New, 17th world champion in classical chess decided on Sunday in Astana. After three weeks of intense struggle, the crown was won by the Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren, the first representative of the Celestial Empire to take the title. According to the results of the tie-break in rapid, he snatched the victory from the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Graceful Queen SacrificeNepomniachtchi was the first to take his seat at the gaming table. The Russian blew off a speck of dust and removed some interference from the board. Jan's opponent came a little later. Like Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren also gently brushed something off the table and brushed off the king's pawn.
In the opening game, the Chinese immediately left the beaten path, choosing something like a Slavic defence. Due to the active game, Ding Liren received some positional advantage, but at one moment he made an inaccuracy. Nepomniachtchi went further — on the 25th move, to the surprise of everyone, he sacrificed a queen, without any compensation!
A hasty capture could threaten with a white checkmate or the return of material. Ding Liren resisted the temptation and traded queens. A rare and beautiful case — such a skillful victim for a tie-break, when the title of world champion is at stake.
Then the position was simplified. Nepomniachtchi chose to end the game with a perpetual check. A good result for Jan, taking into account the white color in two of the remaining three games.
Under the sign of exchanges In the second duel, the opponents played the Spanish game. Nepomniachtchi had the opportunity to take the last pawn, but at the last moment he preferred to combine threats. After a series of exchanges in the center, bishops and queens began to disappear from the board. A position appeared with an equal amount of material: two rooks, one knight and three pawns each.
Opponents continued to look for chances and count on a blunder of their counterpart. Everything ended peacefully again. Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren exchanged two more pieces each and shook hands.
In the third game, the Chinese suggested playing a closed opening. Everything went according to theory until the 14th move. The queen and two minor pieces on each side left the board. Black equalized the position and got the advantage of two bishops in the middlegame. White quickly removed it, forcing him to exchange a knight for one of the pieces. Then the rooks left the battlefield and a drawn endgame arose. Another repetition of moves led to a draw. In the first three games, peace was concluded on the 35th, 47th and 33rd moves, respectively.
Fatal denouementThe fourth meeting in the opening repeated the second. Nepomniachtchi played the Spanish game with White. At one point, the Russian bishop ended up in an unknown way on the b1 square. Ding Liren seized the initiative and got a good chance to attack. Nepomniachtchi, on the other hand, skillfully rearranged the pieces and forestalled the threats.
A drawn endgame arose again. It seemed that everything was heading towards a repetition of moves, another draw and rivalry in a blitz game. However, Ding Liren decided to play to win. This led to a gross mistake by Nepomniachtchi and the deprivation of the opportunity to quickly switch to defense. The Chinese grandmaster found a rare chance and, thanks to two passed pawns, forced the Russian to capitulate.
At the press conference, Nepomniachtchi made an eloquent comment: one moment did not risk. Time was running out. After c4 it was hard to rebuild. Of course, I could not imagine that such a position could be lost. But, as it turned out, it is possible.
Ding Liren defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi with a score of 9.5-8.5. So the Russian again remained one step away from the world chess crown.