World Chess Championship 2023

World Chess Championship 2023
The World Chess Championship 2023 was a chess match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren to determine the new World Chess Champion. The match took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 9 April to 30 April 2023, and was a best of 14 games, plus tiebreaks.
The previous champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2022. As a result, Nepomniachtchi played against Ding Liren, who finished second in the Candidates Tournament.
After a 7–7 score tie in the classical time format — in which five of the first seven games were decisive — on 30 April, the match proceeded to tiebreaks with rapid time format. After draws in the first three games, Ding Liren played boldly and won with black in the final game to become the 17th World Chess Champion. Ding also became the first Chinese chess player to hold the title and, jointly with the 2020 women's world chess champion Ju Wenjun, made China the holder of both the open and women's world titles.
Ding gained a place in the Candidates only because Sergey Karjakin, whom he replaced, was sanctioned for supporting Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ding had been unable to play throughout much of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, and had to play a number of hastily arranged matches to reach the minimum FIDE activity requirements to secure his place in the tournament. Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates, but Ding secured second place by beating Hikaru Nakamura in a must-win final-round game. Carlsen then relinquished his title, allowing Ding to play for the title despite not winning the Candidates. Nepomniachtchi took the lead no less than three times during the match, but Ding evened the score each time, forcing a tiebreak. After three draws in the rapid tiebreaks, Ding won the fourth game to take the championship. Ding's path to winning the title was called "most improbable" by The Guardian.
Carlsen refuses to defend the title
The previous World Champion was Magnus Carlsen, who first won the title in 2013. To keep the title, Carlsen was periodically required to defend it in a championship match against a challenger, determined by a Candidates Tournament. Carlsen successfully defended the title in the world championship matches of 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021. In December 2021, soon after the 2021 championship (against Ian Nepomniachtchi), Carlsen stated that he lacked the motivation to defend his title again, unless the challenger was Alireza Firouzja. Firouzja had risen to number two in the world rankings in 2021 at age 18. In April 2022, Carlsen again publicly stated that he was unlikely to play in the next world championship, this time without mentioning any potential opponent.
The Candidates Tournament 2022 concluded in early July 2022, with Nepomniachtchi its winner. FIDE and Carlsen were already in talks regarding the world championship match and its format. On 20 July, Carlsen announced that he would not defend his title. Therefore, the 2023 world championship match was between Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, the winner and runner-up of the 2022 Candidates Tournament, respectively, and Carlsen lost the title when the match concluded. After Carlsen formally confirmed his decision in writing, FIDE officially invited Ding to participate in the 2023 world championship.
History of non-participation
Non-participation by the incumbent champion in the World Chess Championship is rare. The only two previous times in chess history where an undisputed world championship was played without the defending champion were in 1948 and 1975. The World Chess Championship 1948 was a five-player tournament held without the previous champion Alexander Alekhine, who had died in 1946. In 1975, incumbent champion Bobby Fischer declined to take part because of dissatisfaction with the format – the World Championship match was first-to-12.5-points, while Fischer wanted a first-to-ten-wins format. After FIDE declined to meet Fischer's demands, Fischer forfeited, and FIDE awarded the title to Fischer's challenger, Anatoly Karpov, the winner of the Candidates Final. No Championship match was held.
Non-participation by the incumbent champion in disputed World Chess Championships from 1993 to 2005 was more common. For the World Chess Championship 1993, incumbent Garry Kasparov and his challenger Nigel Short broke with FIDE and organized the championship on their own terms. FIDE disqualified them and set up its own FIDE World Chess Championship 1993 with runners-up Jan Timman and Anatoly Karpov. This set up the 13-year period of split World Champion title 1993–2006. In the sub-period of 1999–2004, the FIDE Championship was held as a knockout tournament with 100–128 candidates: here Karpov refused to participate in 1999 due to the lack of privileges for him as incumbent champion, and 2002 FIDE champion Ruslan Ponomariov refused to defend his title in 2004 to protest against the preponderant role FIDE granted Kasparov in the re-unification process.
Candidates Tournament 2022
The challengers were Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, who qualified as the winner and runner-up, respectively, in the Candidates Tournament 2022 in Madrid, Spain, which began on June 16 and ended on July 5, 2022. Ding qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2022 through his rating, as a replacement for Sergey Karjakin, who had been barred from playing by FIDE due to his comments supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nepomniachtchi had challenged world champion Carlsen in the previous championship in 2021.
The participants were:
Results
Championship match
Organization
The match took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 9 April to 30 April 2023 at the St Regis Astana Hotel.
The prize fund was €2 million. It would have been split 60% vs 40% between the winner and the runner-up had either player scored 7½ or more points in the classical portion of the match. As the match was tied after 14 classical games, the prize fund was split 55% vs 45% in favor of the winner of the tiebreak. The main sponsor for the event was Freedom Holding Corp., a Kazakhstan-based Russian investment company with ties to the Central Asian region, with chess training app Chessable, mining company LLP Tioline, and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation also sponsoring the event.
The chief arbiter was Nebojša Baralić from Serbia, while the deputy arbiter was Gerhard Bertagnolli from Italy.
The first move of each classical game was ceremonially performed by guests invited by the organisers:
Match regulations
The time control for each game in the classical portion of the match was 120 minutes per side for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting with move 61.
The match was best of 14 games; a score of at least 7½ would win the world championship. Due to the score being equal after 14 games, tiebreak games with faster time controls were played:
A match consisting of 4 rapid games with 25 minutes per side and a 10-second increment starting with move 1 will be played. If a player scores 2½ points or more, he would win the championship.
If the score had been equal after the rapid portion, a mini-match of two blitz games would have been played, with a time control of 5 minutes per side and a 3-second increment starting with move 1. If a player scored 1½ points or more, he would win the championship. If the blitz mini-match was tied, another mini-match with the same conditions would be played to decide the winner of the championship. A drawing of lots would take place before each mini-match to decide which player plays with the white pieces.
If both blitz mini-matches were tied, a single blitz game with a time control of 3 minutes per side and a 2-second increment starting with move 1 would be played, and the winner would win the championship. A drawing of lots would decide which player plays with the white pieces. If this game was drawn, another blitz game with reversed colours would be played with the same time control, and the winner would win the championship. This process would be repeated until either player wins a game.
Players were not allowed to agree to a draw before Black's 40th move. A draw claim before then was only permitted if a threefold repetition or stalemate has occurred.
Previous head-to-head record
The pre-match head-to-head score between Nepomniachtchi and Ding in classical games was: 3 wins for Nepomniachtchi, 2 wins for Ding, with 8 draws. Their most recent pre-championship games, during the 2022 Candidates tournament, resulted in one win to Nepomniachtchi and one draw.
Seconds
Nepomniachtchi worked with Nikita Vitiugov, along with Maxim Matlakov and Ildar Khairullin, while also consulting with former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Ding chose Richárd Rapport as his main second. The other members of his team were Jakhongir Vakhidov, a grandmaster from Uzbekistan, and two people from Peking University. He received advice from Wei Yi and Ni Hua.
Schedule
The games began at 15:00 local time (EKT), which was 09:00 UTC.
Colours were drawn at the opening ceremony using a robotic arm assisted by artificial intelligence. Nepomniachtchi received the white pieces for the first game. Colours alternated thereafter, with no switching at the halfway point. Colours for the rapid games were drawn at the press conference after game 14: Ding received the white pieces for the first game.
If the match had ended before 14 games (because one player reached 7½ or more points), the closing ceremony would have been conducted either on the day of the last game or the day after. Had the match ended with the 14th classical game, the closing ceremony would have been held on 30 April. The closing ceremony was held on 1 May, due to the score being tied after 14 classical games.
Leak of Ding Liren's preparation
Shortly after the beginning of game 8, a Reddit post pointed to two accounts on Lichess named "opqrstuv" and "FVitelli", and speculated these belonged to Ding Liren and his second Richárd Rapport. The accounts had played games against each other which followed the openings of games 2, 6, and 8 of the Championship match. An account also named "FVitelli" on Chess.com had played a series of games against user "autumnstream" who self-identified as being from China, with the openings mirroring those played in the match. "FVitelli" changed their username to "ggwhynot" after the rumors emerged, seemingly acknowledging that they were at least aware of the reports. Many commentators considered the leak to be genuine, with Hikaru Nakamura stating that "there's zero chance these aren't their accounts."
The leak could have significantly disadvantaged Ding, as Nepomniachtchi could prepare against these and other opening lines. When asked about the rumours during the post-game press conference, Ding said, "I don't know which games you refer [to]." After game 10, Nepomniachtchi was asked if the leak affected his preparation, responding, "My team took a look. I wouldn't say it should be as hyped as it actually is. I am still more or less doing what I was going to do. We didn't change it too much." After the conclusion of the Championship, Ding confirmed the leak in an interview, saying he "realised it left [them] with no real ideas, so [they] had to come up with new ones" during the match.
Results
Classical games
Game 1: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The first game of the match, a 49-move draw, was played on 9 April. Nepomniachtchi began with 1.e4, with both players quickly playing into the Ruy Lopez. Nepomniachtchi surprised commentators with the rare sideline 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Re1, and, in the words of Erwin l'Ami, obtained a "risk-free position and long-term structural edge". Nepomniachtchi missed a tactical opportunity early with 14.Nf5 (14.h3 would have set up 14...Qxd4 15.Nd5), but the game otherwise stayed mostly level until the move 25...c6?!, with Nepomniachtchi quickly playing 26.Rxd8+ Nxd8 27.Qf4!, forming a battery towards Ding's weakened and gaining the initiative. With Ding low on time, a few inaccuracies by Nepomniachtchi (30.Ng3 and 31.f4) allowed Ding to force a trade of queens and consolidate his position, reaching an endgame by move 38. A draw was agreed on move 49 after just under five hours of play.
Ding, in the post-game press conference, provided insight into his morale during and following the game: "I'm not happy; I'm a little bit depressed. During the game, I felt a flow of inconsistency. In the first part of the game, I couldn't concentrate and think about chess. My mind was full of memories and feelings. Maybe I couldn't calculate because of the pressure of the match."
Game 2: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, 0–1
The second game of the match, a 29-move win for Nepomniachtchi, was played on 10 April. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 Ding played 4.h3, a move that had never been seen before at master level. Nepomniachtchi said at the press conference that he initially wrote 4.g3 (a standard move which would have led into a Catalan) on his score sheet, before realizing 4.h3 had been played. Alexander Shabalov stated that "[4.h3] definitely comes from Richard Rapport, Ding's second", which Ding confirmed. Nepomniachtchi decided to play 4...dxc4 and treat the game as a Queen's Gambit Accepted, on the basis that White's h2–h3 is not particularly useful in that line. After playing most of his moves almost instantly, Ding took over 30 minutes to play the move 12.Nxf6+, later identifying the move as a critical moment, saying he had only looked at 12...Qxf6 and entirely overlooked Nepomniachtchi's response 12...gxf6. Ding's follow-up 13.e4 was criticized for weakening his position; commentators recommended 13.dxc5 with approximate . Nepomniachtchi subsequently took over the initiative: his move 18...f5! was highly praised; it set the spectacular trap 19.exf5 Rxd4!! 20.Nxd4 (other moves avoid mate but lose ) 20...Rxg2+ 21.Kf1 Rxf2+! 22.Kxf2 Qh2+ 23.Ke3 Bh6. Nepomniachtchi confirmed in the post-game interview that he felt that he was winning after 18...f5. Ding avoided this trap with 19.Bc2, which was nonetheless a concession—Ding's previous play seemed to be aimed at putting the bishop on f1. After 20.Bg5, Nepomniachtchi sacrificed an exchange with 20...Rxg5!, gaining the d-pawn and a dominating position after 21.Nxg5 Nxd4, and the e-pawn shortly afterwards. Already after move 20, Ding had less than 20 minutes remaining on his clock to Nepomniachtchi's 60, and he would need to play 20 more moves to reach the time bonus at move 40. Throughout the remaining moves of the game, Ding's time dwindled and his position worsened, until, after 29...e5, leaving the rook on d4 no safe squares, Ding resigned with less than a minute remaining on his clock.
Game 3: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The third game of the match, a 30-move draw, was played on 12 April. Commentators noted it represented a much improved performance by Ding. The game, a Queen's Gambit Declined, followed a game which Ding had previously drawn as Black against Anish Giri in an online rapid game in 2022 until 17.N1e2. Nepomniachtchi later stated that he had looked at the game prior to the round. Ding identified 21...Nxd7 as a critical moment where he began to play for a win, but chose to invite a repetition after 27.Nb5 with 27...Nc7. In the post-game interview, Ding stated he had considered 27...d4 as a potential move to continue playing for a win, but decided it would have been too risky. The game was drawn by repetition shortly afterwards.
At the post-game press conference, Ding stated, "I was not happy with the result. I was trying to play for a win at some point, but I couldn't find a way to break through. So, I think a draw is a decent result for both of us." Nepomniachtchi made comments to the same effect, remarking that "The Queen's Gambit Declined is a very solid opening, so you're not going to achieve much. The most common case is when both sides play reasonably. It is hard to disrupt the equality."
Game 4: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, 1–0
The fourth game of the match, a 47-move win for Ding, was played on 13 April. The game began with an English Opening, Four Knights Variation. Nepomniachtchi's 9...Nf4 followed an earlier game won by Ding's second Rapport, leading Anish Giri to speculate that he had confused some of his preparation. This was later confirmed by Nepomniachtchi in the press conference. 14...Na5 was also inaccurate, as the knight would have a difficult time getting back into play while Ding created a strong central presence. Ding made the dynamic decision to sacrifice a pawn with 15.c5 in order to create an advanced . 23...f6 was a move Nepomniachtchi later called "unnecessary"; it allowed Ding to play 24.e6, giving him a passed e-pawn and a strong , but in return Black was able to establish the knight on a strong defensive square at d6. Nepomniachtchi was still in the game until he blundered with 28...Nd4?, a decision former world champion Viswanathan Anand described as "insane". Ding made the strong exchange sacrifice 29.Rxd4!, and after 29...cxd4 30.Nb3, the knight is ready to dominate the black position from d4. Ding said he originally considered 29.Qd3 as a response, but found the winning move after thinking for just over a minute, while Nepomniachtchi confirmed that he did not see it until it was played. Even though the position was completely lost for Black, Nepomniachtchi played on, with Ding precisely converting his advantage. Nepomniachtchi eventually resigned on move 47, bringing the match score back to equality.
Game 5: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, 1–0
The fifth game of the match, a 48-move win for Nepomniachtchi, was played on 15 April. Nepomniachtchi was praised by commentators for his opening preparation, with many noting that he spent very little time making his moves until move 23, a time advantage which only grew as the game progressed. Anish Giri criticized the moves 19...Bd8!? and 20...Ne7!? by Ding, calling it "the most uncomfortable setup". Ding would later state, "I think the critical moment is that I should have played 29...Qf6 instead of 29...Nxf5." Commentators stated that 29...Nxf5 was not a poor move on its own, but 30...Qf6 was the mistake, suggesting that 30...Qd7 would have held the equality. Nepomniachtchi quickly launched a attack, playing the pawn break 37.g5!, to which Ding's response 37...hxg5 was considered "losing completely" by Giri. After 38.Rg4, the natural-looking 38...f6, defending the pawn, would have run into 39.Nh4!, where 39...gxh4 40.h6! decimates the black position. 38...Ra8 was instead played, allowing Nepomniachtchi to regain the pawn with 39.Nxg5. Nepomniachtchi converted the positional advantage precisely, with the move 48.Rh6 convincing Ding to resign after 15 minutes of analyzing the position.
Game 6: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, 1–0
The sixth game of the match, a 44-move win for Ding, was played on 16 April. Ding played the London System, making this game the first time it has appeared in a World Championship match. Despite this, Nepomniachtchi said that he did expect to see it at some point. After 14...Nd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7, 16.a5! fixed Nepomniachtchi's queenside pawn structure, giving the white position a small edge. With a lack of active plans, Nepomniachtchi began to prepare the pawn break 22...e5. Ding mentioned that his initial plan was to play 23.b4, a move that would have invited less than the game move, 23.Rb3. Despite Ding being much lower on time, it was Nepomniachtchi who allowed his opponent to consolidate his slight edge. 27...Rxe5 28.dxe5 Qd8! would have allowed Nepomniachtchi to fight on, as 29.hxg6? would allow him to force a draw by perpetual check via 29...Qd1+ 30.Kh2 Qh5+. Instead of this, 27...Bc2 was played, allowing Ding to win the b7-pawn. 32.Rc5? was a hasty move that could have let Nepomniachtchi back into the game if he found 32...Qxc3; however, 32...Qc1+ was played, giving the initiative back to Ding. As the players reached the time control, Ding spent 20 minutes on the move 41.d5, taking away the e6-square for a . After 41...a2 42.Qc7 Kh7 43.Ng6 Rg8 44.Qf7!, Nepomniachtchi resigned, as the threat of 45.Qxg8+ Kxg8 46.Ra8+ Kf7 47.Rf8# is unstoppable.
On the game, Nepomniachtchi would state, "I played one of my worst games ever. Every move was bad… 27...Bd3 instead of 27...Bc2 was better, but even that was unfortunate." When asked about the frequency of decisive games in the match, Nepomniachtchi declined to answer, while Ding responded jokingly, "I guess we are not as professional as Magnus [Carlsen]."
Game 7: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, 1–0
The seventh game of the match, a 37-move win for Nepomniachtchi, was played on 18 April. In reply to 1.e4, Ding deviated from his usual 1...e5, surprising his opponent and the commentators by opting for the French Defence, an opening last seen in a world championship match in 1978 (played there twice by Viktor Korchnoi; both games ended in a draw). Ding later confirmed in the press conference that he had "half-jokingly" suggested the French to his second, Richard Rapport, who then "insisted" that Ding play the opening. Nepomniachtchi chose 3.Nd2, the Tarrasch Variation. During the middlegame, Ding absorbed Nepomniachtchi's early pressure with accurate defence; however, by move 19 he was running low on time, having only 26 minutes to reach the time control with 21 moves to go. Despite this he found the strong exchange sacrifice 22...Nxf4! 23.Bxf4 Rxf4! 24.Rxf4 Bxe5, which gave him a strong and some initiative; at this point commentators believed he had a slight advantage. With less than six minutes remaining on the clock for nine moves, Ding spent five minutes on the move 32...Rd2? (32...Be5! was best) which relinquished the advantage. He then blundered an important pawn after 33.Re2 Rd3?. Nepomniachtchi now had a winning position, and Ding resigned on move 37 with just 3 seconds left on his clock.
Game 8: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, ½–½
The eighth game of the match, a 45-move draw, was played on 20 April. In response to the Nimzo-Indian Defence by Nepomniachtchi, Ding opted for 5.a3, the Sämisch Variation, inciting Nepomniachtchi to double his c-pawns with 5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3. The move 12.h4! was given praise, with Ding temporarily giving up a bishop for an open h-file and a strong attack. Ding quickly gained the advantage, having a passed d-pawn and a strong g-pawn. As Ding began to pressure the black position, Nepomniachtchi blundered with 22...Bxe4, giving him a completely losing position. As Ding pressed his advantage, Nepomniachtchi played 31...Qh4!?, leaving his rook , but appearing to threaten a draw by perpetual check; Nepomniachtchi would later call it a "bluff", as White can escape perpetual check and win after taking the rook, but this was very difficult to calculate at the board. Ding, under time pressure, was able to only "briefly check the line", as he described in the press conference, and instead opted for 32.Kd1?, losing much of the advantage. After a few more moves, Nepomniachtchi sacrificed his knight with 37...Nxf2! 38.Rxf2 e4 to return the game to equality, with both players rapidly trading down to a rook-and-pawn endgame and agreeing to a draw after 45.Re8.
Game 9: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The ninth game of the match, an 82-move draw, was played on 21 April. Against the Ruy Lopez, Ding chose the Berlin Defence. The first inaccuracy, 17...Rb8?! played by Ding, allowed Nepomniachtchi to build an initiative on the kingside; however, this initiative quickly faltered, with 23.Bg5? losing the advantage. Ding offered an exchange sacrifice with 26...Be6, allowing 27.Bxb5 cxb5, which would have given Ding connected passed pawns on the a- and b-files; however, Nepomniachtchi opted to trade bishops instead with 27.Bxe6, which was considered the "safer" move by commentators. Soon after, the players traded down into an endgame of rook, knight, and three pawns for White; versus rook, knight, and two pawns for Black. The pawn sacrifice 55...h3! by Ding received praise, splitting the remaining white pawns and rendering a draw nearly inevitable. Nepomniachtchi attempted to play on with his extra pawn, but a draw was eventually agreed on move 82.
Game 10: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, ½–½
The tenth game of the match, a 45-move draw, was played on 23 April. Ding once again chose the English Opening to begin the game, following the same opening as game 4, until Ding chose 4.e4 instead of 4.e3. The move 9...Bc5 came as a surprise to Ding, who spent 11 minutes on his response. After Ding found 10.Qg3, he was once again surprised by the reply 10...Kf8, as he had expected 10...g6 instead. Although he was clearly out of his preparation, Ding navigated the position well and was able to maintain a slight advantage. He entered the endgame up a pawn, but Nepomniachtchi comfortably held the draw. The players finished the game with bare kings, only the second game in World Chess Championship history to end with bare kings on the board, the previous occurrence being game 13 of the 2004 Kramnik–Leko match.
Game 11: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The eleventh game of the match, a 39-move draw, was played on 24 April. Against the Ruy Lopez, Ding returned to the main line with 3...a6, as he did in game 1. Ding and Nepomniachtchi followed the same opening moves as their game in the 2020 Candidates Tournament until Ding played 8...Na5. 15...c4 was considered to be an intriguing move by Ding, inviting a double-edged game. However, instead of 19.Qe2, which would have preserved winning chances for either side, Nepomniachtchi chose 19.dxc4, inviting a series of exchanges that later led to a fully drawn rook endgame, with the players drawing by repetition only a few moves later.
Game 12: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, 1–0
The twelfth game of the match, a 38-move win for Ding, was played on 26 April. The game was a complex and error-ridden affair, with both players showing extreme signs of nerves. For the opening, Ding chose the Colle System, about which Nepomniachtchi would later say "I wasn't surprised," although he played the opening inaccurately and could have been punished with accurate play. Through the double-edged middlegame that developed after Nepomniachtchi allowed the shattering of his kingside pawn structure while having already castled short, play remained relatively equal until Ding made the first mistake with 19.Bc2?, allowing Nepomniachtchi to build pressure on Ding's king down the open g-file and gain the advantage after a series of further inaccuracies by Ding. Though not a mistake, Nepomniachtchi's 26...b4 was perhaps unnecessarily complicated when 26...a6 would have kept a more stable advantage. Despite the complexity of the position, Nepomniachtchi played 27...Rag8? instead of the winning ...Nf3 quickly, which instigated a series of mutual errors with 28.Qc6? Bb8? 29.Qb7?? Rh6??, finishing with Ding finding 30.Be4, leaving the position equal. Fabiano Caruana commented, "This is pure nerves at this point. It's no longer about chess." The game's newfound equality remained until Nepomniachtchi played 34...f5??, allowing Ding to take a free pawn with 35.Rxe6 and gain a powerful kingside attack. Nepomniachtchi spent 17 minutes thinking of a response to Ding's move, leaving him with and 36 seconds to reach the time control at move 40. Many commentators took note of Nepomniachtchi's body language at this point, associating "complete disbelief" to his expression. After a few more moves, Nepomniachtchi resigned, with Ding Liren equalizing the match with two games remaining.
Game 13: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The thirteenth game of the match, a 40-move draw, was played on 27 April. It began with a Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation, similar to games 5 and 11 of the match. 10.Be3 was the first deviation from theory, a move never seen before at master level. The position remained equal until 18.f3?! by Nepomniachtchi, which allowed Ding to play for the ...d5. After 19...d5 20.exd5 Nxd5, Ding held a slight advantage. Ding spent 25 minutes of his clock to play 21...Re5?!, giving up the advantage he would have had after 21...Rb8 22.Bxd5 (the knight cannot be allowed to come to f4) Bxd5 23.Qd2, where he has the bishop pair. Nepomniachtchi later gave Ding a chance for an initiative after 23.Ne2; however, Ding played 23...Qe7, blocking the bishop on f8, rather than the superior 23...Qe8. Ding sacrificed the exchange with 25...Rxe4, and the players quickly into a drawish endgame where Nepomniachtchi was up an exchange, but down a pawn. Ding would later mention he considered playing for a win with 36...Ke6, but decided against it as he "didn't want to play a dark ocean kind of position". The players chose to repeat moves shortly thereafter, ending the game in a draw.
Game 14: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, ½–½
The fourteenth and longest game of the match, a 90-move draw, was played on 29 April. A win for either player would have resulted in winning the entire match and becoming world champion. Ding played 12.Ng5?!, which surprised many due to the fact that the knight could easily be attacked with 12...h6 (as in the game) and did not accomplish much, although the position was still near equality. Ding's 34.Ke2? was a mistake (34.Kd2! was accurate), but Nepomniachtchi relinquished his advantage with 36...e5?! (36...Rb3! was better), and with 38.b6! Ding liquidated into a drawn pawn-down rook endgame. Nepomniachtchi tried to create winning chances with 61...Kd7!, but Ding found the only drawing move 65.f4!. Nepomniachtchi was unable to make any progress and both players finally exchanged off the pieces and agreed to a draw on move 90.
Tie-break games
Tie-break games were played on 30 April.
Game 15: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, ½–½
The first game of the rapid tie-break ended in a 35-move draw. Ding avoided theory early with the move 3.c3, where the players then followed a 2019 game by Ding's second, Richard Rapport. Ding held a slight advantage for the majority of the game, but the inaccuracy 23.Rb1? returned the position to equality: 23.Rfc1! or 23.Qc2! would have been better. Soon after, Nepomniachtchi played a tactical shot that received praise from commentators, with 24...b6!! 25.cxb6 axb6!: the queen is untouchable, as after 26.Rxc7?? Nf3+ 27.Bxf3 Bxf3, mate arrives on the next move. Ding recognized this, and instead played the only move 26.Nb5!, initiating an exchange of queens. Soon after, Nepomniachtchi forced a draw by repetition on move 35.
Game 16: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, ½–½
The second game of the rapid tie-break was a 47-move draw. For the sixth time in the match, the players returned to the Ruy Lopez. Nepomniachtchi gained a slight advantage through the opening, with Viswanathan Anand commenting that "[it] seems like White has something to work with." After 20...Nd5 by Ding (20...Bd5! was better), Nepomniachtchi allowed the game to return to equality with 21.exd6, initiating a trade of bishops: it was preferable to keep the tension with 21.Bg3!. The players simplified into an endgame of two rooks and a knight, with both players having six pawns and Nepomniachtchi holding a slight advantage. Nepomniachtchi could have maintained pressure with 27.g3, but the resulting pawn-down rook endgame would still have been holdable for Ding. He played 27.Rc5, allowing Ding to play 27...d3!, forcing the game into an equal endgame, where the players made a draw on move 47.
Game 17: Ding–Nepomniachtchi, ½–½
The third game of the rapid tie-break was a 33-move draw. Instead of 1.d4 and 1.c4, as he had previously played throughout the match, Ding began with 1.Nf3, going into a popular line that saw exchanges in the center and an even position. Nepomniachtchi forced more exchanges with the tactical 12...Nf4. Shortly after, the players liquidated into an opposite-colored bishops endgame on move 26, quickly drawing by repetition a few moves later.
Game 18: Nepomniachtchi–Ding, 0–1
The fourth and final game of the rapid tie-break was a victory for Ding Liren, resulting in him winning the world championship. In another Ruy Lopez, Nepomniachtchi chose the "unusual" 13.Bb1!?, with both players making moves that appeared to indicate they were playing for a decisive game. The game quickly simplified into an endgame of queens, rooks, bishops, and pawns, with Nepomniachtchi having an extra pawn. Nepomniachtchi built a slight advantage, but a mistake, 35.Ra1?, allowed Ding to regain a pawn and return the game to equality. Two moves after Ding's brilliancy 42...Qe2!!, Nepomniachtchi gave Ding a chance to accept a draw by repetition; but after 44.Qe4+ Kg8 45.Qd5+ Kh7 46.Qe4+, instead of the anticipated 46...Kg8, Ding, who himself had gained an extra pawn in the meantime, instead signalled his intention to play for a win with the surprising 46...Rg6!, pinning his own rook, a move praised for its "boldness" by the commentators. From this point onwards, both players were under severe time pressure, with both clocks dropping to less than 60 seconds left. Nepomniachtchi responded inaccurately with 47.Qf5?! (47.h4 or 47.Rc2 would have held), allowing 47...c4!. After Nepomniachtchi played 48.h4?, Ding played the winning move 48...Qd3! in just two seconds. Engine analysis showed that the only move for Nepomniachtchi that would have held the draw was 48.Qf4!, a move Rafael Leitão described as "totally not human". After 49...Rf6? and 53...Rd6? by Ding, Nepomniachtchi exchanged rooks and brought the game back to near equality. However, Nepomniachtchi erred again with 59.Qc7? (moves that would have drawn were 59.h5 to control the g6-square, or 59.Bxg7! Kxg7 60.Qc7+ with a perpetual check), after which Ding found the winning move 59...Qg6. The final precise move from Ding was 62...h5! capitalizing on Nepomniachtchi's mistake 62.Kg2?. After 67...a2, Nepomniachtchi knocked some captured pieces onto the floor as his hands visibly trembled while searching for a move, clearly distraught; he resigned after one more move with less than 30 seconds on his clock.
Reactions
In the press conference immediately after winning the title, Ding reflected on the journey involved in becoming a World Champion. He said:
I started to learn chess from four years old… I spent 26 years playing, analyzing, trying to improve my chess ability with many different ways, with different changing methods. with many new ways of training. I think I did everything. Sometimes I thought I was addicted to chess, because sometimes without tournaments, I was not so happy. Sometimes I struggled to find other hobbies to make me happy. This match reflects the deepness of my soul. I could not control my mood. I will cry. I will burst into tears. It was quite a tough tournament for me. I feel quite relieved.
During the press conference, Nepomniachtchi expressed regret over his play, especially in the classical portion of the match. He said:
I guess I had a chance and many promising positions. Probably I should have tried to finish everything in the classical portion, because it was a matter of one or two precise moves. Today I should have used my advantage in the second game more carefully. There was a great position. And the fourth game was very difficult; Black had the initiative. But it happens. We both had little time. I could not imagine that this position could be lost, but as it turned out, it can.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand, who commentated during the event, said that it is impossible to praise both players enough, highlighting their energy and noting the final game as especially draining.
Former world champion Magnus Carlsen, who abdicated the World Chess Championship title before the match had taken place, congratulated Ding on Twitter by simply remarking: "Self-pinning for immortality. Congrats Ding!" It was a reference to Ding's move 46...Rg6, which voluntarily pinned his rook to his king.
Dylan Loeb McClain of The New York Times highlighted the significance of Ding's victory in his home country of China, where chess had previously been banned during the Cultural Revolution due to the game's strong presence in the Western world. With Ding's win gaining traction on Sina Weibo, McClain highlighted the importance of Ding's win as one user had mentioned Ding being the "pride of China".
McClain, along with Anand, highlighted the obstacles Ding faced on his path to becoming the World Chess Champion, as Ding had received a last-minute invite to the 2022 Candidates Tournament due to Karjakin's disqualification from the event after supporting
the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which involved playing a minimum of 30 classical chess games in China during the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. There, Ding qualified for the event as the runner-up of the Candidates Tournament after Carlsen's withdrawal from the event, where he went on to claim the World Championship title despite trailing the series for the majority of the time.
Aftermath
Per regulation, Ding won €1,100,000 (55% of the prize fund) while Nepomniachtchi took home €900,000 (45%). Ding won 1.4 Elo rating points and retained his number three position on the FIDE rating list, while Nepomniachtchi lost 1.4 points and remained second. On the rapid Rating lists, Ding won and Nepomniachtchi lost 1.4 Elo rating points and remained respectively second and seventh on the FIDE Rapid rating list.
As the runner-up, Nepomniachtchi will qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2024, an eight-player tournament to select Ding's challenger for the next World Chess Championship.
Notes
References
External links
Official website at FIDE
FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 at Lichess
FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 at Chess.com
World Championship Live at Chessbase
2023
2023 in chess
April 2023 sports events in Asia
May 2023 sports events in Asia
2023 in Kazakhstani sport
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Chess in Kazakhstan
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International sports competitions hosted by Kazakhstan