Norway Chess: Ding beats Nakamura, helps Carlsen extend his lead

Ding bounces back

After beating R Praggnanandhaa in round 2 of the Norway Chess tournament, Ding Liren suffered four losses in a row, making uncharacteristic blunders while looking visibly uncomfortable during the games. His colleagues expressed concern about the world champion’s well-being, mentioning that going through tough times is something professional chess players have to deal with from time to time — as Anna Muzychuk did during round 7.

Fortunately, the Chinese star has recovered from the losing streak, as he got good positions almost in all his games in rounds 7-9. Moreover, after losing in Armageddon twice, the world champion managed to beat an in-form Hikaru Nakamura in their tiebreaker on Thursday.

Nakamura, the only player who remains undefeated in classical chess in Stavanger, now stands 1½ points behind sole leader Magnus Carlsen, who got the better of Alireza Firouzja with the black pieces in their round-9 rapid chess confrontation.

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Going into the final round, three players still have chances of winning the tournament. Carlsen is clearly the favourite, but Nakamura and even Pragg might still catch up with him. In the deciding round, Carlsen will play white against Fabiano Caruana — who beat Pragg in Armageddon on Thursday — while Pragg will play white against Nakamura.

At the Norway Chess super-tournament, a win in classical chess is worth 3 points, a win in Armageddon is worth 1½ points, while a loss in Armageddon grants 1 point.

Standings after round 9

Still with an outside chance of winning the super-tournament in Norway — Praggnanandhaa | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Nakamura 0 - 1 Ding (Armageddon)

Nakamura, Hikaru2795

0–1

Ding, Liren2762

Norway Chess Armageddon 2024 Stavanger06.06.2024[CC]

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.b3 0-0 6.g3 c5 7.Bg2 d4 8.Na4 A novelty. Nakamura is clearly willing to make concessions in order to create an imbalanced position with winning chances for both sides. The tournament situation, with him trailing leader Carlsen in the standings, played a big role in his decision. 8.exd4 cxd4 9.Nb5 Nc6 10.0-0 a6 11.Na3 e5 12.d3 had been played in the past. 8...Nc6 9.exd4 cxd4 10.0-0 e5 11.d3 h6 12.a3 a5 13.Re1 Bd6 14.h3 Bf5 Engines give Black a slight edge at this point. Ding places his light-squared bishop on an active diagonal. 15.g4

In line with the idea of creating imbalances. The pawn push permanently weakens White's kingside. 15...Bh7 16.g5 hxg5 17.Bxg5 Re8 18.c5 Bc7 19.Nb2 Qd7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Nh4 f5 22.Qh5 Kg7 23.Nc4 Bg6 24.Nxg6 fxg6 25.Qf3 Rad8 26.b4 axb4 27.axb4 Nxb4 Black has a better pawn structure, and will probably emerge in a superior position if an endgame is eventually reached - and he only needs a draw in Armageddon. By pushing his queenside pawns, White gets counterplay, though. 28.Rab1 Na6 29.Qxb7

A tactical mistake by Nakamura, as capturing on c5 with the knight allows Black to gain a key tempo - and Black can safely deal with his opponent's potential infiltration on the queenside. The patient 29.Nb6 Qf7 30.Na4 is suggested by the engines. But it is difficult to play such a slow plan in a must-win situation - more so in a rapid game. 29...Nxc5 30.Qa7 30.Qf3 e4 31.dxe4 fxe4 32.Qa3 Qf5 is not much better for White than what was seen in the game. 30...Nxd3 31.Red1 e4

32.Qa2 Nf4 33.Rb7 Re7 34.Qa7 Nxg2 35.Kxg2 Ding has proficiently dealt with White's ephemeral counterplay, and now has a clearly winning position with his strong central pawn phalanx. e3 36.Ne5 Qd5+ 37.Nf3 e2 38.Re1 Rdd7 39.Qa6 d3 40.Rb2 Be5 41.Rb5 Qe4 42.Rb6 f4 43.Re6 Qf5 44.Rc6 d2 45.Rxe2 A last-ditch attempt to confuse his opponent. Ding does not falter, though. d1Q 46.Nxe5 Rxe5 0–1

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Ding Liren making the last moves of the Armageddon encounter | Photo: Stev Bonhage

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

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Links

• Official site
• Nakamura beats Caruana to win Norway Chess (2023)
• Magnus Carlsen wins Norway Chess for a fourth straight time (2022)
• Carlsen wins Norway Chess, Firouzja shines (2021)