FIDE World Cup 2017: And then there were two!

Ding Liren becomes the first Chinese player to reach Candidates

The day of tiebreaks is like entering a colosseum where the gladiators would fight until death and at the end of the day there would only be one man standing. And today the stakes were even higher. The two winners in their respective matches would qualify for the Candidates 2018. This led to some behaviour by the participants which I had never seen before in this event. For example, Wesley So fumbling the pieces while making his move, or Ding Liren sitting on the edge of his chair, or Levon Aronian shaking his head even when he had not made a blunder, or Maxime Vachier-Lagrave simply missing a move that would lead to a mate even though he had plenty time on his clock. That's what pressure can do to the best in the business.

After winning his match against Vachier-Lagrave, I asked Aronian whether so much stress becomes unbearable for him. To which he replied, "It's a unique situation, and you have to cherish these unique situations in life. Many people would kill to be in your position because it's exciting. You just have to accept that it's not going to be easy and try to enjoy it in the process." Indeed wise words from a champion.

Wesley So vs Ding Liren

After the classical games, one thing was clear, both the players were extremely well matched. While So was winning in the first game, Ding was clearly better in the second. Both the games ended in a draw and we landed in the tiebreaks.

Game 1: 25'+10"

The Chinese player dominated the game from the outset and was completely winning. Wesley played an opening that was not so great. It seemed as if Ding would pull it off. However, just when it seemed as if White (So) had absolutely no hopes left, the Chinese player started to make mistakes and So was able to make a comeback. It was such a harrowing experience for Liren that he couldn't really get this result out of his system even when he sat for the second game.

The Catalan: A complete repertoire for White!

The Catalan is one of the most solid openings for White. It forms part of the large and strong fianchetto family in which White builds his strategy mainly around the bishop on g2. Grandmaster Victor Bologan covers all of Black’s replies to the Catalan, some of which can even transpose to other openings such as the Tarrasch System and the Queen’s Indian. Suffice it to say that the Catalan rules!

Wesley So trying his best to not let the pressure of tiebreaks get to him | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Ding Liren tried very hard to forget what happened in the first game, but it was not easy | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Game 2 (25'+10")

Just nine moves were made, Ding Liren had taken the knight on f6 with his bishop and offered a draw. Wesley So accepted it. After the match the Chinese GM said, "I was unable to fully recover from the draw in the previous round. I had expected my opponent to play 5...h6, but he surprised me with 5...dxc4." Ding Liren was unprepared for this line and coupled with his fragile mental state, he made the smart decision of offering a draw. In hindsight it might be possible to say that Wesley So should have played on. It might have been possible that he would have won the match. However, this is something that we would never really know. As Ding Liren said, "If I were in Wesley's place, I would have played on."

Game 1 (10'+ 10")

The quick draw in the previous game was good enough for both the players to come refreshed to the game. Ding Liren was able to come out of the grief of having missed many wins in game one of 25'+ 10'', while Wesley was looking forward to press with the white pieces. In the opening, the American GM did get some advantage, but Ding made a smart sacrifice after which Black's play was very easy. Wesley soon started to consume quite some time and the Chinese GM also refused a draw offer. With some strong moves he was able to put a lot of pressure on Wesley and finished off the game.

Game 2 (10'+10'')

Wesley So has excellent preparation in his solid lines with black. To be in a must win scenario was not a pleasant situation for him. He went for the Benoni, but the way he played it gave him absolutely no winning chances. Delaying exd5 was not a good idea as it allowed Ding to play e4 and take on d5 with his e-pawn. This resulted in a symmetrical structure with White having the bishop pair and extra space. It was not so difficult for Liren to make a draw and with this he advanced not only to the finals of the World Cup 2017, but also qualified for the Candidates 2018.

The Chinese grandmaster is not very expressive, but the slight smile on his face says that he is happy with what just happened! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Wesley So played the entire tournament very well. Although he couldn't make it to the Candidates, he has excellent chances to qualify by being one of the highest rated players in the world. | Photo: Amruta Mokal 

Interview with Ding Liren

After the game ended, Ding Liren gave an interview for the official live broadcast. While he was walking with me towards the room where we would conduct an interview for the viewers of ChessBase, his coach Xu Jun asked him to come immediately with him. The Chinese television had to be sent some video footage and for that an interview had to be conducted in Chinese and some pictures had to be taken. Ding Liren excused himself and told me that he would come back in some time to do an interview with me. I went back to the press room, not having much expectation that he would return. But after 15 minutes, Ding Liren walked into the press room and kept his word. For me, this is the sign of greatness. Yes, Ding Liren is an amazing chess player and will soon be fighting for the highest crown in the chess world, but such episodes tell you that in spite of the success, he has his feet firmly rooted to the ground. A wonderful human being.

"I am so happy that I will not be able to sleep tonight!" Ding Liren gives an in-depth interview to ChessBase after the game

Levon Aronian vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

What a match between two of the strongest chess players in the world of chess. Levon Aronian and MVL had passed through some really well-established opponents to reach the semifinals. As many people rightly said, this match could well have been the finals, and no one would have complained. There was so little to choose between the two. And this showed in the final result. The match went all the way upto the Armageddon. In fact this was the first Armageddon of World Cup 2017. In the end it was Levon Aronian who emerged victorious by beating MVL and not only advancing to the finals of the World Cup but also qualifying for Candidates 2018. Let's go through the match by looking at all the games one by one:

Game 1 (25'+10")

MVL came with a new idea in the same line that Levon employed in their second classical game. The Frenchman had made a deep study of White's ideas there and was able to outplay his Armenian opponent. Levon said after the match that it was not the opening that led to his downfall. He felt that Black had no real problems. However, somehow he did not repeat the 9...Bg4 line again in the next few games.

Game 2 (25'+10")

This was simply a brilliant win by Levon Aronian who played fearlessly and showed his true strength. Being 0-1 down in the match and winning a must-win scenario can do wonders to your confidence. Aronian sacrificed a pieces, which was pretty dubious, but it worked perfectly in the game. With this win he equalized the score and took the game into the 10'+10" tiebreaks.

Game 1 (10'+10")

It was a heavy duty theoretical battle in the Grunfeld where both players knew what they were doing. As is usually the case in such games, the players fought until the very end, but the result was never really in doubt. A well played draw.

Game 2 (10'+10") 

After one successful stint with 9...Bg4 and one not so successful one, Aronian shifted to 9...Na5 in the 6.d3 Ruy Lopez. He played a model game and equalized without any difficulties. He had excellent chances to press and bring home the full point, but he went wrong and allowed MVL to hold the draw.

The arbiters show it to the players how it's done! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Game 1 (5"+3') 

This was a complete heartbreak for Levon. After playing the opening really well he got a completely winning position. His chances kept improving as won a pawn and then had a vicious attack against his opponent's king. However, MVL kept fighting. Some normal moves would have brought home the point, but it was nerves that prevent Aronian from scoring a win. In the end he could have even lost the game, but MVL returned the favour and the game was drawn.

Game 2 (5"+3')

It was yet another discussion in the 6.d3 Ruy Lopez and once again Aronian managed to not only equalize, but also snatch the initiative. However, it was not enough. The game ended in a draw in 41 moves and the match moved towards Armageddon!

So many handshakes between the two, 18 (9x2) to be precise! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Armageddon:

As the players had completed their stipulated six tiebreak games without someone taking a lead, the match moved into the Armageddon. The player with the black pieces would get four minutes and the one with white would have five. However, white is in a must-win scenario. A draw would mean he is knocked out.

MVL chose the black pieces, which meant that he had one minute less, but draw odds in his favour | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Aronian chose the non theoretical Bf4-Nc3 line and got absolutely nothing out of the opening. Very soon MVL got a clearly better position. It seemed as if Aronian would not be able to win this one. But in blitz, you don't really care what the objective evaluation of the position is. You just keep making moves. Aronian did that and after some great difficulties managed to win the game! It was a moment of sheer happiness for Levon as he sat back in his chair and looked upwards! It was one of the toughest matches of his life, and he was glad that it was not only over but had ended in his favour.

Sportsman spirit:

MVL played the entire tournament extremely well | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Maxime had the toughest matches. He faced Grischuk in round four and then Svidler in five. He managed to win both the matches. It seemed like he was invincible in the tiebreaks, but Levon's super solid chess with black and unorthodox style with white managed to create some chinks in Maxime's armour. Surely MVL deserves a place in the Candidates and we can only hope he makes it through the Grand Prix cycle. 

We all know what the stakes were today, we all know how important it was for MVL to win. Yet, he was a gracious loser and sent this wonderful tweet to his opponent:

Warm Congrats to @LevAronian - that was intense! and I'm sure I'll see you in Berlin with my speedy recovery program 😎😵 pic.twitter.com/67oeEHWTB3

— MVL (@Vachier_Lagrave) September 21, 2017

To which Levon Aronian replied:

Thank you brother! That’s what friends are for, to challenge one another and face the inevitable...

— Levon Aronian (@LevAronian) September 21, 2017

Interview with Levon Aronian

"I am sure my wife-to-be won't mind marrying a two-time World Cup winner" -Aronian

Video Gallery:

Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal have worked inside the playing hall for nearly six hours collecting footage for you to follow this exciting day through videos. If you enjoy them, do subscribe to the ChessBase India youtube channel for more videos.

Start of game one of semifinals tiebreaks

Towards the end of 25'+10" rapid game — it's not so easy to find Wesley So in such a nervous state

Ding Liren and Wesley So in the break between game one and two of 25'+10" rapid

Start of 25'+10" game two

Levon moves his queen to h5 and Maxime has no better move than to resign. The last part of 25'+10" game two between Aronian and MVL

The first game of the 10'+10" rapid saw Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier Lagrave blitz out nearly 25 moves of theory. That's how well prepared they are.

The entire 10'+10" rapid game one in the form of a time-lapse video

Wesley So was in a must win situation in game two of 10'+10" rapid. He chose the Benoni against Ding Liren's 1.d4

This video will go down in the history books, as the game which gave China its first player in Candidates! Time lapse video of second game of 10'+10" rapid

The first 5'+3" blitz. Aronian thinks that he has blundered when, in fact he was winning the game!

Final four minutes of the Armageddon between Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave that was won by the Armenian

This video has the arbiter explaining the rules of the Armageddon, the initial moves of the game and the moment when Levon won the game and came outside the playing hall

Levon Aronian gets the white pieces in game one of the World Cup Finals 2017

Make your predictions!

When Ding Liren finished his game and was interviewed by us, the game between Aronian and MVL was in progress. When Ding Liren was asked,"Who is it that you would prefer to play against in the finals?", he replied, "Against Aronian I have a plus score, while against MVL I have done very badly. This is how well Ding has done against Aronian:

Ding Liren has three wins — all in classical chess, against Aronian's none, and four draws

Levon Aronian in the post-game interview said, "It's true I have a bad score against Ding Liren, but this is a chance to improve it!"

The two players and their path to the finals

Links

• Round 6.2: Ding Liren returns he favour
• Round 6.1: Why didn't So sacrifice an exchange?
• Round 5.3: Nasty 21...Kc7!! seals Svidler's fate
• Round 5.2: Aronian, So, Ding are in the semifinals
• Round 5.1: Flawless Aronian crushes Chucky 
• Round 4.3: MVL's Narikala against Grischuk
• Round 4.2: Aronian and Ivanchuk set up round five clash!
• The road to the Candidates 2018
• Round 4.1: Ivanchuk is Ivanchuk!
• Round 3.3: Caruana bows out
• Round 3.2: World No.35 eliminates World No.1 
• Round 3.1: Can Magnus Carlsen save himself?
• Round 2.3 (tiebreak) Ten 2700+ players knocked out
• The World Cup, then and now
• Round 2.2: Anand and Karjakin knocked out
• Round 2.1: Magnus Carlsen having fun in Tbilisi
• Round 1.3 (tiebreaks): Nail biting chess and true sportsmanship 
• Round 1.2: Eljanov out; 22 tiebreaks!
• Round 1.1: 35 decisive games
• World Cup 2017: A glorious opening ceremony
• Tbilisi loves you!