FIDE World Cup 2017: Ding Liren returns the favour

by Sagar Shah
9/21/2017 – In the semifinals of the World Cup 2017 we are witnessing two extremely different kind of matches. While Wesley So and Ding Liren fought until their very last drop of blood was left, Levon Aronian and MVL have hardly sat beyond an hour in their two games combined. In the end the result of both the matches was same: two draws and the action shifts to the tiebreaks. Today, however, Ding Liren missed a clear opportunity to win the game and the match and advance to the finals. We bring you detailed coverage.
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Ding misses a golden opportunity

World Cup

tbilisi2017.fide.com

After game one of the semifinals ended Ding Liren was a happy man. He had dodged a bullet and had somehow survived against his adversary Wesley So. Apart from having black in the next game (game two), Wesley also had to face the unpleasant feeling of going back to the room and switching on the engine (yes, he did that), and finding out that he had an advantage worth nearly four pawns. Yes, it was heartbreaking for Wesley, but he calmed himself down and got ready for a fresh new day.

On September 20th, Ding was the first to arrive to the hall with his coach Xu Jun.

Ding Liren and his coach Xu Jun come out of the elevator on the second floor where the tournament is being held in Hotel Hualing | Photo: Amruta Mokal

With the white pieces Ding has been a very dangerous opponent. He beat Wang Hao and Richard Rapport without giving them any real chance. Naturally Wesley decided to stay as solid as possible and went for the QGD against Ding's Catalan. But the Chinese player had a surprise cooked up there too:

 
Ding Liren played the move 6.b3!? to avoid the theoretical lines of Open catalan after 6.0-0 dxc4

Wesley tries to remember his analysis against Ding Liren's relatively rare 6.b3!? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Wesley took his time to find the best setup for Black. Of course 6.b3 was not the most ambitious move, but Ding had more surprises in store for his opponent.

 
Nf3-e1! What an interesting novelty by Ding Liren. Out of 142 games that had reached the previous position, none of the white players had gone for 10.Ne1.

The idea of the move Ne1 is to put more pressure on the d5 point and at the same time reroute the knight to better squares. The best ones would be from e1 to c2 and then the knight could jump to e3 or d4. Here's a video where I try to explain the virtues of the move 10.Ne1.

I am not sure if 10.Ne1 is an earth shattering new move, but it surely caught Wesley So off guard

Note: After the move 10...Rc8 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.Bxd5 exd5 I suggest that White can go Ng2. However, this is not a great move because Black can play 14...c4! with an excellent position. Hence the better continuation would be 14.dxc5 followed Ng2.

Within just few moves after the opening, Wesley So landed in a very dangerous position.

 
By 20th move Black was in a position where he had absolutely no counterplay

Usually when you reach a symmetrical position, the thing that is the most important is the activity of your pieces. In this position, White is extremely active and it is very difficult to neutralize his initiative. After carefully building up his position Ding found himself in a position where he had the chance of his life. If he found it, he would have reached the Candidates, if not he would have to play the tiebreaks!

 
Wesley was very proud of his last move 36...Nb6. He felt that it solved all of his problems. But....

White has the very powerful move 37.Rh8! as was pointed out by the FIDE press officer Anastasiya Karlovich. Black would have to reply with 37....Rc7 and after 38.Rdd8 Rxc5, White has the ultra strong 39.e5! shutting down the doors for black's king. It is only through some miraculous moves that Black is able to avoid getting mated. If you follow the line in the analysis, White reaches the following position:

 
Ding Liren doesn't need to calculate if this is winning for White or not. His intuition can clearly tell him that he is close to winning here than he was ever in the game.

This video explains to you in detail the excellent opportunity that Ding Liren missed

After Ding missed this opportunity, So was like a machine, making one good move after another, and without any difficulties salvaged the half point.

Liren against Wesley's chair! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Wesley So speaks to ChessBase after his game and tells us about Ding's opening idea, where he himself went wrong and what his opponent could have done better

 
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1.d4 0 Nf6 5 2.c4 0 e6 0 3.g3 0 d5 18 4.Bg2 0 Be7 31 5.Nf3 0 0-0 17 6.b3 0 This has been tried most recently by Markus Ragger. One of the players who has played it a lot is the Chinese player Ju Wenjun. Perhaps Ding picked up this idea from her. Of course, he avoids Wesley's preparation in Open Catalan after 0-0 dxc4. b6 6:40 7.0-0 4:50 Bb7 27 8.Nc3 1:15 8.Bb2 Nbd7 8...dxc4 9.bxc4 c5 10.e3 Qc7 11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Nbd2 Rfd8= 1/2 (30)-1/2 (30) Ju,W (2535)-Tan,Z (2483) China 2013 9.e3 Ne4 10.Qe2 Rc8 11.Rd1 Bf6 12.Ne5 1-0 (55) Ju, W (2505) -Kantorik,M (2331) Caleta 2013 8...Nbd7 14:07 9.Bb2 14 c5 1:11 10.Ne1!N 1:03 Usually a backward move like this should not be any good, but this idea by Ding Liren turns out to be really interesting. Wesley liked this idea so much that he urged White players to try it out in their games. 10.cxd5 has been the main continuation with 142 games in the live book Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 Black should be happy with his position. 10...cxd4 11:22 10...Ne4!? should be Black's best option perhaps. 11.cxd5 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Qc2 f5 13.Rd1 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Qc7 would be an interesting position to play 11...exd5 12.Nc2= /+= 10...Rc8 11.cxd5 11.Rc1 is also possible. 11.Nc2 also looks good for White. 11...Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.Bxd5 exd5 14.dxc5 14.Ng2 c4! 14...Nxc5 15.Ng2∞ 11.Qxd4 13 Bc5?! 4 11...Nc5 could have been better 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Rd1 Ne6 14.Qe5 Qc8 15.Qf5 15.Nxd5?? Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 17.Qxd5 Rd8 and the rook is lost by x-ray. 17...Bf6 and Black wins a piece. 15...g6 16.Qb1 Rd8 17.Nf3 an unclear position where White can play against the IQP but Black too will find his own means of piece activity. 12.Qf4 0 Bb4 3:27 This move doesn't make much sense. White just plays Nd3 with a tempo and secures the bishop pair. 12...Qe7 maybe a better option, but White keeps his edge. 13.Nd3 10:58 Bxc3 0 14.Bxc3± 2 Qc8 24 Wesley thought this was the move that landed him in trouble, but I think he is already quite worse. 14...dxc4 15.Bxb7 Rb8 16.Bb4! Suggested by Wesley after the game. Re8 17.Ba6 cxd3 18.Bd6 Ra8 19.Bb7 14...Qb8 15.Qxb8 Rfxb8 16.cxd5 Nxd5 17.Rac1 15.Rfc1 7:13 dxc4 1:19 16.Bxf6 1:21 Nxf6 5 17.Rxc4 3 Qb8 0 18.Qxb8 4:27 Rfxb8 9:20 18...Raxb8 19.Rc7 and the a7 pawn hangs after Bxg2. Hence Wesley took on b8 with the f-rook. 19.Ne5 3:23 Bxg2 4:19 20.Kxg2 4 Ne8! 1:05 Yes this is passive, but it is very important to stop the rook from entering c7. 21.Nc6 17:21 White has many ways to strengthen his position. This looks not at all bad. 21.Rd1 Rd8 22.Rcc1 Kf8 23.Nc6 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Nf6 Black should be able to hold with not too much difficulty. 21.b4 is possible. so is 21.a4 21...Rb7 4 22.Rd1 10 Kf8 4:29 23.e4 1:08 I also liked the idea of fixing he knight on c6 with b4-b5. 23.b4 a6 24.a4 b5 25.axb5 25.Rc5 bxa4 26.Ra1 Rb5 27.Rxa4 Rxc5 28.bxc5 25...axb5 26.Rc5 23...Nf6 4:51 Wesley said that he played this move because he wanted to meet e5 with Nd5. 24.f4 5:33 b5 8:06 24...Ng4! This active knight move would have been the most accurate way to maintain equality when the rooks are currently a bit tied down 25.Rd3 25.Re1 Rc7 would lead to similar variations 25...Rc7 is preferable than Rc8 25...Rc8 26.Ne5 Rxc4 26...Nxe5 Black cannot take because of intermediate check 27.Rxc8+ 27.Nxc4 Ke7 26.h3 26.Ne5?! Nxe5 27.fxe5 Rxc4 28.bxc4 Rc8 26...b5! 27.Rc1 27.Rc5 Nf6 provoking 28.e5 Nd5 with the idea of winning a piece by Rac8 29.Nb8 29.Rd2?? Rac8 30.Rdc2 Ne3+-+ 29...Rxc5 30.Nd7+ Ke7 31.Nxc5 Rc8= 32.Ne4 Rc2+ 33.Rd2 Rxd2+ 34.Nxd2= with a completely equal knight endgame 27...Rac8 28.Rdc3 28.Nxa7 Rxc1 29.Nxc8 Rc2+! 29...Rxc8 30.hxg4 Rc2+ 31.Kf3 with the difference of white king being on an active square than on back rank Rxa2 32.Rd8+ Ke7 33.Rb8 Rc2 34.Rb7+ Ke8 35.Rxb5 30.Kf1 30.Kf3 Nh2+ 31.Ke3 Rxc8 30...Nh2+ 31.Kg1 Rxc8 32.Kxh2 Rc2+ 33.Kg1 Rxa2= 28...Ne3+ 29.Rxe3 29.Kf3 Nc4!= 29...Rxc6= 25.Rcd4 34 g6 16 26.Ne5 7:02 h6?! 2:13 A pretty bad move by Wesley. 26...Rc7 27.Kf3 Rac8 28.g4 Ke8 29.g5 Nh5 27.Rc1 1:53 Ke8 4:07 28.Kf3 2:13 Nd7 0 29.Nd3 37 29.Nxd7 Rxd7 30.Ke3 would have been the most simple way to put pressure on Black's position. 29...a5 2:41 30.Rc6 3:56 30.f5!? exf5 31.exf5 Kf8 31...gxf5 32.Rd6± 32.Rd6 30...Ke7 2:41 31.a3 40 31.f5! Kf6 31...Rd8 32.fxg6 Ne5+ 32...fxg6 33.Ke3± 33.Nxe5 Rxd4 34.Ra6+- 32.fxe6 fxe6 33.Rd5!?± 33.Ke3± 31...Raa7 16 32.Ke3 1:28 Nb8 1:59 33.Rc8 22 Nd7 2 34.Rc6 1:51 Nb8 40 35.Rc8 0 Nd7 1 36.Nc5 1:20 Of course Ding Liren plays on in this position. Nb6? 31 It is very difficult to understand why this move is weak and there is only one way that White can take advantage of it. Ding Liren was not able to find it during the game. 36...Nxc5 37.Rxc5 White has a small edge here as well, but this should be within the realms of a draw. 37.Rc6?! 4:19 37.Rh8‼ This is the move that gives White a very big advantage, perhaps not winning, but definitely big enough to cause Black enough headaches. Rc7 The rook is attack so this is forced. 38.Rdd8! The two rooks have made their way to the back rank and are planning to weave a mating net. Rxc5 38...Ra8?! 39.Rxa8 Nxa8 40.Rxa8 Rxc5 41.Kd4± 39.e5! Now the door is shut on the black king. Rhe8 mate is a very big threat. f5 Absolutely the only move to stay in the game. 40.Rb8! Attacking the knight and also creating the deadly threat of Rh7#. Fortunately Black has Rc8 40...Rc3+ 41.Kd4 41.Kd2 41...Rc8 42.Rbxc8 Nxc8 43.Rxc8 Rd7+ 44.Kc5 Rd5+ 45.Kb6 Rd3 46.b4+- 41.Rbxc8 Nxc8 42.Rxc8 This position should be enough for Ding Liren to decide that he should go for this line. But let's try to dig deeper. a4! Black tries to do something active. 43.b4 Rd7 44.Rh8! This move forces h5 and reduces Black's options in this position. h5 45.Rb8 Rd5 46.h4! This fixes the pawns on the kingside and Black slowly runs out of moves. 46.Rb6 It keeps an eye on e6 and b5 pawns, but at the same time has some nasty threats like Kf7 Rd6! Black must be very careful. g5!? 46...Kd7 47.Rb7+ Kc8 48.Rg7 Rd1 49.Rxg6 Ra1 50.Rxe6 Rxa3+ 51.Kd4± 47.Rb7+ Kf8 48.fxg5 Rxe5+ 49.Kf3± 46.Ke2 h4! 46...Kf7 46...Rd1 47.Rxb5 Ra1 48.Kd4 Rxa3 49.Rb7+ Kd8 50.Kc5± It seems like White should win this. 47.Rb7+ Kf8 48.Ke2± is a zugzwang. Ke8 49.Rg7 Rd8 50.Rxg6 White should win this. 37...Rc7! 1 After this Wesley doesn't give his opponent any chances and achieves the draw. 38.Rxb6 6 Rxc5 1 39.e5 41 g5! 4:13 40.Rd3 0 gxf4+ 2:19 41.gxf4 2:41 Rc2 0 42.h3 2:12 Ra2 7:11 43.b4 42 axb4 2:38 44.axb4 2 Rh2 4 45.Ke4 2:03 Rc7 34 46.Rxb5 1:16 Rc4+ 0 47.Rd4 7 47.Ke3 Rxh3+ 47...Rc7 4 47...Rc3 48.Rb7+ Kf8= 48.Rc5 5:36 Rxc5 23 49.bxc5 1 Rc2 4 50.f5 34 exf5+ 20 51.Kxf5 3:17 51.Kd5 Kd7= 51...Rxc5 3 52.Rd6 14 Rc1 14 53.Rxh6 11 Rf1+ 5 54.Ke4 5 f6 0 55.exf6+ 22 Rxf6 4 56.Rxf6 2 Kxf6 4 57.h4 1 Kg6 1 58.h5+ 2 Kxh5 2 A great fight and excellent play by Ding Liren. Unfortunate that he couldn't convert this position. Wesley So defended very well after Ding missed his opportunity. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2771So,W2792½–½2017E17FIDE World Cup 20176.2

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!

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Levon Aronian

The game between MVL and Levon Aronian was one that ended in just 15 minutes. But I wouldn't call it one of those boring dull draws. Aronian showed a relatively new and rarely played idea, and equalized without any difficulties.

Aronian's final move of the game 18...Qf6. Look at the time on his clock! He has gained eight minutes!

Both the players were in a hurry to make their moves and finish the game! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

 
The move Bg4 came as a complete surprise for MVL. Yes, in the past Aronian has reached this position seven times and has almost exclusively played 9...Na5

"My friend recommended this move 9...Bg4," says Aronian. "I was not too sure about it, but I think it is a very good move and decided to try it out." All of Black's moves were logical and strong. In the final position there is nothing much that MVL can do, so he offered a draw. What I find interesting is the clear logical play by Levon. All his moves were easy to understand and it's not so straightforward to find what is the improvement that White should opt for if he wants to play the 6.d3 line again.

There is always something to learn from super grandmaster battles!

 
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A boring 19 move grandmaster draw? Well, MVL is an ambitious player, so if he agrees to a draw so soon, there has to be something very nice about Aronian's preparation. 1.e4 0 e5 6 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 6 3.Bb5 0 a6 6 4.Ba4 0 Nf6 7 5.0-0 0 Be7 0 6.d3 22 Once the e4 pawn is defended, Black has to be careful about his e5 pawn. The threat now is Bxc6 and Nxe5. b5 6 7.Bb3 8 d6 5 Once the e5 pawn is defended, White has to be careful about Na5, winning his important Ruy Lopez bishop. It's small points like these that help you to remember complex long lines in the opening. 8.a3 13 0-0 7 9.Nc3 0 Bg4!? 5 This came as a big surprise to MVL. The main reason being Levon has reached this position seven times and six times he has played ...Na5. On the one occasion where he didn't play Na5, he had gone for .. .Be6. So Bg4 came as a surprise. I like this move because it is very direct and has a clear threat - ...Nd4!? 9...Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 is one of the main lines. 9...Be6!? is also possible. 10.Be3 39 Nd4 4 11.Bxd4 5 exd4 4 12.Nd5 6 Nxd5 5 12...Nd7 has been played in 50 games. 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 c6 15.Nxe7+ 15.Nf4 is also possible. 15...Qxe7 16.Qg3 With f4 coming up, White can hope for a slight initiative here. 12...c5 13.h3 Be6 14.Nf4 Bxb3 15.cxb3 with an interesting and complex position. 13.Bxd5 1:02 13.exd5?! Bf6 13...Rc8 0 The importance of this move will become clear very soon. 13...Rb8 was also possible but White is better in that case after 14.a4!? 14.h3 9 14.Bb7?! Rb8 15.Bxa6?? And the pawn on a6 is taboo. Rb6-+ 14.Bc6 was played by Kashlinskaya and perhaps this is where White's hope for an opening advantage lie. Bf6 15.a4 Rb8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ra7 Rb6 18.Bd5 c6 19.Bb3 Qb8= Although Kaslinskaya won this game, I do not see how and why Black should be better here.1-0 (36) Kashlinskaya,A (2433)-Guseva, M (2352) Bilbao 2014 14...Bd7! 5 Keeping the bishop and controlling the important c6 square. 14...Bxf3 15.Qxf3 In this opposite coloured bishop endgame, White would be happy to press for many moves, thanks to his superior bishop. 15.Nxd4 9:57 c6! 0 Now you can see the usefulness of having the rook on c8. 16.Bb3 0 Bf6 6 The bishop attacks the knight and it cannot move as the b2 pawn hangs. 17.c3 6 Bxd4 4 18.cxd4 6 Qf6 4 There is no way d4 pawn can be defended. 19.Qd2 3:35 Maxime made this move and offered a draw, which was accepted by Levon. I think this was a very successful opening innovation by Aronian and the ball is in White's court. How can he find an idea that will keep the play interesting against the Armenian's simple and straight forward plan. 19.d5 Qxb2 White risks being worse here. 19.Qd2 Qxd4= ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier-Lagrave,M2804Aronian,L2802½–½2017C84FIDE World Cup 20176.2

After the game ended, both the players were in a jovial and relaxed mood | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Levon Aronian talks about his opening innovation and also what went wrong in yesterday's game

Q: How much is the pressure, now that you are just one step away from the Candidates qualification? MVL: We live for such opportunities. There is extra pressure, but at the same time it is very exciting.

Will Aronian's idea kill the 6.d3 Ruy Lopez for White? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

A lot of experienced chess players enjoying Ding Liren's rook ending versus Wesley So in the press room

Wesley's biggest support — Lotis Key, who is always within So's sight when he is playing the game. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Lotis loves to read and had bought her new Kindle to Tbilisi with all her favourite books loaded in it. However, the anti-cheating rules do not permit any electronic devices into the tournament hall and hence she has had to pass her time with the crossword puzzles! Her patience and composure is surely something to learn from.

The Rubinstein/Keres/Korchnoi of women's chess visited the playing hall today. Do you recognize her? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Tiebreaks:

Although the course of the two matches have been completely different, they have both come to the tiebreak stage. Levon Aronian has beaten players like Hou Yifan and Maxim Matlakov in the tiebreaks, while MVL has got the better of Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svilder. Maxime's scorecard definitely looks more impressive. It wouldn't be wrong to say he is the mild favourite going into the faster time controls. As for Ding Liren and Wesley So, they both haven't been tested enough in the tiebreaks. Ding Liren has never had to play the 10' + 10" rapids, while Wesley So had to do it only once against Bluebaum. The defensive resources and tenacity that both So and Ding have shown against each other makes me feel that this match will go all the way down to the wire. There is really nothing much to choose between them.

Will it be Levon Aronian versus Ding Liren or... | Photo: Amruta Mokal

...MVL against Wesley So? | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Or MVL against Ding or So versus Aronian! All will be revealed on the 21st of September. Stay tuned!

Additional videos

Initial moments of game two of the Semi-finals

GM Genna Sosonko speaks about MVL-Aronian and Ding-So

The second floor of the Hualing Hotel is where all the action is taking place. We take you on a short tour.

Links

Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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