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We were two hours into the game. Things were looking pretty boring. The queens had been exchanged, and rooks were also off. A few minor pieces and four pawns for each side remained on the board. It seemed as if the players would shake their hands, go back to the room and start preparing for the third game. Everyone in the press room was also looking forward to a short day of work. But then Ding Liren picked up his c1 knight (check above diagram) and put it on b3.
Levon Aronian's eyes lit up a bit. Here was his chance to claim at least a theoretical edge. He played the move 30...b6! Ding Liren had no choice but to take the knight on c5 and after bxa5 we reached the following position:
Aronian rolled up his sleeves. He carefully adjusted himself on his chair and with some light hand exercises he signalled — not only to his opponent, but also to the world — that we are in for a long fight! True, the position was still very much in the realms of a draw, but the tide was slightly shifting in Armenian's favour.
When you sit in the press room (or at home) with engines switched on, the position looks deceptively easy. But just look at the position without any silicon assistance and you will realize that for the defender it is not at all clear what is to be done. Aronian made one strong move after another and constantly posed his Chinese opponent with problems to solve. Every move had to played accurately by Ding in order to avoid defeat. The 24-year-old grandmaster did fare well until a certain point, but then went wrong. Mistakes in chess do not happen in vacuum. It was this incessant pressure from Aronian that made Ding go wrong. The biggest opportunity for Levon came on move 53.
With time running low on the clock, such decisions are extremely difficult to make. However, Aronian could have gained the full point by playing Nb3+. You can find the detailed analysis in the game annotations below. Levon, however, couldn't calculate the consequences of Nb3+ accurately and hence went for the safer route with Nxf3. The position is still be winning, just not as clear as Nb3+. For Ding things were not at all bright. Not only had he lost a pawn, but he was down to his last few seconds. This is when the Chinese player made the decision of playing fast. And it worked. Within five moves, it was Ding who had three minutes as compared to Aronian playing in seconds. Somehow the pressure of defending a worse position for Ding had been converted into the pressure of winning a won game for Aronian.
Miraculously Ding Liren survived and he is yet to be beaten in the World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi.
Liren was very tired after the game. However, he agreed for a short interview. Thinking about chess variations and moves is refreshing for him. As we discussed more and more, his energy levels seemed to be getting better and better. Here's a small excerpt from the conversation:
SS: So Ding how tired are you right now?
DL: Yes, I am very tired, but maybe my move Kc1 is not so good!
His mind was thinking just about the moves and variations that he had played and during the interview he was trying to find some improvement in his play. I think this is one of the main reasons why Ding Liren is doing so well. The guy simply enjoys chess!
Ding Liren discusses his game in detail and tells us why he was not able to even touch his banana during the game!
After the first game ended in a draw, Ding and Aronian were back at the Biltmore Hotel at 3 p.m. on September for game two | Photo: Amruta Mokal
It was the Catalan Opening with a popular modern day tabiya reached after ten moves | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Aronian played a new and powerful idea with ...Nd7!? Essentially he was telling Ding that his knight was superior to his bishop. | Photo: Amruta Mokal
With the knight on f6, Black ususally plays h6 and then White chops off the knight and we get a normal position. Aronian feels that his knight is superior and decides to transfer it to b6. Later he just moved his rooks to d8 and c8, put his bishop on e8 and broke in the centre with c5. Very logical and strong opening play.
This man sitting in the spectators makes sure he doesn't miss a single move. His eyesight is weak, but he has made the necessary arrangements! | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Pages and pages of notes! The finals is an excellent situation to follow the games carefully LIVE and match your thinking against the best players in the world. | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Former World Champion from 1978 to 1991 Maia Chiburanidze visited the playing venue and sat in the press room where she analyzed the game with other people | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Arianne (Aronian's wife ) and her family watch the game from the spectators area, joined by IM Alex Wohl (in yellow), who introduced the couple in 2006 | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Levon Aronian is gutted with himself for botching up such a winning position | Photo: Amruta Mokal
But full marks to the Armenian for not losing his cool and analyzing the game with Ding Liren | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Ding Liren tries to pinpoint the exact moment where he thought Aronian had a clear win, but as you can see, things are never so easy in a practical over-the-board encounter | Photo: Amruta Mokal
After the game Arianne tells Levon where he missed the win! | Photo: Amruta Mokal
A Houdini escape for Ding Liren, who is clearly pleased with the result | Photo: Amruta Mokal
Coincidentally meeting the World Cup finalist in the elevator before the game
Start of game two of the finals of World Cup 2017
As Indians we were pleasantly 'shocked' to see Maia Chiburanidze's knowledge of Bollywoord
Tatia Skhirtladze works for the bureau of Cultural Implication in Vienna. She is originally from Georgia. When she shifted to Vienna, people asked the place from where she came. She told them Georgia. She wanted to know what people thought about her country and she got various replies. One of them was: "you are from the land of best players in women's chess!" This really piqued Tatia's interest on making a documentary on the life of four great women champions of Georgia — Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Nana Alexandria and Nana Ioseliani. The number of World Championship Matches played by these women is mind-boggling.
Tatia is making a film with limited resources on these four women players of Georgia. She has no chess background but is making a film on this interesting subject. In case you would like to get in touch with Tatia to help her in her project, here's her email id: suk@gmx.at
The finals of the World Cup 2017 has a different format from the other rounds. Instead of the usual two classical games, we will witness four. And in case of a 2-2 tie, the match will go into the tiebreaks on 27th of September. The first two games have ended in draws. The winner takes home USD 120,000 (net 96,000) and the runner-up receives 80,000 (net 64,000).
