Chinese Ding Liren won the world chess crown by beating tie-break of the Russian Jan Nepomniachtchi. Correspondent Sport — about why it was the chess player from the Middle Kingdom who deserved the title of world champion.
After the second game of the match in Astana, it seemed that it would end ahead of schedule. Ding Liren played such an awkward game with white pieces that his opponent smiled almost from its very first moves — more precisely, from the fourth, when the Chinese tried to surprise Nepomniachtchi with an unconventional move, but in the end surprised himself by declaring after a devastating defeat at a press conference: » I just played very badly.»
The Chinese chess player also admitted in those days that he felt out of place, which is why he even left the chic hotel where the match was taking place and moved to another place. But Ding Liren did not become more comfortable. From excitement, he sometimes beat a natural thumper, and during the first game he wrapped himself in a warm jacket in his room, although the temperature in the hall was quite room-like.
But in the third game, Nepomniachtchi allowed his opponent to calm down, driving away a rather quick and colorless draw with White, and in the fourth game, in an equal position, he made a blunder and came under a devastating attack, allowing the Chinese to level the score. A sign that Ding Liren is gaining a stable state of mind was also his return to his original place of residence.
And yet the situation has not changed globally. The Russian grandmaster regained his one-point advantage already in the next game, and then he began to play with his opponent like a cat and a mouse. Or, using football terminology, according to the Brazilian system: you score as much as you can, and we will score as much as we want. He allowed the Chinese to recoup and «scored a goal» again.
The system let Nepomniachtchi down in the 12th game, when with one unsuccessful move he missed an almost certain victory in the entire match: the advantage could grow to two points, and one more draw would be enough for him to win the crown. This happens at the elite level, but not often: for a Russian, the game instantly turned from a win into a loss. And the score became a draw again.
The denouement could have come in the final, 14th game of the classical part of the match, when Ding Liren, trying to aggravate the situation with his white pieces, ran into Nepomniachtchi's confident counterplay and switched to defensive actions, but on the 34th move he made a mistake, once again being on the verge of collapse. The Russian, however, once again gave his opponent a chance, having in turn made an inaccuracy. And Ding Liren didn't allow himself any more mistakes and eventually fought back for a draw more than six hours after the first move. conference Nepomniachtchi, and he is certainly right. The number of chances he missed in a month just went through the roof. But in sports there is an eternal rule, which is considered football, but in fact applies absolutely everywhere: if you don’t score, you get scored.
Perhaps Nepomniachtchi remembered this law before the tie-break. At least he played as carefully as possible and did not allow himself any risk. In a couple of situations, he did not go for aggravations, which could lead him to a more solid advantage. It is possible that initially he did not object to the draw in rapid games — after all, then the grandmasters would start playing blitz. And in five-minute games, Ding Liren is not considered very strong.
Perhaps the Chinese chess player also remembered this when, in an absolutely equal position in the fourth game of the tie-break, he avoided stating a draw by repeating moves three times and decided to play for a win. Moreover, at that moment he had a little more than a minute left on his watch. Nothing could be seen on Ding Liren's face, which was always impenetrable like a mask.
But on the other hand, surprise was clearly visible on Nepomniachtchi's face, who, quite likely, at that moment already saw himself preparing for a blitz in the rest room. And after two moves, he made a mistake that allowed the Chinese to develop a crushing attack. Crushing — but not decisive, the Russian could survive, he had protective resources. However, finding them required time, which Nepomniachtchi had very little.
Already in an absolutely hopeless position, as if not wanting to believe in what had happened, Nepomniachtchi grabbed the out-of-game pieces standing near the board with such fury that he even knocked some of them to the floor. However, he restrained himself, congratulated his opponent on his victory and left the hall headlong. On the way, he waved a thermos, but still did not allow the «projectile» to fly into the wall.
And Ding Liren in the same disbelief, clasping his head, remained at the board for some time — already with the world champion title. Which he absolutely deservedly won, because he followed a different law, no longer of sport, but of war, of which chess is a model. «The courage of the city takes,» said Alexander Suvorov after the capture of the Izmail fortress. The Chinese grandmaster, having rushed into the attack in time trouble, acted exactly according to the great Russian commander's behest.
Therefore, Ding Liren can rightly be proud of the laurel wreath, which, according to a long tradition, is awarded to the best chess player on the planet. Yes, Nepomniachtchi can mourn the missed chances and say that the tie-break is a lottery, which, in fact, he did at the press conference. But these excuses are not for the brave. It was not he who was brave at the decisive moment.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.