti-Berlin and up to move 13 followed the game Gopal – Gupta (Pardubice 2017). Two moves down the road, they finally got off the book, and it seemed that Black was perfectly fine.
Ian spent some 20 minutes on his last move, giving Ding an advantage on the clock, something which did not happen in the match until now. It seems that Ding was more comfortable in this position.
Commenting on the game, Grandmaster and former contender for the title of World Champion Fabiano Caruana, said that “it has been a very good opening for Ding as he knows the position well.”
“It’s going to be a headache for Ian in terms of having the white pieces and not knowing what to do against the Berlin in the future games,” Caruana added.
In the subsequent play, Ian was more accurate and purposeful and gradually grabbed the initiative.
20.Bxh6 Nc5 21.Ng6 - going for the attack at the cost of giving up a pawn on b2 and allowing Black to get to his back-rank. The position is sharp but Black is the one who seems to be more in danger and has to play more precisely. Being weaker on time and on the defensive is something Ding has faced before in this match and it didn’t always work out for him.
21…Bxb2 22.Nxf8 Rxf8 23.Bg5? An inaccuracy, dropping any advantage White had. A far better move was 23.Bc4 – showing patience and improving his position.
However, Ding quickly returned the favour after 23…Nh7 24.Bc1 Rb5? and after 26.Bc4 Be6 decided to sacrifice an exchange.
Ian did not accept, although it might have been his best chance in this game, and played the safer 27.Bxe6 move, after which the worst was behind Black. The two then now proceeded to simplify the position and go towards an even endgame.
The position is even. Black now opted to give up a pawn to trade more pieces and get closer to a draw. Indeed, after massive exchanges, the two found themselves in a drawish endgame three-vs-two on one wing with a pair of rooks and a pair of knights on the board.
By move 52, the rooks were off the board. Nepo continued to pressure, aiming to capitalise on his extra pawn.
Ding was walking a thin line but defended well in a three vs two pawn and knight endgame. Nepo wanted to tire his opponent out and test him until almost all the pieces were removed from the board, after nearly six hours of play.
Nepomniachtchi was not happy with how he came out of the opening, saying he ended up “going through dry positions”.
Talking about the endgame, he said he “should have caused more problems, but it was not that simple. The endgame looks dangerous for Black but probably a draw”.
Ding said that he prepared the line played in the game and that he felt comfortable after the opening.
The two now have an extra day to rest, refresh and prepare. The match is now about to enter its final phase.
Text: Milan Dinic
Photo: Stev Bonhage and Anna Shtourman
Official website: worldchampionship.fide.com/
About the match
The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship match between Grandmasters Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi takes place from 7th April to 1st May 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The match consists of 14 games, followed by a rapid/blitz tiebreak in case of a tie.
The time control for the standard games is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.
The first player to reach 7,5 points in the 14 games will win the match. If it’s a tie, the two go to tiebreaks.
The prize fund for the match is two million euros, with the reward being split 60:40 between the winner and the runner-up.
