[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.09"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C85"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1483"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 e5 {Ding spent some time on his first move and admitted later that he
was considering other options and chose only when the game had begun.
"Actually I didn't prepare anything yesterday," he admitted, "because I am
struggling with my feelings, my emotions”.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6
5. O-O Be7 {[#]} 6. Bxc6 $5 {Nepomniachtchi is not interested in seeing Ding's
Marshall Gambit today.} dxc6 7. Re1 $5 Nd7 8. d4 exd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Bf4 Nc5
11. Qe3 $1 {The first deviation from the stem game with this line,
Bondarevsky-Smyslov 1946, where Bondarevsky exchanged queens and lost to the
endgame master Smyslov.} Bg4 $6 (11... Ne6 {is more solid, but Ding explained:
"In the first part of the game I didn’t think about chess so much. My mind
was very strange — memories, feelings, strange things happened. I felt that
maybe there was something wrong with my mind. Maybe it was due to the pressure
of the match"}) 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Nc3 Rad8 {[#]} 14. Nf5 {After the game a
journalist pointed out the trap} (14. h3 $1 Qxd4 $2 15. Nd5 $1 {to
Nepomniachtchi. "I didn't see it," he responded. Indeed 14.h3 is stronger than
the game move because after 14...Bh5 15.Nf5 Ne6 16.g4, White controls the
board.}) 14... Ne6 {Not bad, but} (14... Bxf5 $1 15. exf5 Rfe8 {was a safe
equaliser because, as Anand pointed out in the commentary,} 16. b4 $2 {allows}
Na4 $1 17. Nxa4 Bxb4 $1 {, when Black wins.}) 15. Nxe7+ (15. Bh6 $5 {looked
like more fun, but didn't offer much after} Bh5 {.}) 15... Qxe7 16. Bg3 Bh5 17.
f3 f6 18. h3 h6 19. Kh2 {White has all the time in the world to improve his
position, while Black is tied to the c7 pawn.} Bf7 20. Rad1 b6 21. a3 a5 22.
Ne2 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Rd3 c5 25. Qd2 {[#]} c6 $6 {Played after 11 minutes,
which left Ding with 20 to reach the time control. (There is no 30 second
increment until after move 60 in this match.) It is understandable for Ding to
tire of defending c7, but now the rest of the pawn chain becomes a problem.}
26. Rxd8+ Nxd8 27. Qf4 $1 {"Now my queen comes to b8 and Black is under some
pressure," said Nepomniachtchi, who realised he was by now winning a pawn.
"Whether it really leads to anything, I am not sure."} b5 28. Qb8 Kh7 {[#]} 29.
Bd6 {"I couldn't decide which pawn to take, either with Bc7xa5 or Bd6xc5,"
admitted Nepomniachtchi. "I decided on domination." Nepomniachtchi was not
satisfied with} (29. Bc7 $5 Ne6 30. Bxa5 Qd7 $1 31. Nf4 Nxf4 32. Qxf4 {when
the queens will come off the board sooner or later and White will have to try
to win an opposite bishops ending. Fabiano Caruana opined that such an endgame
would be close to winning for White, and with Ding already in time trouble, he
assessed the position as "serious, serious winning chances".}) 29... Qd7 $1 30.
Ng3 {This was White's last chance for} (30. Qc7 Qxc7 31. Bxc7 Nb7 32. g4 {
, followed by the advance of the White king. In practice this would offer
excellent winning chances (again), but Nepomniachtchi wanted more.}) 30... Ne6
31. f4 $6 {Too hasty. After} (31. c3 {White keeps all his trumps - and his
hopes for domination alive.}) 31... h5 $1 {"An important touch," said
Nepomniachtchi. "I can't push the Black knight back to d8 so Black is more or
less fine."} 32. c3 c4 $6 {"I am in time trouble," said Ding, "but I’m
getting back into the game, I’m not down a pawn, and his attacking chances
seem not that strong. So I found that my position was not as bad as expected!"
Ding had no time to calculate the line} (32... h4 $5 33. Nf5 Bg6 $1 34. Nxh4 (
34. Ne7 Be8 {is nothing, despite appearances.)}) 34... Bxe4 35. f5 Ng5 36. Ng6
$5 Qxf5 $1 {when he is not getting mated and his troubles are over.}) 33. h4 $1
Qd8 {[#]} 34. Qb7 $2 {Missing a last chance to keep pressure on Ding.
Nepomniachtchi needed to forget about complications and try} (34. Qxd8 $1 Nxd8
35. f5 $1 Nb7 36. Be7 $1 {when White is ready for Ne2 and Kg3-f4, while
Black's knight takes forever to return to the game via a5 and b3. In practical
play Black would be struggling to hold, though computers, who ignore practical
considerations, also like White's chances a lot.}) 34... Be8 $1 {Avoiding
Nepomniachtchi's trap} (34... Qxd6 $2 35. Qxf7 Nxf4 36. Nf5 {and White wins.})
35. Nf5 Qd7 36. Qb8 Qd8 37. Qxd8 Nxd8 38. Nd4 Nb7 39. e5 Kg8 $1 40. Kg3 Bd7 {
[#]} 41. Bc7 (41. e6 $2 Bxe6 $1 {would be an unhappy accident.}) 41... Nc5 $1 {
The time control has been reached and the weakness of the b2 pawn ensures a
draw.} 42. Bxa5 Kf7 43. Bb4 Nd3 44. e6+ Bxe6 45. Nxc6 Bd7 {The last chance to
waste hours of good defence would be} (45... Nxb2 $2 46. Nd8+ $1 {, etc.}) 46.
Nd4 Nxb2 47. Kf3 Nd3 48. g3 Nc1 49. Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.10"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1483"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 {[#]} 4. h3 $5 {A massive surprise for
Nepomniachtchi, who confessed: "I started recording 4.g3 and then I realised
it was actually 4.h3!. I had a feeling that maybe it's the influence of
Richard Rapport. It's a tricky move without a direct idea, but it turned out
to be quite venomous."  After the game Ding explained: 4.h3 is a move that is
very rare but I came with a lot of ideas. The move was a good invention of my
seconds; I just didn't play it very well"} dxc4 {"I decided to go for a
Queen's Gambit Accepted position from my preparation," said Nepomniachtchi,
"but with White's pawn on h3. In fact Ding got a well-known position but with
a tempo up. So actually 4.h3 worked."} 5. e3 c5 6. Bxc4 a6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3 b5
9. Bd3 Bb7 10. a4 b4 11. Ne4 Na5 $5 {[#]} 12. Nxf6+ $2 {"I spent a long time
on this move," said Ding, "but it turned out to be bad. I should take on c5
but it looked equal and drawish." Aronian was both disappointed and scathing
of Ding's choice: 4.h3 is brilliant. The woes for White only started after the
inexplicable 12.Nxf6+. It seems illogical, since the placement of the white
pawn on h3 could not be more advantageous after 12…gxf6!."  Curiously, in an
almost identical position (with a White rook on e1 and pawn back on h2), Ding
had preferred the correct 12.Nxc5 when playing against Aronian in a blitz
tournament in November.} gxf6 $1 {"12...gxf6 was a total surprise, admitted
Ding. "I only expected 12...Qxf6 and I was preparing to play e4 and Bg5. "In
this sort of position h3 is weakening when I have the g file," explained
Nepomniachtchi. Aronian once again went even further: "Call me old fashioned,
but somehow I believe White is the one who has to try to open files and
attack! The last time I saw a black bishop on b7 with the g file being open
was in the Kramnik-Anand match and we all know how that ended for White. So 13.
Nxf6 gave me bad vibes."} 13. e4 $6 {"If Ding went for 13.dxc5 I think it
would have been a different game," said Nepomniachtchi. "It looks nice for
Black but.at least Black's play isn't flowing as easily as in the game."} c4
14. Bc2 Qc7 15. Bd2 {"I couldn't find a good way to place my pieces," admitted
Ding.} Rg8 16. Rc1 O-O-O 17. Bd3 Kb8 18. Re1 {[#]} f5 $1 {"A brilliant move,
after that I am nearly lost," said Ding.  "After I played 18...f5, it's
clearly very very shaky for White," said Nepomniachtchi. - "It looks very ugly
for White. I just threw all the pieces in the centre and it was enough."} 19.
Bc2 Nc6 $1 {"A really nice move," said Ding. "I missed nearly everything in
this game." "I also considered 19...f6," said Nepomniachtchi, "but using the
knight is more natural."} {[#]} 20. Bg5 (20. Bb1 $5 {would have been a better
try, because Nepomniactchi was planning} Nxd4 {, having missed} 21. Nxd4 Rxd4
$2 (21... Bc5 $1 {is still strong.}) 22. Bf4 $1 {and White survives.  However,
if he had taken a little time Nepomniachtchi would probably have found 20...
fxe4 21.Bxe4 f5 when Black's attack continues apace.}) 20... Rxg5 $1 {"The
position plays itself," declared Nepomniachtchi. "[Such an exchange sacrifice]
is a question of culture, you just chop and chop on d4. It must be very, very
promising."} 21. Nxg5 Nxd4 22. Qh5 f6 $1 {"A nice touch," said Nepomniachtchi.
"I win a second pawn." To add to his troubles, Ding was becoming short on time,
} 23. Nf3 Nxc2 24. Rxc2 Bxe4 25. Rd2 Bd6 26. Kh1 {[#]} c3 $1 27. bxc3 bxc3 28.
Rd4 c2 29. Qh6 e5 $1 {"Of course [it is terrible] to lose like this," said
Ding "[a game where] I cannot understand what was happening."} 0-1

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.12"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D35"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 $5 {A small surprise for Ding, who had appeared down and out after the
second game. "I didn't expect it," said Ding. "He has played it recently but
it is not his main weapon. But I want to thank my friends, who helped me deal
with my emotional problems. Now I feel more comfortable. You can see I spend
more time on the stage than hiding in the rest room."} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5
4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qc2 {A sign that
Nepomniachtchi is happy to consolidate his lead rather than build on it. The
main tries here involve omitting Qc2, e.g.} (9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O Nbd7 {and now,
because} 11. f3 {is well met by} b5 $1 {, White has tried the weird 11.a4!?,
hoping for 11...a5?! 12.f3!.}) 9... Re8 10. Nge2 Nbd7 11. O-O {"A well known
position. A lot of games have been played in this Carlsbad structure," said
Nepomniachtchi. "It is a solid position for Black and it is hard to break the
equality."} a5 12. a3 {[#]} Nh5 {Unusual, but Ding had already played this way
against Giri in an online tournament in 2022 and "I had checked it today,"
said Nepomniachtchi.} 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rae1 Nf8 15. Nc1 Nf6 16. f3 Ne6 17.
N1e2 {Trying to improve on Giri's} (17. Qf2 {, but after Ding's reply White
has nothing.}) 17... c5 18. Bb5 Rd8 19. dxc5 Qxc5 20. Qd2 {[#]} Bd7 {"I
calculated} (20... d4 21. exd4 Nxd4 22. Nxd4 Rxd4 23. Qf2 {," said Ding. "Now}
Be6 {would be a blunder because of} 24. Rd1 Rad8 25. Ne2 {. So I have to play
20...Bd7."}) 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 $1 {"Quite a move!" said Nepomniachtchi. "I must
have played in a sub-optimal way, because now I realised I had to be precise 
[to equalise]."} 22. Nd4 {The d5 pawn is invulnerable since} (22. Qxd5 Qxe3+
23. Kh1 Ndc5 {is promising for Black and}) (22. Nxd5 $2 Nb6 {is just a
disaster.}) 22... Nb6 {"Now I was playing for a win," said Ding.} 23. Rd1 Nc4
24. Qf2 Rac8 25. Na4 Qe7 26. Rfe1 Qf6 {[#]} 27. Nb5 $1 {This is the key to
avoiding problems, after which Ding could see nothing better than a repetition.
} Nc7 {"I also considered} (27... d4 28. exd4 Nf4 {, said Ding, "but it seemed
too risky." Indeed after} 29. Nac3 Qg5 30. Kh1 Re8 31. Re4 {, Black is the one
working for a draw.}) 28. Nd4 Ne6 29. Nb5 Nc7 30. Nd4 Ne6 {"A decent result
for both of us," said Ding.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.13"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. c4 {"The choice of first move is not so important," said Ding. "My choice
is always connected to an idea which I want to try."} Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6
4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 {The modern choice.} (5... O-O 6. Nd5 Re8 7. Qf5 $5 {
is known since the 1980s to be awkward for Black.}) 6. bxc3 d6 7. e4 $5 {
"I expected the English Opening," said Nepomniachtchi, "but not this
particular line.} O-O 8. Be2 Nh5 9. d4 {[#]} Nf4 $6 {"I knew this line," said
Nepomniachtchi, "and tried to recall some preparation, but maybe I mixed up
some things." The main line is} (9... Qf6 {, when White's best is supposed to
be the pawn sacrifice} 10. g3 $5 {. "I was out of my preparation after 10...
Nf4," admitted Ding.}) 10. Bxf4 exf4 11. O-O {Ding's second Richard Rapport
had once reached this position and played} (11. h4 $5 {, which is hardly in
Ding's style since "I was on my own," Ding said.}) 11... Qf6 12. Rfe1 Re8 13.
Bd3 Bg4 14. Nd2 Na5 $5 15. c5 $1 {"It was overoptimistic to allow this [pawn
break] to happen," admitted Nepomniachtchi.} dxc5 16. e5 Qh6 17. d5 Rad8 18. c4
b6 {[#] "I misjudged the structure after 15.c5," admitted Nepomniactchi after
the game. "I thought that the position was quite nice for Black but even so,
it is very difficult to play as Black has no idea what to do."} 19. h3 Bh5 20.
Be4 Re7 21. Qc3 Rde8 22. Bf3 Nb7 23. Re2 f6 $5 {A decision regretted by
Nepomniactchi after the game, yet without this move Black's knight will
struggle to return to the centre, since} (23... Nd6 $2 {fails to} 24. exd6 $1
Rxe2 25. d7 $1 Rd8 26. Bxe2 Bxe2 27. Re1 {and White wins.}) 24. e6 Nd6 {
Commentator Viswanathan Anand was critical of Nepomniachtchi's decision to
meekly allow the exchange of light squared bishops, preferring} (24... Bg6 {
here or next move.}) 25. Rae1 Nf5 26. Bxh5 Qxh5 27. Re4 Qh6 {"I suppose this
is still more or less equal," said Nepomniachtchi, "until I lost my focus and..
."} 28. Qf3 {[#]} Nd4 $2 {"After} (28... g5 {it remains quite tense," said
Nepomniachtchi, "though it is still much easier to play for White."}) 29. Rxd4
$1 {"To be honest, when I played 28.Qf3 I was calculating 28…Nd4 29.Qd3,
going back," admitted Ding, "but when he played 28...Nd4, I suddenly saw the
idea of the exchange sacrifice."} cxd4 30. Nb3 $1 {"Of course I considered 29.
Rxd4 when playing 28...Nd4," said Nepomniachtchi, but it wouldn't be so strong
were it not for 30.Nb3, when 30...c5 never works."} {[#]} g5 {"The important
point is that after} (30... c5 {I have} 31. d6 $1 {, which is very, very lucky
for me," said Ding, indicating the variation} Rxe6 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. d7 Rd6 34.
Qa8+ Kf7 35. Qe8# $1 {checkmate!. "Since 30...c5 doesn’t work, he not only
loses a pawn, but also my knight is very, very strongly-placed on d4,"
continued Ding. "Suddenly I felt I was winning - it was a little hard to
believe!"}) 31. Nxd4 Qg6 32. g4 $1 fxg3 33. fxg3 h5 {At least now if White
consolidates his knight on f5, Black will have an open h file, so Ding changes
tack.} 34. Nf5 Rh7 35. Qe4 $1 Kh8 {[#]} 36. e7 Qf7 {Necessary sooner or later,
since after} (36... Qg8 37. Re2 {, Black has almost run out of moves and must
give back the exchange after the pawn moves end.}) 37. d6 cxd6 38. Nxd6 Qg8 39.
Nxe8 Qxe8 40. Qe6 Kg7 {[#]} 41. Rf1 $1 Rh6 42. Rd1 $1 f5 43. Qe5+ Kf7 44. Qxf5+
Rf6 45. Qh7+ Ke6 46. Qg7 Rg6 47. Qf8 $1 {Faced with the prospect of} (47. Qf8
Rg8 48. Qxg8+ $1 Qxg8 49. Rd8 {, Nepomniachtchi preferred to resign.  "It was
a very hard game, and I managed to keep things under control," said Ding after
the game. "There were a lot of emotions before, but now I am totally focussed
on this match."  "It is a long match and we are just beginning," said
Nepomniachtchi. "It is a totally different story to when I lost [to Carlsen at
the 2021 title match] in Dubai."  Anand commented; "Ian's worst moves were
played very fast which is a sign that he is being affected by nerves. He will
have to calm down."}) 1-0

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.15"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Bb7 {[#]} 10. a4 $5 {A little-analysed sideline, perfect for a world
title match.} (10. Re1 {or}) (10. Nbd2 {are almost universally played. "I
didn't expect this line," admitted Ding,}) 10... Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Bg5 h6 {
"I considered} (12... Qd7 {" said Ding, "but then after} 13. axb5 axb5 14. Nbd2
{, perhaps I have to play} h6 {anyway. I believe my play in the opening was
not so bad, but still the position is slightly unpleasant."}) 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14.
axb5 axb5 {[#]} 15. Nbd2 {"Clearly this line looks innocent for Black," said
Nepomniachtchi. "But I felt that White has long-term [prospects]; if not an
advantage then it is easier to play for White. It is not deadly, but I was
happy with the opening."} Nc6 16. Bd5 Rxa1 17. Qxa1 Qd7 18. Re1 Ra8 19. Qd1 {
[#] "This position formed part of my preparation," said Nepomniachtchi, who
had only used two minutes on the clock to this point.} Bd8 $5 {"His plan ...
Bd8-b6 is very risky," said Nepomniachtchi. "If I have time to play h4-h5
White will be better."} 20. Nf1 Ne7 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Ne3 Bb6 {[#]} 23. h4 $1 {
Just at the right moment.} Qc6 (23... h5 $6 {allows} 24. Ng5 $1 g6 25. Qb3 $1 {
, winning a pawn. "Now I will be on the defence throughout the rest of the
game," said Ding.}) 24. h5 {"I thought about playing} (24. c4 $5 {to reduce
counterplay," said Nepomniachtchi, "but then he is in time for} Ba5 25. Re2 h5
{when my queen can't go to active squares on the kingside. I liked both 24.h5
and 24.c4 but after 24.h5 I will be better in all sorts of endgames."}) 24...
c4 25. d4 $1 exd4 (25... Qxe4 {loses to} 26. Nxc4 $1 {.}) 26. Nxd4 Qc5 27. Qg4
Qe5 $1 28. Nf3 Qe6 {[#]} 29. Nf5 Nxf5 {"The critical moment in the game," said
Ding. "I should have played} (29... Qf6 {instead of exchanging knights."}) 30.
exf5 Qf6 $6 {"I thought I was very close to equality," said Ding," and I
became a bit impatient and lost focus."} (30... Qd7 $1 {was indeed an
equaliser, because} 31. Qf4 {can be met by} Bd8 {.}) 31. Qe4 Rb8 32. Re2 Bc5 {
[#]} 33. g4 $1 {"I had missed this," admitted Ding. "I thought I would be able
to play ...b4. With 33.g4 not only does he protect f5 but I am running out of
space on the kingside and don't have so many moves."} Qd8 34. Qd5 Kf8 35. Kf1
$1 {"It was really important to move the king away from the a7-g1 diagonal,"
explained Nepomniachtchi.} Rc8 36. Re4 Rb8 {[#]} 37. g5 $1 hxg5 38. Rg4 $1 Ra8
{"In time trouble he had missed that} (38... f6 {can be met by} 39. Nh4 $1 gxh4
40. h6 $1 {," explained Nepomniachtchi. "Now White is winning."}) 39. Nxg5 Ra1+
40. Ke2 Qe7+ 41. Ne4 Qe8 42. Kf3 Qa8 43. Qxa8+ Rxa8 {[#]} 44. f6 $1 {Even
without the queens White's attack continues.} g6 (44... gxf6 {allows} 45. Nxf6
Ke7 46. Ng8+ $1 Kf8 47. h6 {and the pawn queens.}) 45. hxg6 fxg6 46. Rxg6 Ra2
47. Kg4 $1 Rxb2 48. Rh6 {There is no defence against 49.Ng5 with mate to
follow.} 1-0

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.16"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 {"Today I wasn't sure which opening to play and at
the last moment I decided to go for the London System," explained Ding. "I
wanted to stay calm after yesterday's loss and this suited me pretty well."} c5
4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. c3 e6 {[#]} 8. Bb5 $5 {A small surprise
- "part of my preparation," said Ding.. The old main line} (8. Qb3 {is known
to be well met by} Bd6 $1 9. Qxb7 Bxf4 10. Qxc6+ Kf8 {when the bishop pair
gives Black full compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 8... Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6
10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 h6 12. Ne5 Ne7 13. a4 $5 {"This is a reversed Carlsbad
pawn structure," said Ding, who therefore sought to prevent the typical
minority attack with ...a6 and ...b5.} a6 14. Bf1 {[#]} Nd7 $6 {The seeds of
Black's defeat can be found here. The text move allows White to dominate the
dark squares on the queenside, whereas} (14... a5 $1 {followed by ...b6, makes
it hard for White to find a constructive plan.}) 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. a5 Qc7 17.
Qf3 Rfc8 18. Ra3 $1 {"A very useful waiting move," said Ding. "If immediately}
(18. Nb3 Nc6 19. Qg3 {he can exchange queens and have more options than in the
game."}) 18... Bg6 19. Nb3 Nc6 20. Qg3 Qe7 (20... Qxg3 {followed by passive
defence is unpleasant but might be the best practical chance.}) 21. h4 Re8 22.
Nc5 {[#] The set-up White has been planning for so long. Ding has seen that 22.
..Nxa5 fails to 23.Rxa5 b6 24.h5! Bxh5 25.Nxe6! fxe6 26.Rxd5 and was now
expecting to grind Nepomniachtchi into the dust. However...} e5 $5 {"This was
not part of my plan!" admitted Ding. "I thought I was the one pressing!
Perhaps I should have replied 23.b4 because after 22...e5 and 23...Nxa5,
suddenly he has a lot of counterplay."} 23. Rb3 Nxa5 24. Rxe5 Qf6 25. Ra3 Nc4
26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. h5 {[#]} Bc2 {"I think it was equal if I had played} (27...
Bd3 {instead of 27...Bc2," said Nepomniachtchi, bemoaning missing what he
believed was a chance to surivive. This would indeed be true after 28.Nxb7 Qb6
but} 28. b4 $1 {keeps White well on top.}) ({After the game Nepomniachtchi was
shown the computer resource} 27... Rxe5 28. dxe5 Qd8 $1 {which secures a draw
if White captures the bishop due to checks on d1, h5 and e5, but even here} 29.
Qf3 $1 {keeps White on top.}) 28. Nxb7 Qb6 29. Nd6 $1 Rxe5 30. Qxe5 Qxb2 31.
Ra5 $1 {"I was very happy to find 31.Ra5," said Ding. "It might be the
critical move of the game. At first I intended} (31. Nxc4 Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Bd3 33.
Qe3 Qd1 34. Ne5 Qxh5+ 35. Qh3 {but he swaps queens and this endgame is not so
easy to win."}) ({The more obvious} 31. Ne8 {allows} Rxe8 $1 32. Qxe8+ Kh7 {
with dual threats of 33...Qxa3 and a perpetual check starting with 33...Qc1+.})
31... Kh7 {Ding's tactical point is that} (31... Qxc3 {loses to} 32. Ne8 $1 f6
33. Qd5+ Kh7 34. Nxf6+ $1 {etc.}) {[#]} 32. Rc5 Qc1+ $6 {In the nine minutes
he spent on this move, Nepomniachtchi did not find the incredible computer
defence} (32... Qxc3 $1 33. Nxf7 Bd3 34. Rc7 Qc1+ $1 35. Kh2 Re8 $3 {which
holds for Black. (That's why all compters prefer the passive 32.Qe1 to Ding's
more natural 32.Rc5.)}) 33. Kh2 f6 34. Qg3 a5 {Black's best chance is to run
with his a pawn. It would scare many players, but Ding remains nerveless.} 35.
Nxc4 a4 36. Ne3 $1 (36. Nb6 Re8 $1 {is far more messy.}) 36... Bb1 37. Rc7 Rg8
38. Nd5 $1 Kh8 {White was threatening 39.Qxg7+!!, forcing mate.} 39. Ra7 a3 40.
Ne7 Rf8 {[#]} 41. d5 $3 {The time control reached, Ding could afford to spend
19 minutes on this seemingly irrelevant move, which in fact sets up a
wonderful mating attack. The more obvious} (41. Qc7 Kh7 42. Nf5 $6 {is not so
clear in view of} Rg8 43. Nxg7 Kh8 $1 {and there is no mate.}) 41... a2 42. Qc7
$1 {'I was very happy to find this idea," said Ding.} Kh7 43. Ng6 $1 Rg8 {[#]}
44. Qf7 $1 ({After} 44. Qf7 {, Black is mated by force, e.g.} Bxg6 45. hxg6+
Kh8 46. Qxg8+ Kxg8 47. Ra8# {, or}) (44. Qf7 Qg5 45. Qxg8+ $1 Kxg8 46. Ra8+ Kf7
47. Rf8# $1 {- when the positioning of the pawn on d5 provides the final piece
of the mating net. "In some ways this felt like a mirror of yesterday's game,"
said Nepomniachtchi, "with the same material and the same patterns, [a mating
attack using the h5 pawn]."}) 1-0

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.18"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C07"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e6 {"An opening I played in my childhood," said Ding. "During a walk
with Richard Rapport back in Hangzhou, I told him I might play the French
Defence, but it was half-joke, half-serious. He took it seriously. Today he
suggested I could try the French Defence to surprise my opponent and I took
his advice since I had prepared a lot."} 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 {A quiet
line. "You will get crazy if you prepare each and every opening for every game,
" explained Nepomniachtchi. "So, I decided that if we have the French Defence,
I will play stuff that I have played a lot online."} cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. exd5
Nxd5 7. N2f3 {"I honestly felt that this position is very safe, with a small
edge for White," said Nepomniachtchi.} Be7 8. Bc4 {[#]} Nc6 $5 {A new idea in
a position where} (8... O-O {was considered de rigeur.}) 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. O-O
O-O 11. Qe2 Bb7 12. Bd3 Qc7 13. Qe4 Nf6 14. Qh4 c5 {Entirely natural, but Ding
spent 21 minutes on it and had already used almost 50 minutes of his two hours
to reach a position he had foreshadowed with 8...Nc6.} 15. Bf4 Qb6 16. Ne5 {
[#] With very natural moves, Nepomniachtchi has built up a dangerous attacking
position. The most immediate threat is 17.Nd7.} Rad8 17. Rae1 g6 18. Bg5 Rd4
19. Qh3 Qc7 {Staying cool.} (19... Nd5 20. Bxe7 Nxe7 {looks like a useful
simplification but after} 21. c3 Rdd8 22. Qh6 {White retains pressure.}) 20. b3
(20. c3 $5 Rd5 21. f4 {was also promising. The computer claims Black can then
equalise with} c4 $5 22. Nxc4 h6 $1 {, but such random tactics were unlikely
to be on either player's radar.}) 20... Nh5 21. f4 {[#]  By now Nepomniachtchi
was becoming very optimistic about his prospects, hopes which were
extinguished by Ding's next two moves.} Bd6 $1 {"A superb move," said
Nepomniachtchi, "after which I didn't see what to do."} 22. c3 Nxf4 $1 {
This sacrifice is the point behind Ding's idea, and like 21...Bd6, played
quickly; by now Ding was down to his last 20 minutes.} 23. Bxf4 {Only after
the game did the players learn that} (23. Rxf4 $5 Bxe5 24. Bxg6 $1 {was
possible for White, although here} hxg6 25. cxd4 cxd4 $1 {maintains the
balance for Black.}) 23... Rxf4 24. Rxf4 Bxe5 {Black has excellent
compensation for the exchange and Nepomniachtchi must now tread carefully.} 25.
Rh4 Rd8 26. Be4 Bxe4 27. Rhxe4 Rd5 {[#] "I headed for this position," said
Nepomniachtchi, "but Black is surely slightly better, with a pawn for the
exchange and my rooks placed poorly."} 28. Rh4 Qd6 {"I was very sceptical
about my position had he played} (28... Bf6 $5 {," admitted Nepomniachtchi,
"because after} 29. Rxh7 Qd6 $1 {looks ugly for me."  However in this line 29.
Rc4, as in the game, is playable for White.}) 29. Qe3 {"Now I can brinbg my
rook to c4 and stabilise a little," said Nepomniachtchi.} h5 30. g3 Bf6 31. Rc4
{[#] Perhaps the critical position in the entire match. When Ding began
thinking,  he had 9 minutes to Nepomniachtchi’s 12. By the time Ding had
moved, his clock was under six minutes to reach the time control (with no
increments).} h4 $5 {"When he played 31.Rc4, suddenly I realised maybe I was
slightly worse after that. I cannot go} (31... Rd3 {because he can take on c5.
If I just wait with}) (31... Kg7 {, he will play} 32. Rf1 {when he has
stabilised, and maybe he’s going to be better. So I want to take immediate
action and played 31...h4."  On the other side of the board, Nepomniachtchi
viewed the positon entirely differently: "Black has every reason to be
ambitious here, and it would be quite normal to make some solid moves like ...
Kg7 or ...Rf5, repeat moves once or twice, and then pass the time control.
Black could never be worse because my king is so weak and the d-file is
controlled. But after 31...h4 there are three possible results [to this game]
instead of two."}) 32. gxh4 {Here Ding seemed to freeze, only moving when he
had 45 seconds left on his clock.} Rd2 {"I played 31…h4 with the idea of 32.
gxh4 Rd2," said Ding, "but I totally missed 33.Re2 and if 33…Rd1+ 34.Kg2. So
after 32.gxh4 I started to think again, and I couldn’t find any way to
continue." With a little more compusure, Ding might have continued} (32... Be5
$5 {, since} 33. Re2 $2 {allows} Bxh2+ $1) 33. Re2 Rd3 $2 (33... Rd5 {was
still completely playable.}) 34. Qxc5 {[#]} Rd1+ {"After the game Ian told me
that I could try} (34... Bd4+ $5 35. cxd4 Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Qf4 {and maybe it is a
chance to draw," said Ding.  “I wasn’t sure if there is a win for me,"
explained Nepomniachtchi, "because my king is so exposed.”  The computer
disagrees, showing that after} 37. Qe5 $3 {, the checks soon run out.}) 35. Kg2
Qd3 {"He completely lost the thread," said Nepomniachtchi.} 36. Rf2 Kg7 37.
Rcf4 Qxc3 {Here Ding, with three second left to reach move 40, resigned
without waiting for Nepomniachtchi's move. "I played the game not so badly,"
said a rueful Ding at the press conference. "But just at the end I messed
things up.”} 1-0

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.20"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E28"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 $5 {"A very principled line,"
said Nepomniachtchi, "which is on the radar of many top players."} Bxc3+ 6.
bxc3 d6 7. Ne2 c5 8. Ng3 Nc6 {[#]} 9. Ra2 $5 {A weird alternative to} (9. Bd3 {
Ding regarded as a secret weapon: "This idea I considered some kind of
cannonball in my opening preparation. The idea can be very powerful, and it
involves very, very extensive preparation; there is a very deep idea behind
this."  Nepomniachtchi was not so impressed: "This is a topical line and,
weird as it looks, 9.Ra2 is the engine's top choice."}) 9... b6 10. e4 Ba6 11.
Bg5 h6 12. h4 $1 hxg5 13. hxg5 g6 {"I was aware of this piece sacrifice," said
Nepomniachtchi, "and I knew that after 13...g6 Black is fine.} (13... cxd4 {
is also in my files. It was a fun line to analyse, but it turned out to be not
so much fun to play!"}) 14. gxf6 Qxf6 {[#]} 15. e5 $5 {"A surprise for me,"
admitted Nepomniachtchi. "I was considering 15...Qf4 but I went for the
principled line."} dxe5 {Here Nepomniachtchi doged his first bullet, because} (
15... Qf4 $6 {is close to losing after} 16. Re2 $1 {, the point is that after}
cxd4 {White has} 17. Re4 $1 Qg5 18. cxd4 {when} dxe5 {walks into} 19. Rg4 $1
Qe7 20. Qc1 $1 {with a massive attack.}) 16. d5 {"There were many options to
choose between," said Ding, explaining why he spent so long thinking in a line
he had chosen. "Here} (16. Ne4 {was very interesting too."}) 16... Ne7 17. d6
Nf5 18. Ne4 Qd8 19. Qd3 Kg7 20. g4 $1 {[#]} Bb7 $1 {"Now I felt over-ambitious,
" admitted Nepomniachtchi, "and I made some awful moves, which almost cost me
the game."} 21. Rh3 $1 Nh4 $6 {"It was a simple choice just to capture on e4
and then capture on d6 with the queen," said Nepomniachtchi, showing} (21...
Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Qxd6 (22... Nxd6 $5) 23. Rd2 Qc7 24. gxf5 exf5 {"and Black can
never be worse." Nepomniachtchi's analysis missed 24.Rhd3!? in this line,
which could still set Black some difficult problems.}) 22. g5 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Nf5
24. Rd2 $1 {"I just completely, completely forgot about 24.Rd2," admitted
Nepomniachtchi. "I think that after 24.Rd2 suddenly Black is lost."} Rh8 25.
Rxh8 Qxh8 {[#]} 26. d7 {Played immediately, after a 10 minute think on the
previous move.  "Immediately after the game my team showed me that} (26. Rd3 $3
{wins easily," said Ding. (Black has no defence against 27.Rh3 and only then
28.Qxe5+.)}) 26... Rd8 27. Qxe5+ Kh7 28. Qh2+ Kg7 29. Qe5+ Kh7 30. Qh2+ Kg7 31.
Qc7 {[#] This was the position Ding had envisaged on move 25, believing that
Black was in serious trouble - but Nepomniachtchi's reply came as a shock.} Qh4
$5 {"I guess I was very lucky to bluff [and get away] with this move,"
admitted Nepomniachtchi. "After} (31... Qf8 {and 32...Qe7 the position is
quite ugly, but it is not lost by force."}) 32. Kd1 {“When I played 31...Qh4
I thought I was very smart and the king had no escape," said Nepomniachtchi,
"but then I saw} (32. Qxd8 Qe4+ 33. Re2 Qb1+ 34. Kd2 Qb2+ 35. Kd3 Qb1+ 36. Rc2
{[#]} Qd1+ $1 37. Ke4 $1 Qxc2+ 38. Bd3 {which was very hard to spot from a
distance. But in practice it worked like a charm."  Ding explained that he was
worried about time trouble and was content to find a line which retained his
advantage: "I briefly checked the line, but I stopped at 35...Qb1+ and was
very disappointed. I didn’t calculate any further, because I did not have so
much time. After yesterday’s loss I wanted to play more quickly."}) 32...
Qxg5 {"Now I have chances to escape," said Nepomniachtchi.} 33. Kc2 Qe7 34. Bg2
{[#]} e5 $6 {A failed attempt to shut the light-squared bishop out of the game.
Given his willingness to sacrifice the knight on f5 earlier in the game, it
was surprising that the Russian did not find} (34... Nd4+ $1 35. cxd4 Rxd7 $1 {
, removing White's trump card. Then after} 36. Qe5+ f6 37. Qe3 cxd4 38. Rxd4
Rxd4 39. Qxd4 Qxa3 {a draw is highly likely, with Black possibly having more
of the winning chances. "I considered 34...Nd4+ but didn't think it was
necessary," admitted Nepomniachtchi.}) 35. Be4 $1 Nh6 {It is too late for} (
35... Nd4+ $2 {in view of} 36. cxd4 Rxd7 37. Qxe5+ {.}) 36. Qxa7 Ng4 {[#]} 37.
Bf3 $2 {Overlooking Black's reply. After} (37. Bc6 $1 {, White retains
excellent winning chances, threatening just to take the b6 pawn and Queen the
a pawn.}) 37... Nxf2 $3 38. Rxf2 e4 $1 39. Re2 f5 40. Qxb6 Rxd7 $1 {"} (40...
Qxd7 {doesn't work because of} 41. Rg2 $1 {," explained Nepomniachtchi,
continuing} Qd6 42. Qxd6 Rxd6 {"when there is this trick} 43. Bh5 $1 {, going
into a pawn endgame." (In fact even here Black is fine, but only by playing} f4
$3 {, with the point that after} 44. Rxg6+ Rxg6 45. Bxg6 Kxg6 46. a4 Kg5 $1 {
both sides will queen with a draw.)}) 41. Qb8 Qd6 $1 {[#] Forcing a drawn rook
endgame.} 42. Qxd6 Rxd6 43. Bxe4 (43. Bg2 Ra6 44. Kb2 Kf6 {would be asking for
trouble.}) 43... fxe4 44. Rxe4 Kf6 45. Re8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.21"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[PlyCount "163"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {"The Berlin Defence was not a surprise for me,
" said Nepomniachtchi.} 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 (6... d6 {has been
played more often but the text move has been very popular at the highest level
in recent times.}) 7. Nbd2 (7. exd5 Qxd5 8. Bc4 Qd8 {is the alternative main
line.}) 7... dxe4 8. dxe4 {[#]} a5 $5 {This computer recommendation has taken
over from} (8... Qe7 {as the main line.}) 9. a4 Qe7 10. Qc2 Nb8 $5 11. Re1 Rd8
12. h3 h6 13. Nf1 c6 14. Bc4 Na6 {The first new move, improving on} (14... Nbd7
{.}) 15. Ng3 Qc7 16. Ba2 {"I thought that this was trickier than} (16. Bd2 Bf8
17. Rad1 {when it becomes very dry. [With 16.Ba2] I prepare Nd2-c4 and ask
Black if he has a useful move."}) 16... b5 $5 17. Qe2 $1 {[#]} Rb8 $6 {"I
didn't have much from the opening," admitted Nepomniachtchi, "until 17...Rb8.
He should have played} (17... Bf8 {and sacrificed a pawn."  "I couldn't find a
continuation after} 18. axb5 cxb5 19. Qxb5 Nc5 20. b4 {," responded Ding,
though it turns out that} Nd3 21. Rd1 Ba6 $1 22. Qxa5 Qxc3 {leads to dead
equality.  "I should have spent more time on this position," said Ding (who
did in fact use 16 minutes on 17...Rb8). "Time management, the quality of the
moves and the depth of calculations are all connected. So I spent less time to
calculate today, but the quality, as you can see, dropped a lot. I didn't even
consider 18.Nh4 and 19.Qf3."}) 18. Nh4 $1 {"Now White has a nice initiative,"
said Nepomniachtchi.} Bf8 19. Qf3 bxa4 $1 {Necessity is the mother of
invention. Saving the h pawn via} (19... Nh7 20. Ng6 $1 Re8 21. Nh5 $1 {
is so scary as to be almost unbearable, so Ding proceeds on the queenside as
if nothing is happening on the other flank.}) 20. Bxh6 {"Capturing on h6
looked so good," admitted Nepomniachtchi, "but I never could find a decisive
blow.} (20. Nhf5 {made some sense."}) 20... Nc5 21. Ng6 {[#]} Rxb2 $1 22. Nxf8
Rxf8 23. Bg5 Nh7 24. Bc1 Rb5 $5 {Preparing to allow Bc4xb5 which would offer
chances to both sides. "But I went for a dry position," said Nepomniachtchi.}
25. Ba3 Re8 26. Bc4 ({Anand's suggestion} 26. Bxc5 $5 Rxc5 27. c4 {leaves the
rook trapped for the foreseeable future, although there is no easy way for
White to attack it.}) 26... Be6 $1 {[#]} 27. Bxe6 $5 {"This came as a total
shock," admitted Ding "I thought he will take the rook and after, for example,}
(27. Bxb5 cxb5 28. Red1 Nf6 {, we will see what happens."  Nepomniachtchi
agreed that objectively he should have taken the rook, although the match
situation mitigated against it: "After I grab an exchange, if I’m not
winning by force, it becomes tricky with those Black pawns. Black can place
his knight on f6 and the other knight on b3. It should offer nice chances for
White, but it wasn’t clear. I probably also thought that the [way I played]
was too good."}) 27... Nxe6 28. Nf5 c5 {"I still have to fight for equality,"
said Ding, "something I was not expecting after he exchanged the light-squared
bishops."} 29. Qe2 {"Probably I should have played} (29. Bc1 $1 {but I missed
30...Qc6," said Nepomniachtchi. "But perhaps my advantage was never something
real."}) 29... Rb3 30. Qc4 Qc6 $1 31. Bc1 Nf6 32. Qxa4 Qxa4 33. Rxa4 Rxc3 34.
Bb2 {[#]} Rb3 $1 {"I didn't realise he could force liquidation like this,"
admitted Nepomniachtchi. "Otherwise I might have delayed captuing the a pawn
and played f3."} 35. Bxe5 Rb4 36. Rxa5 Rxe4 37. Rxe4 Nxe4 38. Ra4 Nd4 39. Bxd4
cxd4 40. Rxd4 g6 41. Ne3 Kg7 42. Rb4 {[#]  The time control passed, the
players have reached an endgame which is a technical draw but can be very long
and painful to defend for Black. Ding therefore decides to disrupt White's
slow plan of advancing his pawns and his king.} Ng3 $5 43. Rb7 Nf5 44. Ng4 Re7
45. Rb5 Re1+ 46. Kh2 Re2 47. Rb7 Nd6 48. Ra7 Kf8 49. Kg3 f5 50. Kf3 Re7 $1 {
Forcing the exchange of rooks. "The knight ending looks dangerous for Black,"
said Nepomniachtchi, "but it is probably a draw."} 51. Ra8+ Re8 52. Rxe8+ Kxe8
53. Ne5 g5 54. h4 $1 gxh4 55. Kf4 {[#]} h3 $1 {"I thought this was the only
move to save the game,” said Ding, who spent 16 minutes on this move. "At
first I thought it was an easy draw, but then I realised it was not so simple.
" He had intended to play} (55... Ne4 {but discovered to his horror that} 56.
Nd3 $1 Nd6 57. Ke5 Ke7 58. Nf4 {was winning for White despite the equal
material at the moment.}) 56. gxh3 Ke7 57. Nc6+ Kf6 58. Nd4 {[#]} Ne4 $1 {
This time activating the knight is necessary to hold the draw.} 59. f3 Nf2 60.
h4 Nd3+ 61. Kg3 Kg6 62. Ne6 Kf6 63. Nf4 Nb4 64. Kf2 Ke5 65. Ke3 Nc2+ {Black's
strategy is to annoy the White king with checks whenever he threatens to
advance.} 66. Kd2 Nd4 67. Nd3+ Kf6 68. Ke3 Nc2+ 69. Kf4 Nd4 70. Kg3 Ne2+ 71.
Kf2 Nd4 72. Nf4 Ke5 73. Ne2 Ne6 74. Kg3 Kf6 75. Kg2 Kg7 76. Kf2 {[#]} f4 $1 {
A well-calculated way to end the suffering and force a draw.} 77. Kg1 Kg6 78.
Kg2 Kh6 $1 {Avoiding} (78... Kh5 79. Kh3 {and Black must give ground.}) 79. Nc1
Kh5 80. Kh3 Nd4 81. Nd3 Nxf3 82. Nxf4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.23"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A28"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 {Not a surprise from Ding, who had
employed this system frequently in early 2022.} Bc5 {"More forcing than} (4...
Bb4 {," said Nepomniachtchi.}) 5. Nxe5 Nxe5 6. d4 Bb4 7. dxe5 Nxe4 {[#]} 8. Qf3
{Peter Heine Nielsen, not working as a second at a World Championship match
for the first time in almost two decades, mentioned that Carlsen's team had
prepared the text move and} (8. Qg4 {for Carlsen's 2021 match against
Nepomniachtchi, without finding anything special for White.}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3
Bc5 $5 {"9...Bc5 came as a total surprise to me," said Ding. "I know that} (
9... Ba5 {is the main line and that Aronian had played it against Ian, who won
with very powerful play. But after 9...Ba5 I had to figure out the idea during
the game."  "9...Bc5 looks a little bit scary," admitted Nepomniachtchi, "and
when I played it against an International Master in a Titled Tuesday [online
blitz tournament] I was lost in about three more moves!"} 10. h3) 10. Qg3 Kf8
11. Be2 d6 12. Bf4 Qe7 13. Rd1 h5 14. O-O {"I decided to let him play 14...h4,
because} (14. h4 {gives him the g4 square for his bishop," explained Ding. The
variation} dxe5 15. Bxe5 Bg4 $1 {bears out Ding's decision.}) 14... h4 15. Qd3
{"I thought I had some advantage," said Ding, "but..."} g5 $1 16. exd6 cxd6 {
[#]} 17. Bxd6 {"The natural move," said Ding, but I wondered if I could play} (
17. Be3 $5 {- though it could be a very bad move!" Indeed,} Bxe3 18. fxe3 Be6 {
seems very comfortable for Black.}) 17... Qxd6 18. Qxd6+ Bxd6 19. Rxd6 Be6 {
"Against 9...Bc5 White can [force] many different forms of this endgame," said
Nepomniachtchi. "However White's structure is so poor that I am not sure White
can ever achieve something. I had something similar in my files."} {[#]} 20. f4
{"I saw this move when I decided to simplify the position on move 17," said
Ding, "and I believed I had some chances in the endgame. But it was not much."}
Ke7 21. Rd4 gxf4 22. Rfxf4 h3 {"I wasn't sure whether to play this," said
Nepomniachtchi, "as the h3 pawn will be weak. I thought about} (22... Rac8 23.
Rxh4 Rxh4 24. Rxh4 Rc5 {, which should be OK. But on h3 the pawn is not so
easy to capture."}) 23. g4 Rac8 24. Kf2 Rc5 25. a4 Ra5 26. Bd1 b6 27. Kg3 Rh6
28. Rfe4 Kf8 $1 {"A nice regrouping," said Nepomniachtchi, "since on e7 White
has Rd5 ideas."} 29. Rd8+ Kg7 30. Ra8 Rc5 31. Rxa7 Bxc4 32. Rae7 {[#]} Rhc6 $1
{Forcing the win of the c3 pawn and making a draw inevitable.} 33. R7e5 Rxe5
34. Rxe5 Bb3 $1 35. Bxb3 Rxc3+ 36. Kh4 Rxb3 37. Rb5 Ra3 38. Rxb6 Rxa4 39. Kxh3
f5 40. gxf5 Rf4 41. Rb5 Kf6 42. Kg3 Rxf5 43. Rxf5+ Kxf5 44. h4 Kg6 45. h5+ Kxh5
1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.24"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 {Ding stays with his trusty 1...e5: "I think it is too early to play
something like the Sicilian. There are still three games after this."} 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 {[#]} 8. a3 $5 {A
modest move used by Nepomniachtchi to beat Ding in the first half of the
Ekaterinburg Candidates Tournament of 2020 and 2021. "When he played 9.a3 I
recalled this game," said Ding. "It was a very bad memory for me."} Na5 {
" In 2020 I played a different line,} (8... O-O {," said Ding. "My play today
was much better than last time!"}) 9. Ba2 c5 10. Nc3 Be6 11. Bg5 {A small
surprise. Nepomniachtchi had used the 9.a3 system three times previously, but
had always employed} (11. Nh4 {.}) 11... O-O 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nd5 {"White
always holds a small advantage in this line and Black has to be careful," said
Ding.} g6 14. Qd2 Bg7 15. Ng5 {[#]} c4 $1 {"After I play 15...c4 he will
always have the chance to liquidate," said Ding. "But if I play anything else
then he has 16.f4 and I am in danger of being worse. So I cut out his bishop."}
16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Ne3 Bh6 18. Rad1 Rb8 19. dxc4 {"I'm not sure that I was
right to take on c4," admitted Nepomniachtchi, who commences mass liquidation
with this move. "I thought that I would, at worst, get a 3 v 2 rook endgame
but it never happened. "Perhaps I should have played it slowly with} (19. Qe2 {
but in any case I don't think it would be anything serious for White."}) {[#]}
19... Nxc4 20. Bxc4 bxc4 21. Qxd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Bxe3 23. fxe3 Rxf1+ 24. Kxf1
Rxb2 25. Rxe6 Rxc2 26. Rxa6 Ra2 27. Rc6 Rxa3 28. Rxc4 Rxe3 29. Kf2 Ra3 30. Rc5
{[#]  It seems that the 3 v 2 rook endgame that Nepomniachtchi was hoping for
will eventuate but "he has just enough time to prevent me [keeping my three
pawns]," explained Nepomniachtchi.} Ra2+ 31. Kf3 Ra3+ 32. Kg4 Ra2 33. Kh3 Re2
$1 34. Rxe5 Kf7 35. Kg3 Kf6 36. Re8 Kf7 37. Re5 {There is no time for} (37. Kf3
{in view of} Rxg2 $1 {.}) 37... Kf6 38. Re8 Kf7 39. Re5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.26"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D04"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 {The Colle System: "I wasn't surprised," said
Nepomniachtchi, "and I had prepared for it a little."} c5 4. Nbd2 cxd4 5. exd4
Qc7 6. c3 {[#]} Bd7 $5 {A weird choice, played after 10 minutes thought. "This
was part of my preparation," explained Nepomniachtchi, "and by the position I
obtained out of the opening, I was happy with it."  Ding was also happy:
"Maybe he was worried about 7.Bb5 in reply to 6...Nc6, but according to my
analysis 6...Nc6 is the best move. Now he will be a tempo down compared to the
normal positions so I was quite happy to see 6...Bd7."} 7. Bd3 {Ding is
content to play an Exchange Caro-Kann style position with his extra tempo.} (7.
Ne5 {, going for the bishop pair, is probably the most critical continuation.})
7... Nc6 8. O-O Bg4 9. Re1 {Again a patient move, whereas} (9. b4 $5 {would be
the more aggressive option.}) 9... e6 10. Nf1 Bd6 11. Bg5 O-O {[#]} 12. Bxf6 $5
{A move which took Ding almost half an hour. "I was choosing between 12.Bxf6
and} (12. Ng3 {," he said. "On 12.Ng3 I saw} Nh5 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Nxg3 15.
fxg3 Bxg3 {and then} 16. Re3 {, but} Bd6 {works [for him].  "So I had to
choose between these two variations and it’s very hard to decide which one
is better. In the end I decided to take the knight first, even though the pawn
structure did remind me a little bit of game 2."  (Game 2 was disastrous for
Ding.)}) 12... gxf6 13. Ng3 f5 {Now it was Nepomniachtchi's turn to spend 22
minutes on a single move.} 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Ne7 {Nepomniachtchi spent his
time on move 13 checking that this defensive move was fine. To play} (15... Kh8
{and allow} 16. Nxf5 $5 exf5 17. Qxf5 f6 18. Re6 {in such a game would be
foolhardy in the extreme.}) 16. Nh5 Kh8 17. g4 {Nepomniachtchi was unimpressed
by this attempt to break up his pawn structure: "The whole attack on the
kingside doesn't work."} Rg8 18. Kh1 Ng6 $1 {[#]} 19. Bc2 $6 {Ding quickly
realised that} (19. gxf5 Nh4 $1 20. Qe3 exf5 $1 {would be very unpleasant, and
spent 13 minutes trying to find something to keep the game going. "I think 19.
Bc2 is a mistake," admitted Ding. "I guess I should have played}) (19. Rg1 {
and after} Bh2 20. Rgf1 {, maybe that’s an improvement over the game." In
fact Ding probably understood that he might then have nothing better than} Bd6
21. Rg1 Bh2 {with a draw, which is why he gambled with the text move.}) 19...
Nh4 20. Qe3 Rg6 $1 21. Rg1 f4 $1 22. Qd3 {[#]} Qe7 $1 {"I thought I was better
out of the opening," said Ding, "but after he played a series of very good
moves - 21...f4! and then 22...Qe7! - I realised that the tables had turned."}
23. Rae1 Qg5 $1 (23... Rag8 24. g5 $1 {would be far less clear.}) 24. c4 $1 {
"After 23...Qg5!, I thought I was nearly lost," said Ding. "So I had to [muddy]
the waters by trying 24.c4! and 25.Qc3."} dxc4 {Nepomniachtchi pinpointed this
as the moment he lost control: "The whole concept of capturing on c4 was
unnecessary.} (24... Rc8 {, provoking} 25. c5 {, would be very, very clean.
Then White has no counterplay, so it’s pretty much over, since} (25. cxd5
Qxd5+ {doesn’t work. "But I decided to go for some forcing lines, and faced
the consequences."})) 25. Qc3 $1 b5 $1 26. a4 $1 {The only chance. Over the
next few moves White has many chances to capture the rook on g6, but it almost
always leaves the knight on h5 trapped, for example} (26. Bxg6 hxg6 27. Ng3 $5
{looks tricky, but after} fxg3 28. fxg3 b4 $1 {, Black wins.}) 26... b4 {On} (
26... a6 {Ding was planning} 27. axb5 axb5 28. d5+ e5 29. Ra1 {, but after}
Rag8 {, White's rook cannot leave the back rank without allowing 30...Qxh5!.
So Black would be a pawn up with White having no counterplay.}) 27. Qxc4 {[#]}
Rag8 $2 {"I didn't understand why he played 26...b4 and didn't follow up with
27...Nf3!," confessed Ding.} (27... Nf3 $1 {In fact Nepomniachtchi had seen
many moves ahead, but not quite far enough. After 27...Nf3, White must reply}
28. Qc6 {and the next few moves are forced:} Nxe1 $1 29. Qxa8+ Rg8 30. Qe4 Nxc2
31. Qxc2 Qh4 $1 32. Qd3 f5 $1 {Nepomniachtchi probably thought that now} 33.
Qf3 {would be good enough to hold, but in fact after} fxg4 $1 34. Rxg4 Rxg4 35.
Qxg4 Qxg4 36. hxg4 {[#]  , Black has the stunning} b3 $3 {, when the threat of
37...Ba3! cannot be prevented.}) 28. Qc6 {"Now I have much easier play and my
queen reaches a very good square," explained Ding.} Bb8 {Around here every
move was being criticised by the onlookers and commentators using chess
engines.  Indeed here} (28... Nf5 {, threatening 29...Qh4 30.Qf3 Nxd4, was
stronger, but only because of White's stunning tactic available, but missed,
on the next move.}) {[#]} 29. Qb7 {"I considered} (29. Bxg6 {," said Ding,
"but when I saw 29.Qb7, followed by 30.Be4, I thought that would be quite good
for White.” In fact after 29.Bxg6!} hxg6 {, White loses the knight but can
launch a winning attack via} 30. d5 $3 {, e.g.} gxh5 31. dxe6 {and it is
Black's king which is in trouble.  Even had he seen this, it is unlikely Ding
would have tried this line, which looks extremely speculative to the human eye.
}) 29... Rh6 {Once again} (29... Nf5 $1 {was the computer's choice, preparing
30...Qh4 and 31...Nxd4 or 31...Ng3+!, claiming an advantage for Black. But
Nepomniachtchi wanted to play safe and preserve his 15 minute time advantage.})
30. Be4 {"After Be4 I realised I was already better," said Ding.} Rf8 {
Reluctantly played after 10 minutes. "The position had been a big, big mess"
said Nepomniachtchi, "and clearly it was an important moment. Yet after 30.Be4
strangely I didn’t see any ideas for me any more”.  In fact Black does
have an idea which would hold the balance, but it is an extremely obscure one:}
(30... Bd6 $1 {, with the intention to meet} 31. Qxf7 $2 {with} Be7 $3 {
when the White queen is about to be trapped and} 32. Qxf4 {loses to} Rxh5 $1 {.
}) 31. Qxb4 Qd8 32. Qc3 Ng6 33. Bg2 {[#]} Qh4 $6 {Nepomniachtchi is still
dreaming of an attack when he should be seeking to neutralise White's
potential passed pawn on the queenside. Thus} (33... a5 $1 {was sensible.}) 34.
Re2 f5 $2 {A disastrous blunder, played after three minutes thought.} (34... a5
{was still playable, because} 35. Qxa5 $2 {allows} f3 $1 {.}) 35. Rxe6 {[#]}
Rxh5 {Nepomniachtchi did not explain what he had missed when playing 34...f5.
Suffice it to say he spent 17 agonising minutes looking at his handiwork,
checking again and again that} (35... fxg4 36. d5+ Be5 37. Rxe5 {, and}) (35...
f3 36. d5+ Be5 37. Rxe5 fxg2+ 38. Kxg2 {were both completely hopeless. His
choice, played with just two minutes left on the clock, was no better.}) 36.
gxh5 Qxh5 37. d5+ Kg8 38. d6 1-0

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.27"]
[Round "13.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Bb7 {[#]} 10. Be3 $5 {Nepomniachtchi seems to have an unlimited
number of interesting sidelines in the 6.d3 system prepared for this match. In
Game 5 he tried} (10. a4 {, while in Game 11 he varied even earlier with 8.a3.}
) 10... Na5 11. Bc2 c5 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. a4 h6 14. d4 {A slight inaccuracy, as
Nepomniachtchi soon realised: "I should play} (14. axb5 axb5 {before} 15. d4 {
."}) 14... exd4 15. cxd4 cxd4 16. Nxd4 Nc4 $1 17. Nxc4 bxc4 {[#]} 18. f3 {
An automatic move in such positions, but had Nepomniachtci felt a little more
urgency, he might have considered giving up the e4 pawn for the initiative, e.
g.} (18. Nf5 $5 Bf8 19. Re1 $1 {, since on} Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Rxe4 (20... Nxe4 {
is always answered by} 21. Qg4 {.}) 21. Qf3 $1 {, and now} d5 22. Bd4 {offers
promising attacking chances.}) 18... Bf8 $1 19. Bf2 {"This was quite sad for
me, going to passive defence, but I really didn't like my position, admitted
Nepomniachtchi. "I wanted to play} (19. Bf4 {and then after} d5 20. e5 Nd7 21.
Re1 Qc7 {, if I could protect my e5 pawn I would have a very nice position,
but I didn't see how to do it.  "I also had a plan B - to sacrifice a pawn with
}) (19. Nf5 d5 20. Bd4 dxe4 21. fxe4 {. However after} Nxe4 {I didn't see
anything because Black's queen is coming to g5."}) 19... d5 $1 {"As in the
Siclian Defence positions, if Black can successfully play d5 then he has no
problem at all - you can even hope for some advantage," said Ding.} 20. exd5
Nxd5 21. Be4 {[#]} Re5 $5 {A strange move, which took Ding 25 minutes.  "I
thought I was better," said Ding, "but it is not so easy to prove a clear
advantage for Black. The idea of 21...Re5 was to try to take back on d5 with
the rook, but the move has some drawbacks."  "Too artificial," was
Nepomniachtch's opinion of 21...Re5. "} (21... Qc7 {and 22...Rad8 would work
like a charm for Black."}) ({“My first intention was} 21... Rb8 $1 {,”
added Ding, “but after} 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Qd2 {, I didn’t see a way that I
could push for advantage.  “I also considered sacrificing a piece with}) (
21... Nf4 {!!?, but I guess it is not enough. I looked at some moves but it is
like a dark ocean, so I didn’t go further into it.” (The computer claims
Black has full compensation for the piece, but not more, after} 22. Bxb7 Qg5 {
or even} (22... Rb8 {.})) 22. Rc1 Rc8 23. Ne2 Qe7 $6 {"I considered} (23... Qe8
$1 {a little," said Ding, "but I had missed 24.Qd4 in reply to 23...Qe7 - it's
a very powerful move.”}) 24. Qd4 $1 {[#]} f5 $1 {The most practical choice
to avoid becoming tied up. “I win the exchange, but I am not sure it is much,
” admitted Nepomniachtchi.} 25. Bg3 Rxe4 26. fxe4 Qxe4 27. Qxe4 fxe4 28. Rfd1
Nb4 {[#]} 29. Rd7 {“It seemed healthy to trade rooks [on c7],” said
Nepomniachtchi, “but his knight will come to d3 and all the tactics work for
Black.”} Bc5+ 30. Kh2 Bc6 31. Rc7 Rxc7 32. Bxc7 Bd5 33. Nc3 Nd3 34. Rc2 Bc6
35. a5 Kf7 36. Re2 Nc1 {[#]} 37. Re1 {“I also had the idea} (37. Nxe4 $5 {
, which would be slightly painful for Black were it not for} Bg1+ $1 {, which
reaches an opposite coloured bishops ending.”}) 37... Nd3 38. Re2 Nc1 {
“I didn’t see why I should be better,” said Nepomniactchi. “My rook is
passive and he always has counterplay against b2.”  Ding briefly dreamed of
playing for a win with} (38... Ke6 $5 39. Nxe4 Bxe4 40. Rxe4+ Kd5 41. Re2 Bd4 {
, but calculated that} 42. Re8 $1 {would set up a series of checks on d8 and
e8, which he thought would also lead to a repetition. “So in the end I
decided to repeat moves now,” said Ding.}) 39. Re1 Nd3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Championship Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.29"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E46"]
[PlyCount "180"]
[EventDate "2023.04.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 $5 {“Because I did not
absolutely have to win today, I had a better choice of what opening to play
than before, and I chose this line which is not so risky,” explained Ding.
“But my preparation was mostly mental.”} d5 6. a3 Be7 7. Nf3 c5 $5 (7... b6
{is more usual but, as in game 12, Nepomniachtchi seems more than happy to
play a solid position with a tempo less than normal.}) 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Qc2 dxc4
{“} (9... Nc6 {is inaccurate because of} 10. Rd1 {,” said Nepomniachtchi.})
10. Bxc4 Nbd7 11. Rd1 Be7 {[#]} 12. Ng5 $5 {“I thought that because I had
more tempi in this position I would have some chances to launch an attack - I
even considered} (12. g4 $5 {.”}) 12... h6 13. h4 $1 {“I didn’t buy it,
” said Nepomniachtchi of Ding’s attack. “It seemed to me that it
wouldn’t work because I am well developed and have not played any suspicious
moves.”} Qc7 $1 {“I was very optimistic after playing 12.Ng5, and excited
to be able to play it,” said Ding. “I thought this might be the decisive
game. But then after 13...Qc7 I realised I had to go into defence mode.”} 14.
Be2 Rd8 15. Rc1 Nf8 16. Nge4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Qxc2 18. Rxc2 Bd7 19. Bb4 $2 {
“Very suspicious,” said Nepomniachtchi. “Before it was a little
unpleasant but now if the tactics don;t work out for White then he could be
just lost.”} ({The natural} 19. Rc7 Rab8 20. h5 {should easily hold the
balance.}) 19... Bxb4+ 20. axb4 Bc6 {[#]} 21. Nc5 $5 {“At first I calculated}
(21. Bf3 Ng6 {or} (21... Nd7 {, going to e5 and it is so difficult to play for
White,” said Ding. “Also})) (21. f3 {was too passive, so I decided to
sacrirfice a pawn, but I didn’t calculate it carefully.”}) 21... Bxg2 22.
Rg1 Bd5 $2 {After} (22... Bc6 $1 23. b5 Bd5 24. e4 b6 $1 {, Black would finish
a safe pawn ahead, although any win would still be a long way off.}) 23. e4 Bc6
24. b5 Be8 25. Nxb7 Rd4 {[#] Nepomniachtchi thought he was taking control
until confronted with...} 26. Rc4 $1 {“Thanks to this move White is not
losing by force,” said Nepomniachtchi. “Surprisingly White’s position is
still quite solid.”} Rd7 27. Nc5 Rc7 28. Rc3 Rac8 29. b4 {This avoids losing
a pawn but drifts into a very passive position.} (29. Nb7 $1 {was a very
promising pawn sacrifice because after} Rxc3 30. bxc3 Rxc3 31. Kd2 Ra3 32. Nd6
Bd7 33. Rc1 $1 {, Black has difficulty untangling, e.g.} e5 34. Rc7 Be6 35. Bc4
$1 {and Black cannot hang on to his extra pawn.}) 29... Nd7 30. Rcg3 (30. Kd2
$5 Nxc5 31. bxc5 Rxc5 32. Rgc1 $1 Rxc3 33. Rxc3 Rxc3 34. Kxc3 {might be
tenable for White, but is hardly attractive.}) 30... Nxc5 31. bxc5 Rxc5 32.
Rxg7+ Kf8 {[#]} 33. Bd3 $1 Rd8 34. Ke2 {Played automatically by Ding, while
the engines were crying out for the suicidal-seeming} (34. Kd2 $3 {, when
there is no way to exploit the pin, e.g.} Rxb5 $2 35. Rg8+ Ke7 36. Rxe8+ $1 {
. After 34.Kd2, Black has nothing better than 34...Bxb5, leading to a similar
drawn rook ending to that seen in the game.}) 34... Rc3 35. Rg8+ Ke7 36. R1g3 {
[#]} e5 $2 {“The move which spoils my advantage,” said Nepomniachtchi.
“But I thought that a move like 36...e5, fixing the pawn structures, could
never spoil anything.  After} (36... Rb3 {White is just paralysed and the rest
should be a matter of quite simple technique. If} 37. Rh8 {I then have} Rd4 {
and it should be fairly easily winning.”}) 37. Rh8 $1 {“I had missed that
White is now threatening to double on the back rank,” admitted
Nepomniachtchi.} Rd6 38. b6 $3 {This was the resource that Nepomniachtchi had
missed when playing 34...e5. Ding now reaches the haven of a rook ending where
Black cannot win.} Rxb6 (38... axb6 39. Rxe8+ $1 Kxe8 40. Bb5+ Rcc6 {would be
similar.}) 39. Rxe8+ $1 Kxe8 40. Bb5+ Rxb5 41. Rxc3 {[#]} Kd7 42. Rf3 Ke7 43.
Rc3 a5 44. Rc7+ Kf6 45. Rc6+ Kg7 46. Ra6 Rb2+ 47. Kf3 Ra2 48. Kg3 {[#]} h5 {
Black would rather lure the White h pawn to h5, but for the moment it is
necessary to prevent 49.f4.} 49. Ra8 Ra1 50. Kg2 a4 51. Ra5 f6 52. Kf3 a3 53.
Ra6 {[#]} Kf7 {Black cannot win with the a pawn on a2, as then White’s only
vulnerable pawn on e4 would be easily defended, when the Black king invades,
by a rook on a4.} 54. Ke3 Ke8 55. Ke2 Ke7 56. Kf3 Ra2 (56... Rh1 57. Kg3 {
achieves nothing for Black.}) 57. Ke3 Ra1 58. Ke2 Kf7 59. Kf3 Ra2 60. Ke3 Ke7
61. Kf3 Kd7 $1 {Finally, with the second time control reached and an extra 15
minutes plus 30 second increments available to each player, Nepomniachthci
makes his winning try.} 62. Rxf6 Rb2 63. Ra6 Rb3+ 64. Kg2 Kc7 {[#]} 65. f4 $3 {
Absolutely essential. Should Black’s king be allowed to approach the a pawn,
White is in serious trouble, but now Ding will create a passed e pawn to tie
at least one Black piece down.} exf4 66. e5 Kb7 67. Ra4 Kc6 68. Ra6+ {Ding
spent 10 minutes on this move, leaving himself with under 5 minutes on the
clock. However he now had the drawing plan clearly in mind and was able to
speed through the remaining moves, never again dropping below 5 minutes.} Kb5
69. Ra7 $1 Kb6 (69... Kc4 {makes White’s life easy after} 70. e6 Re3 71. e7
Kb3 72. Rb7+ Kc2 73. Ra7 $1 {, threatening 74.Rxa3!}) 70. Ra8 Kc5 71. Ra6 {
Now it was Nepomniachtchi’s turn to burn time on the clock, though he had
move than 40 minuites when he began thinking. 15 minuites later, the Russian
realised that White’s defences were holding and revised his strategy to
trying to confuse his opponent with move repetitions. He failed.} Kb5 72. Ra7
Kb6 73. Ra8 Kc6 74. Ra6+ Kd7 75. Kf2 $1 Ke7 76. Kg2 Re3 77. Kf2 Rg3 78. Kf1 $1
(78. Ke2 {does not lose to} a2 {in view of} 79. Kf2 $1 {, but why offer
Nepomniachtchi any hope at all?}) 78... Rc3 79. Kf2 Re3 80. Kg2 Kd7 81. Kf2 Kc7
{[#]} 82. e6 $1 {Played quickly by Ding. This was risky earlier, because Black
would have the option of trying ...Ke7-f6-f5-f4, leading to an endgame with
f+h pawns which can be very difficult to draw.} Kd8 83. Ra7 $1 {However now
Black’s king never reaches e7 and Nepomniachtchi must accept that
liquidation is inevitable.} Ke8 84. Kg2 Rxe6 85. Rxa3 Rg6+ 86. Kf2 Rg4 87. Ra5
$1 Rxh4 88. Kf3 {With Black’s king and rook both offside, Black will only
have two extra pawns for a very short period.} Ke7 89. Rf5 Ke6 90. Rxf4 Rxf4+
1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Ch. Match Rapid Playoff"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2023.04.30"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Be7 6. g3 Nc6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. b4
Ng4 9. Bd4 Qc7 10. O-O e5 11. h3 exd4 12. hxg4 dxc3 13. Nxc3 Nxb4 14. a3 Bf6
15. Rc1 Bxc3 16. Rxc3 Nc6 17. Qxd5 Bxg4 18. Ng5 h6 19. Ne4 Rae8 20. e3 Re5 21.
Qd2 Rd8 22. Nd6 Rh5 23. Rb1 Ne5 24. e4 {[#]} b6 $1 25. cxb6 axb6 $1 26. Nb5 $1
Rxd2 27. Nxc7 Bh3 28. Bxh3 Rxh3 29. Kg2 Rh5 30. Rb5 Rd1 31. Nd5 Rdh1 32. Ne7+
Kh7 33. Rxe5 R1h2+ 34. Kg1 Rh1+ 35. Kg2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Ch. Match Rapid Playoff"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2023.04.30"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4
Bd7 9. h3 O-O 10. Be3 Na5 11. Ba2 bxa4 12. Bd2 Nc6 13. Nc3 Rb8 14. Nxa4 Nd4 15.
Bc4 c6 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Bf4 Be6 18. Re1 a5 19. Qf3 Rb7 20. e5 Nd5 21. exd6
Bxd6 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. Qe4 Nf4 24. Qe5 Qxe5 25. Rxe5 Bxc4 26. dxc4 Rb4 27. Rc5
d3 28. cxd3 Nxd3 29. Rxc6 Ne5 30. Rc7 Nxc4 31. Nc5 Nxb2 32. Nd7 Re8 33. Rxa5
Nd3 34. Rg5 Rf4 35. f3 h6 36. Rd5 Nb4 37. Rd6 Rf5 38. Rb7 Rd5 39. Rdb6 Rd8 40.
Nf6+ gxf6 41. Rxb4 Rd4 42. Rxd4 Rxd4 43. Kh2 Kg7 44. Rb2 Rd5 45. Ra2 Rd4 46.
Rb2 Rd5 47. Ra2 Rd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Ch. Match Rapid Playoff"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2023.04.30"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. b3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bb2
Nc6 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bf6 12. Qd2 Nf4 13. gxf4 Qxd2 14. Nxd2
Bxb2 15. Rad1 Bf6 16. Nc4 Rb8 17. Ne5 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Bxd8 19. Rd1 Be7 20. Nd7
Bxd7 21. Rxd7 Kf8 22. Bxb7 Rd8 23. Rc7 a5 24. Rc4 Bb4 25. Rc2 Rd2 26. Rxd2 Bxd2
27. e3 Bb4 28. Kf1 Ke7 29. Ke2 Kd6 30. Kd3 Be1 31. Ke2 Bb4 32. Kd3 Be1 33. Ke2
1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana World Ch. Match Rapid Playoff"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.30"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C84"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6pk/5r1p/p1pQ4/1b6/4B1PP/4qP2/2R3K1 w - - 0 44"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2023.04.30"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

44. Qe4+ Kg8 45. Qd5+ Kh7 46. Qe4+ {Here, when everfone was expecting the
players to agree to a draw and head to the blitz games, Ding tried} Rg6 $5 47.
Qf5 $6 {Overlooking Black’s next move. After} (47. Rc2 {, all three results
are possible.}) 47... c4 $1 {[#]} 48. h4 $2 {“After ...c4 it was suddenly
difficult and I was very short of time”, said Nepomniachtchi. By now,
holding the balance involved the tricky manoeuvre} (48. Qf4 $1 c3 49. Qf5 $1 {
, which is hard to find with fewer than two minutes on the clock.}) 48... Qd3
$1 49. Qf3 {Unfortunately,} (49. Qc8 {loses to} Rxg3+ $1 {.}) 49... Rf6 {
Playing safe.} (49... Bd2 $1 {would have been almost immediately game over,
but Ding was battling the clock as well.}) 50. Qg4 c3 51. Rd1 Qg6 52. Qc8 Rc6
53. Qa8 Rd6 $1 (53... c2 54. Rd8 c1=Q+ 55. Bxc1 Rxc1+ 56. Kh2 Qc6 {was also
winning, but why take any risks.}) 54. Rxd6 Qxd6 55. Qe4+ Qg6 {[#]} 56. Qc4
Qb1+ 57. Kh2 a4 $6 {The rest should be just a matter of technique for Ding,
but Nepomniachtchi somehow manages to slow down the pawns and create
counterplay.} 58. Bd4 $1 a3 59. Qc7 $2 {The final error. After} (59. Bxg7 $1 {
, Black cannot avoid perpetual check.}) 59... Qg6 $1 60. Qc4 (60. Bxc3 Bxc3 61.
Qxc3 a2 {followed by ...Qb1 is too easy for Black.}) 60... c2 61. Be3 Bd6 62.
Kg2 h5 63. Kf1 Be5 $1 {[#]} 64. g4 {Desperation, but 64...Bb2 was coming.} hxg4
65. h5 Qf5 66. Qd5 (66. h6 {was the best chance, although after} g3 67. hxg7
Kxg7 {White has no checks and must lose.}) 66... g3 67. f4 a2 $1 68. Qxa2 Bxf4
{“When Ian resigned it was quite an emotional moment for me,” said Ding.
“I knew I could I not stop myself from bursting into tears.”} 0-1

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.08"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 a5 11. Nh4 a4 12. a3 Nd7 13. f4 Bc2 14. Rc1 Bb3 15. Nb1 Ra5 16. Be2 c5 17. Nf5 Nb6 18. Nd2 c4 19. Nb1 Na8 20. Nc3 Nc7 21. Kf2 b5 22. e4 b4 23. axb4 Bxb4 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. exd5 Rxd5 26. Bxc4 Rxf5 27. Bxb3 O-O 28. Rc4 Rxf4+ 29. Ke3 Bd2+ 30. Kxd2 axb3 31. Re1 Rd8 32. Kd3 f5 33. Rb4 h5 34. Re2 h4 35. h3 Kg7 36. Kc3 Re4 37. Kd3 Rxe2 38. Kxe2 Kf6 39. Kf3 Rg8 40. Rb6+ Ke7 41. Kf4 Rxg2 42. Rxb3 Ke6 43. Re3+ Kd5 44. Rf3 Rxb2 45. Kxf5 Kxd4 46. Rf4+ Ke3 47. Re4+ Kf3 48. Rxh4 Kg3 49. Rg4+ Kxh3 50. Rf4 Kg3 51. Rf1 Rf2+ 52. Rxf2 Kxf2 53. Kf6 Kf3 54. Kxf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.08"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "2764"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c5 7. d5 b5 8. cxb5 a6 9. a4 axb5 10. Bxb5 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Nf3 Qd7 13. O-O Qg4 14. Re1 Nb4 15. Bg5 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Nf4 17. g3 Rfe8 18. Bxd6 Nfd3 19. Re3 Nxb2 20. Qb3 N2d3 21. e5 f5 22. Nh2 Qh3 23. Ne2 1-0

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.09"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D32"]
[WhiteElo "2764"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[PlyCount "139"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. O-O Bd6 10. Nf3 Be6 11. b3 a6 12. Bd3 Ne5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bb2 Rc8 15. Rc1 O-O 16. f4 Bc7 17. Ne2 Bb6 18. Bd4 Bxd4 19. Nxd4 Qa5 20. Qe2 Rfe8 21. h3 Bd7 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Qb2 Qc5 24. a4 a5 25. Qd2 b6 26. Rb1 Qa3 27. Kh2 h6 28. Rb2 Qe7 29. Rc2 Rc5 30. Nf3 Rxc2 31. Bxc2 Qc5 32. Bd3 Kf8 33. Nd4 Kg8 34. Kg1 Kf8 35. Kf2 Ke7 36. Qb2 Kf8 37. Nc2 Ne4+ 38. Bxe4 dxe4 39. Nd4 Bc6 40. Qe2 Qc3 41. Qa6 Qd2+ 42. Ne2 Qb4 43. Qc8+ Be8 44. Qc2 Bd7 45. Nd4 f5 46. Qc7 Qd2+ 47. Ne2 Be6 48. Qxb6 Kf7 49. Qd4 Qa2 50. Qa7+ Kg8 51. Qa8+ Kh7 52. Qxa5 Kh8 53. Qd8+ Kh7 54. Qa5 Kh8 55. b4 Bc4 56. Qd8+ Kh7 57. Qd1 Bb3 58. Qd7 Be6 59. Qb5 Kh8 60. Qc5 g6 61. Ke1 Kg8 62. Qd6 Kf7 63. Qd2 Qxa4 64. Nd4 Bc4 65. Kf2 h5 66. Kg3 Qa3 67. b5 Qd3 68. Qc1 Bxb5 69. Qc7+ Kf8 70. Qc5+ 1-0

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.06"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. c3 Bb6 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nf6 8. Bb3 a5 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Nc4 Ba7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 a4 15. d4 exd4 16. cxd4 d5 17. exd5 exd5 18. Ncd2 Qd6 19. a3 Qf4 20. Nb1 Ne4 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Qd6 23. Rac1 Rf7 24. R1c2 Rf4 25. Re3 Qf6 26. Rd3 Re8 27. Rc5 Qd6 28. Rcc3 Rfe4 29. g3 Re2 30. Rd2 Rxd2 31. Qxd2 Qg6 32. Kg2 Qb1 33. Rc1 Qf5 34. Rc3 Qb1 35. h4 Re7 36. Rc1 Qf5 37. Qd1 g5 38. hxg5 hxg5 39. Qd2 g4 40. Nh4 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Qxd4 42. Qg5+ Rg7 43. Qf5 Rf7 44. Qg5+ Kf8 45. Kh1 Qe4+ 46. Kg1 Ke8 47. Qd2 Re7 48. Rd1 d4 49. Qg5 Ne5 50. Qd2 d3 51. Qf4 Qxf4 52. gxf4 Nc4 53. Rxd3 Nxb2 54. Rc3 Rd7 55. Kg2 Nd3 56. Kg3 c5 57. Kxg4 b5 58. Nf5 Kf7 59. Kg5 Rd5 60. Rc2 Ne1 61. Rc3 Nd3 62. Rc2 b4 63. axb4 cxb4 64. Rc7+ Ke8 65. Kf6 Kd8 66. Ra7 b3 67. Ne3 Rd6+ 68. Kf5 b2 69. Rb7 Rd4 70. Nc2 Rxf4+ 71. Kg5 Rxf2 72. Na3 Rf1 0-1

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.12"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. e3 Bb4 4. Nge2 O-O 5. a3 Be7 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Na6 8. Qd1 c6 9. Nf4 Nc7 10. e4 Re8 11. Be2 Bf8 12. Qd3 Qe7 13. f3 Qe5 14. Nh3 d5 15. Bf4 Qe7 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Nf2 Ne6 18. Be3 d4 19. Bxd4 Rd8 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Ng4 Qg5 22. h4 Qa5 23. Qb5 Qc7 24. Nd5 Qg3+ 25. Kf1 Bd7 26. Qa5 Nd4 27. Rd1 Nxe2 28. Rh3 b6 29. Qa6 Bxg4 30. Rxg3 Nxg3+ 31. Ke1 Be6 32. Qb7 Rdb8 33. Qc7 Nh5 34. g4 Nf6 35. Ne7+ Bxe7 36. Qxe7 Re8 37. Qb7 Reb8 38. Qe7 Re8 39. Qb7 Reb8 40. Qe7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.10"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. Nbd2 dxe4 8. dxe4 a5 9. Qc2 Qe7 10. a4 Nb8 11. h3 Rd8 12. Be2 Nbd7 13. Re1 Nf8 14. Nb3 Bb6 15. Nfd2 Be6 16. Nc4 Bxc4 17. Bxc4 Ne6 18. g3 h5 19. Kg2 h4 20. Qe2 g6 21. Nd2 Nc5 22. Nf3 hxg3 23. fxg3 Ncxe4 24. Ng5 Nd6 25. Ba2 Re8 26. h4 Kg7 27. Rf1 Rad8 28. Bd2 e4 29. Bf4 e3 30. Rad1 Nfe4 31. Bxd6 Nxd6 32. Bxf7 Nxf7 33. Rxf7+ Qxf7 34. Nxf7 Rxd1 35. Qxd1 Kxf7 36. Qe2 Ke7 37. Kf1 Rf8+ 38. Ke1 Rf2 39. Qg4 Kf6 40. Qg5+ Kf7 41. Qd5+ Kf6 42. g4 Rxb2 43. g5+ Ke7 44. Qe5+ Kd7 45. Qg7+ Kd6 46. Qxg6+ Ke5 47. Qe8+ Kf4 48. g6 Rb1+ 49. Ke2 Rb2+ 50. Kd3 Rd2+ 51. Kc4 Rg2 52. Qf7+ 1-0

[Event "Superbet Classic 2023"]
[Site "Bucharest ROU"]
[Date "2023.05.13"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2768"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. c3 a5 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. a4 O-O 10. h3 g5 11. Nxg5 hxg5 12. Bxg5 Kg7 13. Qf3 Be6 14. Nf1 Rh8 15. Ne3 Qe7 16. O-O-O Rag8 17. Rhf1 Nb8 18. d4 exd4 19. cxd4 Nbd7 20. e5 dxe5 21. d5 Qb4 22. Qe2 Bxh3 23. gxh3 Kf8 24. h4 Bd4 25. Rxd4 exd4 26. Nf5 Rxg5 27. hxg5 Ne5 28. Bb5 Nfg4 29. Kb1 Kg8 30. Nh6+ Nxh6 31. Qxe5 Ng4 32. Qxc7 Kg7 33. g6 Rf8 34. gxf7 d3 35. Rg1 Rxf7 36. Qc3+ 1-0

[Event "1. Bundesliga 2016/2017"]
[Site "Mattersburg"]
[Date "2016.10.20"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Steindl, Johannes"]
[Black "Boensch, Uwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B81"]
[WhiteElo "2072"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1k2r/1N1n1p2/p2Rbnp1/4p3/4Pq2/2N5/PPP1QP2/1K3BR1 b k - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2016.10.20"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

20... Rxc3 21. bxc3 Nxe4 22. Rxe6+ fxe6 23. Qxe4 Ke7 24. Qxg6 1-0

[Event "Hinlenkung"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.03.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2b2rk1/5p1p/p1pN2p1/2P3q1/P1BQP3/6nP/6P1/1R4K1 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2009.03.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 129 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.05.05"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.05.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

35. Bxf7+ Rxf7 36. Qh8+ {Hinlenkung 2} 1-0

[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1931.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Mieses"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qnrk1/pp2Q1np/3p2pB/2pP1pN1/2P5/2PR4/P4PPP/4R1K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2002.08.16"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Qxf8+ Kxf8 2. Ne6+ Kf7 3. Nxd8+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 1."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2r2/2q2pk1/5npp/p1n1p3/1p2P1PQ/3BNN2/PPP4P/R4R1K w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Qxf6+ Kxf6 2. Nd5+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 2."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1n6/2qb1kp1/1p2pp1p/1P1p4/1Q1P1N2/4P1PB/5P1P/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Bxe6+ Bxe6 2. Qf8+ Kxf8 3. Nxe6+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 3."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k2r/1p1bn1pp/p1r4n/2Npq3/1P6/P2BP3/5QPP/4RRK1 w k - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2012.02.21"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Qf8+ Rxf8 2. Rxf8+ Kxf8 3. Nxd7+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 4."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "R1b1r1k1/1p5p/2pp2p1/5p1n/1PP1P2q/2N2P2/3Q2PP/3B3K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1... Ng3+ 2. Kg1 Qxh2+ 3. Kxh2 Nf1+ 4. Kg1 Nxd2 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 5."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q1rk1/pb3p1p/1p1bnnpQ/3pNN2/3P4/1P1B1P2/PB4PP/5RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1994.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Qg7+ Nxg7 2. Nh6+ Kh8 3. Nexf7+ Rxf7 4. Nxf7+ Kg8 5. Nxd8 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel , 6."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/7p/3N4/7q/7p/8/4RK2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2004.06.03"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Re4 Qg3 2. Rg4+ Qxg4 3. Nf6+ {Beachten Sie die Stärke des zentral postierten Springers. Die Dame kann seinen Kreisen nicht entkommen. Nicht umsonst wird der Springer als "taktische Figur" bezeichnet.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel "]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3k3/p4p2/1pqbp3/8/3PNn1r/PP1B4/1B3PP1/3QR1K1 w q - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2013.04.27"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

21. Bb5 Qxb5 22. Nxd6+ Kd7 23. Nxb5 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel "]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r1q2k1/5pbR/p5p1/1bQpN1P1/3P4/1r1N4/1P3PP1/K6R w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2002.02.03"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. Rh8+ Bxh8 2. Rxh8+ Kxh8 3. Nxf7+ Kg7 4. Nxd8 Rxd8 5. Qe7+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel "]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1nkr4/1ppq4/1b3pp1/1Q2p3/6P1/1N1P4/P3PP2/1K1R3B w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2005.09.18"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 110"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

24. Bxb7+ Kxb7 25. Nc5+ *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hinlenkung und Springergabel1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2n1q3/1B6/3P4/1k6/8/5N2/5K2/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2004.06.03"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d7 Qxd7 2. Bc6+ Qxc6 3. Nd4+ *

[Event "Sitges Sunway op 9th"]
[Site "Sitges"]
[Date "2022.12.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gaboyan, Susanna"]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2022.12.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2023 Update 08"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2022.12.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.12.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nb3 Nf6 7. Nc3 d6 8. O-O h5 9. h4 O-O 10. Bg5 Be6 11. e4 Ng4 12. Rb1 Bc4 13. Re1 f6 14. Bf4 g5 15. hxg5 fxg5 16. Bxg5 Rxf2 17. Nd5 Qf8 18. Be3 Bh6 19. Nf4 Rxg2+ 20. Kxg2 e5 21. Nxh5 Nxe3+ 22. Rxe3 Bxe3 23. Qg4+ Kh7 24. Qd7+ Kh8 25. Rh1 Qf2+ 26. Kh3 Rg8 27. Qxd6 Bf1+ 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.05.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5pp1/7p/8/1q1P2P1/2p4P/1nQ5/4B2K b - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

 *

[Event "SVK-chT 1718"]
[Site "Slovakia"]
[Date "2018.03.04"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Pacher, Milan"]
[Black "Markos, Jan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2446"]
[BlackElo "2559"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2017.09.30"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "SVK"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Bratislava Slovan"]
[BlackTeam "Snina Reinter"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "SLO"]
[BlackTeamCountry "SVK"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 b6 3. e3 Bb7 4. Nc3 e6 5. Nf3 Bb4 6. Bd3 d6 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 Nbd7 9. Nd2 g5 10. Bg3 h5 11. f3 h4 12. Bf2 Qe7 13. a4 a5 14. c4 g4 15. e4 g3 16. hxg3 hxg3 17. Bxg3 O-O-O 18. Rf2 Nh5 19. Bh2 Qh4 20. g4 Nf4 21. Bf1 Rdg8 22. Qe1 Nf6 23. Ra3 Rg6 24. Qe3 e5 25. dxe5 dxe5 26. Kh1 Rgh6 27. g5 Qxg5 0-1

[Event "chessemy Open 2023"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2023.03.10"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Lubbe, Nikolas"]
[Black "Ghosh, Diptayan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2498"]
[BlackElo "2565"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. e3 Be7 5. b3 O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 b6 9. Bb2 Bb7 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. Qe2 Rc8 12. Rac1 Rc7 13. Rfd1 Qa8 14. Ne5 Rd8 15. f4 Nf8 16. Ndf3 Bd6 17. Qe3 Ne4 18. cxd5 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 exd5 20. Ng5 Nxg5 21. fxg5 Rc8 22. Rf1 Rc7 23. h4 Qe8 24. h5 Bxe5 25. dxe5 Ne6 26. Ba3 d4 27. Qg3 g6 28. Bc4 gxh5 29. Rf6 Rxc4 30. bxc4 Be4 31. Bd6 d3 32. Qe3 Bg6 33. Rf2 Qd8 34. c5 Qc8 35. cxb6 axb6 36. Rb2 h6 37. gxh6 Kh7 38. Bb4 Qc4 39. Bd2 b5 40. a3 Qa4 41. Rb4 Qxa3 42. Rxb5 Qa1+ 43. Kh2 Qf1 44. Rb7 h4 45. Rb4 h3 46. Qxh3 Qe2 47. Qe3 Qh5+ 48. Kg3 Qd1 49. Rg4 Nc5 50. e6 Nxe6 51. Rxg6 fxg6 52. Qa7+ 1-0

[Event "Mitropa Cup Open 2023"]
[Site "Mali Losinj"]
[Date "2023.04.17"]
[Round "7.20"]
[White "Besou, Hussain"]
[Black "Zelcic, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2348"]
[BlackElo "2487"]
[Annotator "Besou (H.B.), Krallmann (M.K.)"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,63,19,9,42,-10,-16,-11,43,32,47,23,26,-28,17,4,6,-18,4,4,6,5,-4,-27,
-20,-30,-17,-37,-36,-49,-44,-9,-8,0,-3,-5,2,10,22,27,23,26,28,35,150,33,99,0,
29,27,27,29,26,28,28,28,28,10,56,85,210,207,178,177,432,503]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 d5 6. Qc2 dxc4 7. Qxc4 b6 8. Bg2 Ba6 9. Qc2 c5
10. Bxb4 {M.K.: Prinzipiell gespielt: Weiß zwingt Schwarz zu einem Schlagen
zum Rand und erhält so eine Bauernmehrheit im Zentrum.} (10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. a3
Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Rc8 13. O-O Nd5 14. Qd2 Nxc3 15. bxc3 O-O 16. Rfe1 Qc7 17. e4
Rfd8 18. Rac1 b5 19. Bf1 Nb6 20. h4 Nc4 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Qg5 Qd6 23. d5 h6 24.
Qh5 exd5 25. exd5 Bb7 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nh2 Qxc3 28. Re7 g6 29. Qg4 Qb3 30. h5
g5 31. Rxf7 Kxf7 32. Qe6+ Kg7 33. Qg6+ Kf8 34. Qxh6+ Kf7 35. Qg6+ Kf8 36. Qf6+
Kg8 37. Qxg5+ Kf8 38. Qf5+ Kg8 39. Rb1 Rxd5 40. Qg6+ Kh8 41. Qh6+ Kg8 42. Rxb3
cxb3 43. Qb6 Rd1+ 44. Nf1 Rd7 45. Qxb3+ c4 46. Qc3 Rc5 47. g4 Be4 48. Qe3 Re5
49. f3 Rd3 50. Qf4 Re7 51. fxe4 c3 52. Ne3 Rf7 53. Nf5 Rb7 54. Qg5+ Kh7 55.
Qg6+ Kh8 56. Qe8+ Kh7 57. Qg6+ Kh8 58. Qe8+ Kh7 59. g5 Rb1+ 60. Kf2 Rb2+ 61.
Ke1 Rb1+ 62. Ke2 Rd2+ 63. Ke3 Re1+ 64. Kf4 Rf2+ 65. Ke5 Rxf5+ 66. Kxf5 Rf1+ 67.
Ke5 c2 68. Qg6+ Kh8 69. h6 {1-0 (69) Thybo,J (2528)-Svane,R (2610) Riga 2019})
10... cxb4 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Qd1 Rc8 13. Nbd2 O-O 14. Re1 Qc7 15. a3 bxa3 16.
Rxa3 Bb7 17. Rc3 Qd6 18. e4 Qb4 19. e5 {M.K.: Die Bauernmehrheit im Zentrum
hat sich in Bewegung gesetzt und Weiß hat einen Stützpunkt auf d6 erhalten.}
Nd5 20. Rb3 {[#]} Qa4 $6 {M.K.: Die schwarze Dame steht am Rand nicht gut, da
sie nur noch ein Feld zum Ausweichen hat.} (20... Qe7 21. Ne4 Bc6 22. Ra3 Rc7
23. Qd2 Nb8 24. Nd6 Na6 25. Ng5 Nab4 26. Raa1 Ba8 $11) 21. Ne4 Nb4 $2 {[#] M.K.
: Hier hätte Hussain die schlechte Position der schwarzen Dame bereits
ausnutzen und mit einer forcierten Abwicklung eine Qualität gewinnen können.}
(21... Rc7 22. Nd6 $16) 22. Nd6 $2 {H.B.: Es war von Anfang an mein Plan, den
Springer auf diesen Vorposten zu bringen. Dabei habe ich den Springerrückzug
übersehen, die schneller zum Vorteil geführt hätte. Ich habe die Variante
gerechnet, aber nach 24.Db8 abgebrochen.} (22. Nc3 $1 Qc6 23. Nh4 Qc7 24. Nb5
Qb8 25. Bxb7 Qxb7 26. Nd6 $18) 22... Bxf3 (22... Bd5 23. Rc3 Qxd1 24. Rxd1 Rcd8
25. Ne1 Nf6 $11) 23. Qxf3 $2 {H.B.: Ich hatte im Gefühl, dass 23.Lxf3
stärker sein musste, aber ich konnte nicht alle Varianten korrekt berechnen.}
(23. Bxf3 Rcd8 (23... Nc2 24. Rd3 Qb4 25. Re2 $18) (23... Rc1 24. Qxc1 Qxb3 25.
Be4 Nd5 26. Rd1 $18) (23... Rb8 24. Be4 g6 25. Qf3 {mit der Drohung Ta3}) 24.
Be2 Qc6 25. Rc3 Qa8 26. Bb5 Nd5 27. Rc1 Qb8 28. Bc6 Ne7 29. Be4 $16) 23... Nc2
24. Nxc8 Nxe1 25. Qc3 Qa1 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Bf1 Qd1 28. Qe3 {[#]} h6 $2 {
M.K.: Das ist zu passiv. Schwarz musste unbedingt aktives Spiel auf der
f-Linie suchen. H.B.: Ich habe 28. ...f6 erwartet. Darauf wollte ich 29.f4
fxe5 30.dxe5 spielen. Die Idee 30. ...g5 habe ich allerdings nicht mehr
gesehen.} (28... f6 29. exf6 Nxf6 30. Rc3 Ng4 31. Qxe6 Nf3+ 32. Kg2 Ne1+ {
mit Zugwiederholung}) 29. Rc3 $1 {H.B.: Ab hier habe ich bis zum Ende alles
berechnet.} Nc2 30. Qe4 Nb4 31. Rc7 Rd8 {[#]} (31... Nb8 32. Qb7 Qxd4 33. Rc8
$18) 32. Rxd7 $1 {M.K.: Ein hübscher Abschluss! Nach dem Wiederschlagen des
Turms folgt die Mattsetzung mittels Da8 und Dg8. Das ist Hussains erster Sieg
gegen einen Großmeister in einer Turnierpartie. Im Alter von 11 Jahren ist
dies zweifelsohne eine außergewöhnliche Leistung.} 1-0

[Event "Der beste Zug, 06/2023, Nr.1"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2023.04.30"]
[Round "15.14"]
[White "Kozul, Zdenko"]
[Black "Miljkovic, Miroslav D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2432"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/4p3/1R4P1/8/2k2P1P/rp2PK2/8 w - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,97,25,20,18,11,11,-24,-18,-18,2,15,12,11,2,6,3,-11,-3,-66,-13,-19,-1,
-21,-5,7,0,0,0,0,0,21,-4,0,0,4,24,15,31,20,38,16,18,13,12,-19,3,0,5,0,0,-12,0,
0,0,0,1,0,1,0,4,-10,13,9,22,37,39,60,88,88,102,125,61,86,64,55,85,128,72,92,
108,115,86,78,76,76,45,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] [#] Weiß am Zug Freibauern
sollen laufen, heißt es. Aber mitunter ist nicht klar, welcher zuerst starten
soll.} {In der Ausgangstellung hätte} 43. h4 $1 {gewonnen, z.B.} ({In der
Partie geschah} 43. g6 $2 {So direkt geht es nicht.} Ra8 $1 {Der schwarze Turm
kommt nun stets rechtzeitig.} 44. h4 Rh8 $1 45. Rb7 (45. g7 Rg8 46. Rb7 Rxg7 $1
) 45... Rh6 46. Rc7+ Kd2 47. Rd7+ (47. g7 {wird mit} Rg6 $1 $11 {beantwortet.}
({Nicht jedoch} 47... b1=Q $2 48. Rd7+ Kc3 49. g8=Q $18 {denn Weiß gewinnt
die 4.Partiephase wegen des offenen schwarzen Königs.})) 47... Kc2 48. Rc7+
Kd2 49. Rd7+ {remis.}) 43... Ra4 44. Rxb2 Kxb2 45. g6 Rxh4 46. g7 {und der
schwarze Turm ist dominiert:} Rh2+ 47. Kf1 Rh1+ 48. Kg2 Re1 49. Kf2 $18 1/2-1/2

[Event "Der beste Zug, 06/2023, Nr.2"]
[Site "Satty Zhuldyz Blitz, Astana 20"]
[Date "2023.04.25"]
[Round "12.4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2628"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/p7/1p2pk2/1P4p1/P2qQ3/5PK1/7P/8 b - - 0 46"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]

{[%evp 0,105,43,37,41,27,36,32,46,51,47,20,20,20,24,24,24,0,0,0,0,0,0,-7,-11,
-10,-15,-16,-16,-89,-89,-112,-109,-139,-131,-131,-124,-130,-105,-93,-93,-93,
-84,-104,-42,-34,-30,-30,-38,-22,-38,-56,-55,-55,-55,-55,-55,-72,-73,-67,0,-56,
-87,-130,-59,-160,-26,-18,-111,-187,-211,-299,-262,-293,-9,0,-5,-8,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,842,882,882,887,1119,1272,1216,1274] [#] Weiß
am Zug Die Damen abtauschen oder nicht? In der Partie geschah} 46... Qxe4 $6 {
was insofern kein besonders guter Zug ist, weil das Remis auf einfache Art zu
Weise erreicht werden kann:} (46... Qg1+ 47. Kh3 Qf1+ $11 {und Dauerschach.})
47. fxe4 Ke5 48. Kg4 Kxe4 49. Kxg5 {[#] DIA Analysediagramm} Kd4 $2 {Erst dies
verliert. Erforderlich war} (49... e5 $1 50. h4 Kd3 (50... Kf3 {geht ebenfalls}
) 51. h5 e4 52. h6 e3 53. h7 e2 54. h8=Q e1=Q 55. Qh7+ Kc4 56. Qxa7 Qe5+ $11 {
remis.}) 50. h4 e5 51. h5 e4 52. h6 e3 53. h7 (53. h7 {und wegen} e2 54. h8=Q+
$18 {[%cal Gh8d4] mit Schach}) 1-0

[Event "Der beste Zug, 06/2023, Nr.3"]
[Site "Capablanca Memorial, La Habana"]
[Date "2023.05.05"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Sadhwani, Raunak"]
[Black "Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B36"]
[WhiteElo "2627"]
[BlackElo "2521"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2B5/4k3/1p1p4/p1pKn2P/P1P5/8/8/8 b - - 0 68"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,13,0,0,0,0,0,0,22,21,0,0,0,0,0,0] Schwarz am Zug Der Nachziehenden
spielte 60..Sf7 und verlor in der Folge das schlechter stehende Endspiel. In
der Diagrammstellung entging ihm eine wunderschöne Rettung.} 68... Nd3 $3 {
hätte die Partie gerettet:} 69. Kc6 ({Nach} 69. h6 Nb4+ 70. Ke4 Kf6 $11 {
kommt Weiß am Königsflügel nicht weiter.}) 69... Nb2 70. Kb5 Kf6 71. Bd7 Kg5
72. Kxb6 Nxc4+ 73. Kb5 Nb2 74. Bg4 {[#] Analysediagramm} Nxa4 $3 $11 {und
remis wegen des "falschen Läufers". Schwarz opfert jetzt alle vier seine
verbliebenen Steine, sein König verkriecht sich dann auf h8, wo er nicht
mattgesetzt, sondern alleinfalls pattgesetzt werden kann.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Der beste Zug 06/2023, Nr.4"]
[Site "Saint Louis Spring A-Turnier"]
[Date "2023.04.05"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Nyzhnyk, I."]
[Black "Swiercz, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2644"]
[BlackElo "2637"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2023.04.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1483"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,49,29,27,34,-17,0,-29,-18,2,-10,-1,3,11,11,-1,16,3,25,25,11,15,7,-10,
17,6,7,11,-4,-16,7,-38,-38,-32,3,0,290,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4
Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 cxd4
9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. Nf3 exd5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Nc3 Be6 14. Na4 Qa7 15.
Rfc1 Rac8 16. Qb3 Nb4 17. a3 Ne4 18. Bxe7 Qxf2+ 19. Kh1 d4 20. Qd1 Qe3 {
[#] Es sieht ganz danach aus, als habe sich der Weißspieler verkalkuliert, es
droht ja ...Sf2+ mit Damengewinn. Doch Weiß spielte ungerührt} (20... Qe3 21.
Qf1 Nf2+ 22. Kg1 Nh3+ 23. Kh1 Nf2+ 24. Kg1) 21. Bg5 $1 Nf2+ ({Nicht} 21... Nxg5
22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. axb4 $18) 22. Kg1 {und das Doppelschach} Nh3+ {sicherte den
halben Punkt:} 23. Kh1 Nf2+ 24. Kg1 Nh3+ 25. Kh1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Der beste Zug, 06/2023, Nr.5"]
[Site "TePe Sigeman Co 2023, Malmo"]
[Date "2023.05.08"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Black "Erigaisi Arjun"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C48"]
[WhiteElo "2689"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/4Rp1k/5Rp1/4P3/5Pp1/6K1/4r1P1/8 b - - 0 47"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,101,19,36,31,12,11,26,25,6,33,28,28,28,23,27,25,0,24,6,-2,-9,10,20,32,
29,47,45,40,32,43,12,27,13,27,14,41,26,15,6,43,11,9,0,13,1,18,25,40,21,38,18,
34,92,98,91,90,81,85,90,87,90,87,88,88,88,88,89,96,76,126,131,120,131,129,128,
134,134,141,129,149,121,123,122,122,122,134,112,111,114,123,114,123,114,123,
114,123,52,590,598,962,992,1002,1002] [#] Schwarz am Zug Zum remis reicht ...
Kg7, dennn Weiß kann wegen des ungedecken Turms auf f6 nicht gut e5-e6 ziehen.
Der Partiezug ließ dies zu.} 47... Kg8 $2 48. e6 $1 Rxe6 49. Rexe6 fxe6 50.
Rxf8+ $1 ({Aber nicht} 50. Rxg6+ $2 Kf7 51. Rxg4 Ra8 $11 52. Rg5 Ra3+ 53. Kg4
Ra2 54. g3 Kf6 $11) 50... Kxf8 51. Kxg4 {Weiß gewinnt nun das Bauernendspiel,
man sehe} (51. Kxg4 Kf7 52. Kg5 Kg7 53. g3 $1 ({Aber nicht sofort} 53. g4 $2
Kf7 54. Kh6 Kf6 55. g5+ Kf5 56. Kg7 Kxf4 57. Kxg6 e5 $11 {remis}) 53... Kf7 54.
Kh6 Kf6 55. g4 Kf7 56. g5 $18 {mit Gewinn.}) 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.1"]
[Site "Onlinepartie auf Schach.de"]
[Date "2023.05.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kuvasz kolya"]
[Black "Pudel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "1801"]
[BlackElo "1891"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rn1q1rk1/pp3b1p/2pb2p1/3p1p2/3PnN2/2PBNQ1P/PP3PP1/R1B1R1K1 b - - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2023.05.02"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,5,-42,-45,-685,-215,-236,-228] [#] Schwarz am Zug Irgendwie hat man
das Gefühl, die weiße Figuren treten sich gegenseitig auf die Füße. Wie
nutzt man diese Disharmonie aus?} 14... Qc7 $1 {Greift den Springer f4 an. Nach
} 15. Ne2 $2 (15. Nf1 {oder}) (15. g3 Nd7 {steht Schwarz besser, ohne dass
sich schon einen Entscheidung anbahnen würde. Der Partiezug}) 15... Bh2+ $19 (
{oder auch} 15... Ng5 {kostet nach}) 16. Kh1 Ng5 $1 {die Dame} 0-1

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.2"]
[Site "Bundesliga 2023"]
[Date "2023.04.29"]
[Round "14.3"]
[White "Kollars, Dmitrij"]
[Black "Indjic, Aleksandar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2606"]
[BlackElo "2641"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/5ppp/1pP5/p7/1n5P/6P1/1P3PB1/R5K1 w - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2022.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,89,43,13,16,6,4,11,29,18,18,18,7,7,24,30,33,23,29,23,21,21,27,21,22,
19,19,26,19,25,24,26,39,44,48,33,33,30,22,4,0,-9,2,-10,75,66,83,62,141,116,114,
136,143,143,210,210,216,214,214,216,374,374,382,416,417,219,236,236,227,227,
241,239,239,240,244,243,244,244,253,218,237,222,222,238,268,242,274,173,297,
248,260,168] Weiß am Zug Auch in Endspiel helfen kleine Kombinationen weiter.
} 34. c7 $1 Na6 35. Rc1 Rc8 36. Bb7 Rxc7 37. Rd1 $1 {Die Mattdrohung Td8
gewinnt das Tempo, um den Springer zu gewinnen. Es folgte noch} Kf8 38. Bxa6
Rc2 39. b3 Ke7 40. Rd4 Rc3 41. Bc4 b5 42. Bxb5 Rxb3 43. Rd7+ Ke8 44. Rb7+ Kd8
45. Bc6 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.3"]
[Site "Reykjavik Open 2023"]
[Date "2023.03.30"]
[Round "2.57"]
[White "Alfaro Guillen, J."]
[Black "Kusa, Jakub"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1983"]
[BlackElo "2373"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/ppb2ppp/2pN1qn1/1PP1p3/P2pPn2/1B1P1N2/1BQ2PPP/R4RK1 b - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2023.03.29"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1482"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,40,19,38,25,7,30,27,27,6,55,11,17,17,14,29,49,26,41,27,47,28,36,-24,
59,34,27,22,25,15,29,-9,22,-78,34,-76,-94,-211,-214,-29993,-29994,-29997,
-29998] Schwarz am Zug Kurz und bündig, dennnoch sehenswert ist dieser
Kombination.} 17... Bxd6 18. cxd6 Nxg2 (18... Qxd6 {gewinnt nur einen Bauern
und verpasst den siegreichen Abschluss.}) 19. Kxg2 Bh3+ $1 20. Kg3 Qf4+ (20...
Qf4+ {umnd wegen} 21. Kxh3 Qxf3#) 0-1

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.4"]
[Site "First Saturday October 2022"]
[Date "2022.10.02"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Sahithi, Varshini M"]
[Black "Siddharth, Jagadeesh"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D04"]
[WhiteElo "2238"]
[BlackElo "2415"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rr4k1/6p1/2p2b1p/2Pp1p2/pq1PpP2/PP2B1P1/6NP/QR4K1 b - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

{[%evp 0,11,-268,-302,-326,-290,-346,-357,-368,-373,-386,-386,-459,-473] [#]
Schwarz am Zug Zuletzt erfolgte ein Bauernzug von a2 nach a3. Darauf ist ...
Da5 gut spielbar, aber damit ist ein Platz in der Auslese der Kombinationen
nicht zu bekommen.} 30... Qxc5 $3 31. dxc5 Bxa1 32. Rxa1 axb3 33. Bd4 b2 34.
Rb1 Rxa3 35. Rxb2 ({Wahlweise} 35. Ne3 g6 36. Nc2 Ra4 $1 {nebst ...Tc4.
Schwarz kann keine Blockade aufbauen.}) 35... Ra1+ $1 {und wegen} (35... Ra1+
36. Kf2 Rxb2+ 37. Bxb2 Ra2 {mit entscheidendem Materialgewinn}) 0-1

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.6"]
[Site "Baku Open 2023"]
[Date "2023.05.04"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Predke, Alexandr"]
[Black "Atakishiyev, Elmar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2685"]
[BlackElo "2363"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1rk1/1p1bbp1p/1qn1p1p1/p3P1N1/3PB3/P7/1P4PP/R1BQ1R1K w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2023.04.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,47,24,19,46,30,22,14,1,2,15,11,-6,-21,0,0,0,-14,-16,-20,-3,-5,13,-16,
15,28,11,13,22,23,24,15,27,10,12,35,112,54,54,0,0,0,428,2024,29981,29982,29983,
29984,29985,29986] [#] Weiß am Zug Der prämiierte Zug drängt sich auf, aber
gemach! Sehen Sie die Kombination in voller Länge (vgl. Lösung)?} 19. Nxh7 $1
Kxh7 20. Qh5+ Kg8 ({Nach} 20... Kg7 {führt} 21. Rxf7+ $1 {bereits zum Matt,
wowon man sich leicht selbst überzeugen kann.} (21. Rxf7+ Rxf7 22. Qxg6+ Kf8
23. Bh6+ Ke8 24. Qg8+ Bf8 25. Bg6 {nebst matt.})) 21. Bxg6 fxg6 22. Qxg6+ Kh8
23. Qh5+ Kg8 24. Bh6 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.7"]
[Site "Kazakhstan Cup, Astana"]
[Date "2023.04.26"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Isanzhulov, Arystan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D32"]
[WhiteElo "2602"]
[BlackElo "2315"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/1p3k2/p1b2ppp/8/3BqPP1/1P2P2P/P2R3K/3Q4 b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2023.04.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,9,-214,-209,-231,-223,-195,-199,-199,-190,-190,-189] [#] Schwarz am
Zug Eine Mattsetzung per ...Dg2 oder ...Dh1 ist zuverlässig abgewehrt, aber
da spielte noch eine benachbarte Diagonale eine Rolle.} 41... Rxd4 $1 42. exd4
(42. Rxd4 Qg2#) 42... Qxf4+ 43. Kg1 Qg3+ 44. Kf1 Bb5+ 45. Re2 {und nun nicht} (
45. Re2 Qf3+ 46. Ke1 Qxe2+ 47. Qxe2 Bxe2 48. Kxe2 Ke6 {sondern}) 45... Qxh3+ (
45... Qxh3+ {und wegen} 46. Ke1 Qh1+ 47. Kd2 Qxd1+ 48. Kxd1 Bxe2+ 49. Kxe2 Ke6
50. Ke3 f5 {mit einem für Schwarz gewonnenen Bauernendspiel}) 0-1

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.8"]
[Site "Bundesliga 2022-23"]
[Date "2023.04.29"]
[Round "14.5"]
[White "Zilka, Stepan"]
[Black "Prusikin, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2516"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7b/3bk1Np/1Q1p3P/1pqP1p2/2p1nB2/2P2B2/1P4PK/8 w - - 0 51"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2022.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,7,230,221,954,684,1466,486,29993,29994] [#] Weiß am Zug Der etwas
ungewöhnlich postierte weiße Springer spielt ein wichtige Rolle.} 51. Qb7 {
Es droht entscheidend Sxf5+!} Bxg7 52. hxg7 Qf2 {Schwarz hofft noch auf ein
Dauerschach mit ...Dh4+ nebst ...De1+} 53. g8=N+ $1 Kf8 54. Bh6+ {Das wars.
Weiß gewinnt nach} (54. Bh6+ Kxg8 55. Qb8+ Kf7 56. Qf8+ Kg6 57. Qg7#) (54.
Bh6+ Kf7 55. Qxd7+) (54. Bh6+ Ke8 55. Qa8+) 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.9"]
[Site "FSGM Oktober 2022, Budapest"]
[Date "2022.10.08"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Stein, Robert"]
[Black "Akesson, Ralf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2375"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rb1q3/2p1r2k/1p2pBpp/p1bpP3/6QP/1P3NP1/P1R1PPK1/5R2 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

{[%evp 0,8,57,187,202,303,314,318,322,329,314] [#] Weiß am Zug Zuletzt
geschah ...Td7-e7. Ist der nächste Zug selbstverständlich? Der
Qualitätsgewinn Lxe7 ist möglich und mit Vorteil für Weiß verbunden, aber
selbstverständlich ist der Zug nicht, er ist nicht einmal der beste Zug.
Dieses Prädikat verdient die Partiefortsetzung} 29. Ng5+ $3 hxg5 ({Auf} 29...
Kg8 {war wohl} 30. Rh1 $1 {nebst ggf. h4-h5 geplant.}) 30. hxg5 Kg8 31. Rh1 Rg7
32. Qh4 1-0

[Event "Kombi 06/2023, Nr.9"]
[Site "Zonenturnier China, Shenzhen"]
[Date "2023.04.05"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Wang, Yanbin"]
[Black "Zhang, Di"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2453"]
[BlackElo "2143"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qkb1r/4p2p/npp1bp2/6pP/1npP4/2N1PNB1/1P3PP1/RQ2KB1R b KQkq - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.04.05"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1483"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,40,19,29,23,27,34,-23,30,10,56,34,33,-8,-12,-19,-19,-21,-26,-44,-36,
-28,-25,-27,-27,-42,-44,-41,-56,-210,-212,-212,-215,-541,-548,-532,-525,-558,
-558,-524,-542,-556,-550] [#] Schwarz am Zug Zuletzt geschah Dd1-b1, was nun
geschickt wiederlegt wird.} 14... Nc2+ $1 15. Qxc2 Nb4 {Die weiße Dame darf
nicht weichen, z.B.} (15... Nb4 16. Qd1 Rxa1 17. Qxa1 Nc2+ 18. Kd2 Nxa1) 16.
Rxa8 Nxc2+ 17. Kd2 Qxa8 18. Kxc2 b5 19. Nd2 b4 20. Ncb1 Qa2 {So geschehen bei
dem Zonenturnier in Shenzhen im Frühjahr 2023. in besondere Pointe: der
Besiegte besitzt einen deutlich bessere Elozahl (2453 gegenüber 2143 seines
Gegners).} 0-1

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.10"]
[Site "Capablanca Memorial La Habana "]
[Date "2023.05.05"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Fier, Alexandr"]
[Black "Quesada Perez, Luis Ernesto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2589"]
[BlackElo "2559"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1R6/6pp/kb1rp1b1/2ppNnB1/8/1Rp5/5PPP/6K1 w - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.01"]

{[%evp 0,75,25,25,88,68,74,55,53,62,53,39,66,24,7,9,50,35,34,-37,4,4,29,29,44,
18,2,2,12,-20,53,82,61,41,42,-17,24,32,32,10,51,40,18,0,69,36,0,0,0,0,196,171,
183,180,240,210,244,181,244,244,248,251,268,250,258,258,269,241,314,347,345,
367,374,283,257,256,29995,286] Weiß am Zug Rein rechnerisch sind die
schwarzen Steine in Überzahl, aber eine weiße Figur bringt die Entscheidung.
} 30. Bd8 $1 {mit den Idee} (30. Bd8 Bxd8 31. Ra8#) (30. Bd8 Rxd8 31. R8xb6+
Ka5 32. Nc6+ Ka4 33. Rb1 {nebst matt.}) 30... Nd4 31. R3xb6+ Rxb6 32. Rxb6+ Ka5
33. Nd7 c2 $6 {This loses directly.} ({Zäher ist} 33... c4 {wenngleich Weiß
mit} 34. Nc5 Nb5 35. Rb8+ Kb4 36. Nxe6 c2 37. Bg5 {weiterhin am Drücker
bleibt.}) 34. Rb3+ Ka6 35. Nxc5+ Ka7 36. Ra3+ Kb8 37. Bg5 h6 38. Be3 {Das
gewinnt, aber} (38. Bf4+ {hätte zum Matt geführt. Dennoch: der Partiezug
veranlasste den Schwarzspieler, die Partie aufzugeben.} e5 39. Bxe5+ Kc8 40.
Ra8#) 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.11"]
[Site "La Roda Open 2023"]
[Date "2023.04.06"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Svane, Frederik"]
[Black "Rottenwohrer Suarez, Juan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2278"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/1R4p1/4PpNp/p1qn4/P2p4/2P4P/2Q2PP1/4R1K1 w - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2023.04.05"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1483"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.04.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,65,19,38,25,7,30,27,23,27,19,12,12,21,62,-16,10,-20,-20,-27,-9,-28,60,
47,78,80,76,24,84,86,76,65,72,71,132,90,177,177,115,163,163,155,121,145,145,
114,121,96,104,114,147,152,178,85,161,269,650,657,677,695,1011,1072,1004,1135,
29997,29998,29999,-30000] [#] Weiß am Zug Die Brüder Frederik (18) und
Rasmus (25) Svane tragen beide den Großmeistertitel. Hier sieht man den
Jüngeren in Aktion.} 26. Qe4 $1 {droht Tb5} Nxc3 27. Rxg7+ $3 {Die Pointe.}
Kxg7 28. Qb7+ Re7 29. Nxe7 Ra7 30. Nf5+ Kg6 31. Nh4+ Kh5 ({Weiß gewinnt auch
nach} 31... Kg5 32. Qf3 f5 33. e7) 32. Qf3+ Kxh4 33. Qg4# 1-0

[Event "KOMBI 06/2023, Nr.12"]
[Site "Finale Viererpokal"]
[Date "2023.05.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Wegerle, J."]
[Black "Shirov, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2401"]
[BlackElo "2654"]
[Annotator "Borik"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/pp2kr2/1q1bp1bp/3P2pN/2pP2P1/2P2B1P/PP4Q1/R4RK1 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2023.05.06"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1487"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2023.05.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.05.08"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "SG Solingen"]
[BlackTeam "OSG Baden-Baden"]

{[%evp 0,64,25,27,27,27,27,28,71,23,28,8,11,11,2,-48,-49,-49,-46,-22,-12,-10,
-21,-12,8,9,9,-45,-40,-18,-18,-14,-8,-33,-33,-33,-26,-39,-38,-117,-102,-106,
-94,-94,-101,-101,-97,-136,-109,-88,-80,-131,-142,-301,-301,-434,-487,-467,
-477,-477,-493,-1395,-1409,-1335,-1212,-29983,-29984] [#] Schwarz am Zug Hier
wartet ein berühmter Spieler mit einem originellen Angriffskonzept auf.} 25...
e5 $1 {Gewöhnlich öffnet man nicht eine Linie, auf der sich der eigene
König befindet, aber wie der weitere Verlauf beweist, überwiegt der Nutzen
von ...e5 das eingegangene Risiko.} 26. Be4 (26. Rae1 {will auf der
halboffenen e-Linie angreifen, doch} Kd8 $1 {nutzt die Fesselung auf der
Diagonalen g1-a7 aus, um nach} 27. Kh1 {mit} e4 $1 {weiter vorrücken.} 28. Bd1
Bxh5 29. gxh5 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 31. Qxf1 Qxb2 {droht ...Dh2 matt} 32. Be2
Qxc3 $19) 26... Bxh5 27. gxh5 exd4 28. Rxf7+ Rxf7 29. Qg4 Kd8 (29... dxc3+ 30.
Kh1 Kd8 {ist nur eine Zugumstellung}) 30. Rb1 dxc3+ 31. Kh1 c2 $1 32. Rc1 (32.
Bxc2 Rf2 {drohend ...Th2 matt}) 32... Qe3 {und wegen} (32... Qe3 33. Rg1 Rf2)
0-1

