World Championship Game 4: Ding strikes back, levels the score

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/13/2023 – The score is now tied at the World Championship match in Astana, as Ding Liren defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi with white in Thursday’s game 4. Ding had a favourable pawn structure in the centre when Nepo blundered on move 28, allowing the Chinese to play a powerful exchange sacrifice. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

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Impulsive Nepo blunders


Find expert commentary — video and game annotations — by well-known coach and author IM Robert Ris at the end of the article.


It was a strange game. Ding Liren had the white pieces and decided not to play as adventurously as in game 2; Ian Nepomniachtchi made a couple of confounding moves in the opening and early middlegame; Ding found himself with three connected, far-advanced central pawns; Nepo made an “outrageous, crazy” blunder (Anish Giri); and Ding scored his first win of the match, levelling the score with ten games still to go.

Many of the motivations that prompted the contenders (especially Nepo) to play as they did on Thursday are likely to be disclosed after the match is over, and they might have to do with deep strategies conceived in the prolonged period of preparation.

But nerves played a big role as well. After displaying confident, top-level chess in the first three games, Nepo is again showing signs of weakness while dealing with inferior positions. His opening strategy did not go well, but he was by no means lost before his blunder on move 28. Given his collapse at the 2021 World Championship match in Dubai, it is no surprise that the subject came up during the post-game press conference. Nepo explained:

It is a long match, and we are just at the beginning. I wouldn’t compare it to Dubai, it is a different story.

As for Ding, it has been a complete turnaround — both emotionally and chess-wise — compared to the first two games. His collaboration with the ever-creative Richard Rapport seems to be working out, as the two elite GMs were seen smiling right after the scoresheets had been signed in games 3 and 4. The on-site reporter for chess.com, Mike Klein, had this to say about Ding in an interview with Keti Tsatsalashvili:

After round 3, we are seeing a Ding that didn’t exist before this tournament. He is the lively, jovial one. He’s taken the place of Magnus, who always tried to give the funny answers. [...] Of course, the pairing with Richard Rapport is an added element, that maybe has something to do with [Ding’s] new personality.

The Chinese himself later noted that “it was a little bit hard to believe” when he realized that he was about to achieve his first-ever victory at a World Championship match. Star commentator Vishy Anand, who has plenty of experience in similar contests, later concluded

A win before the rest day, that’s the best feeling ever. I remember many matches when I won a game, and then you get to stop and take a day off, and for me that’s bliss. Equally the opposite, I’ve lost before a rest day, and that’s not much fun.

Games 5 and 6 (out of 14) will be played on Saturday and Sunday as part of what is turning out to be an increasingly enthralling confrontation between two extraordinary players. Or as Dutch GM Erwin l’Ami put it:

Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi

Game 4 is over, and the score is tied 2-2 | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

Good knight, bad knight

Out of a Four Knights Variation in the English Opening, the contenders followed ten moves of a line played by Richard Rapport back in 2013. It was Ding who deviated first, as he went for a less daring move than his second’s.

 
Ding vs. Rapport

Instead of 11.h4, Ding opted for the sound 11.0-0, and a strategic battle ensued.

Two moves later, the Chinese moved his light-squared bishop for a second time in the game, from e2 to d3, a decision that was questioned by some of the commentators. However, it was Nepo’s 14th move the one which turned out to be even more baffling.

 

According to IM Robert Ris (watch his full commentary below), the only idea that might justify the strange-looking 14...Na5 is to later play ...b7-b7 and ...c7-c5, solidifying the centre. But it seems unlikely that Black will have enough time to advance those pawns. As the game progressed, the misplaced knight struggled to get back into the game while Ding continued to make progress in the centre.

Four consecutive central pawns by White laid out the nature of the position for the remainder of the game — 15.c5 dxc5 16.e5 Qh6 17.d5 Rad8 18.c4

 

A fighting player, Nepo is used to playing against such strong central structures, as he has employed the Grünfeld Defence successfully throughout his career. Reaching this position did seem unnecessary, but Nepo is known for thriving under such tactical complications.

This was not his day, though. On move 23, he decided to look for some relief via ...f7-f6, allowing Ding to create a dangerous-looking pawn chain with a passer spearheading the group on e6. The Chinese continued to improve his pieces patiently, until his opponent’s decisive mistake came on move 28.

 

28...Nd4 loses to the great-looking 29.Rxd4 cxd4 30.Nb3, and the white knight is stronger than a rook under the circumstances. The all-powerful minor piece wreaked havoc on Black’s position, as the closed structure and White’s space advantage favoured its manoeuvring abilities.

By move 34, Black was completely lost.

 

The rest was easy for Ding, who was certainly enjoying himself as the game came to a close. After all, he got to play a textbook exchange sacrifice in a high-stake encounter — all while facing a formidable opponent!

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage


Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris - Video and annotated game

 
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.bxc3 6.Qxc3 6...d6 7.e4 0-0 8.Be2 8.d3 Nh5 8.g3 1-0 (56) Carlsen,M (2843)-Topalov,V (2749) Shamkir 2018 8...Nh5 8...Ne7 9.0-0 Ng6 1/2-1/2 (67) Tabatabaei,M (2675) -Giri,A (2768) chess.com INT 2023 8...h6 0-1 (44) Tabatabaei,M (2677) -Caruana,F (2766) Chess.com INT 2023 9.d4 Nf4?! 9...exd4?! 10.cxd4 9...Qf6 10.g3 10.d5 Na5 10...Nb8 11.g3 b6 10...exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.cxd4 Qxd4 13.Bb2 Qc5 14.e5 14.0-0 Nf6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 14...g6 15.Qd2 dxe5 16.Bxh5 Qc6! 16...gxh5? 17.Qg5+ Kh8 18.Bxe5+ f6 19.Bxf6+ Rxf6 20.Qxc5+- 17.0-0-0 Qxc4+ 18.Bc3 18.Kb1?! Bf5+ 18...gxh5 19.Qg5+ Kh8 20.Qf6+= 10.Bxf4 exf4 11.0-0 11.h4 1-0 (69) Rapport,R (2621) -Zaragatski,I (2460) Germany 2013 11...Qf6 12.Rfe1 Re8 12...g5 13.h3 13.Bd3?! 13.c5 13.Rad1 13.h3 13...Bg4 14.Nd2 14.e5?! dxe5 15.Bxh7+ Kf8 14...Na5 14...Rad8 15.c5 dxc5 16.e5 Qh6 17.d5 Rad8 18.c4 b6 19.h3 Bh5 19...Bc8?! 20.Nf3 20.Be4 Re7 20...Rxe5? 21.Bxh7+ Qxh7 22.Qxh7+ Kxh7 23.Rxe5 21.Qc3 Rde8 22.Bf3 22.Bc2 22...Nb7 23.Re2 23.Bxh5 Qxh5 24.Nf3 23...f6 23...Bg6 24.Rae1 Qg5 24.e6 Nd6 25.Rae1 Nf5 26.Bxh5 Qxh5 27.Re4 Qh6 28.Qf3 Nd4? 28...g5 29.g4 29.Kh2? Nh4 30.Qe2 f5 31.Re5 g4 29.g3? Qxh3 29...Nd6 29.Rxd4 cxd4 30.Nb3 g5 31.Nxd4 Qg6 32.g4 fxg3 33.fxg3 h5 34.Nf5 Rh7 35.Qe4 Kh8 36.e7 Qf7 37.d6 cxd6 38.Nxd6 Qg8 38...Rxe7 39.Nxf7+ 38...Qxe7 39.Nxe8 39.Nxe8 Qxe8 40.Qe6 Kg7 41.Rf1 Rh6 42.Rd1 f5 42...Rh8 43.Rd8 43.Qe5+ Kf7 43...Rf6 44.Rd6 44.Qxf5+ Rf6 45.Qh7+ Ke6 46.Qg7 Rg6 46...Qxe7 47.Re1+ 47.Qf8 47.Qf8 Rg8 48.Qxg8+ Qxg8 49.Rd8+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding Liren2788Nepomniachtchi,I27951–02023A28WCh 20234

Schedule

FIDE World Chess Championship 2023


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1.e4 7 e5 49 2.Nf3 7 Nc6 20 3.Bb5 6 a6 34 4.Ba4 6 Nf6 25 5.0-0 27 Be7 13 6.Bxc6 25 dxc6 20 7.Re1 4 Nd7 9:17 8.d4 35 C85: Closed Ruy Lopez: Deferred Exchange Variation. exd4 1:28 9.Qxd4 7 0-0 42 10.Bf4 8 Nc5 4:00 11.Qe3 36
11...Bg4N 7:55 Predecessor: 11...Ne6 12.Bg3 Bc5 13.Qc3 Qe7 14.Nbd2 Re8 15.Rad1 ½-½ Groszpeter,A (2446)-Pinter,J (2540) HUN-chT 1516 2015 (8.7) 12.Nd4 3:40 Qd7 8:46 13.Nc3 24:03 Rad8 2:07
14.Nf5 3:07 Ne6 5:33 14...Bxf5 15.exf5 15.Nxe7+ 5:18 Qxe7 24 16.Bg3 42 Bh5 1:12 17.f3 4:04 f6 1:02 18.h3 3:34 h6 56 19.Kh2 2:17 Bf7 14:45 20.Rad1 5:17 b6 7:02 21.a3 7:53 a5 4:06 22.Ne2 5:04 Rxd1 10:08 23.Rxd1 11 Rd8 4 24.Rd3 30 c5 8:25 25.Qd2 2:14 c6 10:44 26.Rxd8+ 2:44 Nxd8 8 27.Qf4 18 Hoping for Qb8. b5 5:02 28.Qb8 3:24 Kh7 38 Black is weak on the dark squares 29.Bd6 14:25 White is more active. Qd7 28 30.Ng3 6:57       Ne6 1:27 31.f4 1:49 h5 3:38 32.c3 2:21 c4 59 32...h4= 33.Nf5 Bg6 33.h4 2:41 Qd8 10 34.Qb7 4:32 34.Qxd8 simplifies Nxd8 35.a4 Nb7 36.Ba3 34...Be8 42 34...Qxd6? 35.Qxf7 Qxf4 36.Qxe6+- 35.Nf5 22 Qd7 49 36.Qb8 1:04 Qd8 1:28 37.Qxd8 3:38 Nxd8= 2       Endgame KBN-KBN 38.Nd4 46 Nb7 33 The position is equal. 39.e5 19 Kg8 1:46 40.Kg3 0 Bd7 0 41.Bc7 9:56 Nc5 4:54 42.Bxa5 41 Kf7 2:18 43.Bb4 5:14 Nd3 13:34 ...c5 is the strong threat. 44.e6+ 15      
Deflection 44...Bxe6 6 aiming for ...c5. 45.Nxc6 4 Black must now prevent Nd8+. Bd7 1:15 46.Nd4 16 Nxb2 14 47.Kf3 2:10 Nd3 7:43 48.g3 1:54 Nc1 3:26 49.Ke3 1:05 Weighted Error Value: White=0.06 (flawless) /Black=0.07 (flawless)
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023C85FIDE World Championship 20231.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I27950–12023D30FIDE World Championship 20232.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023D36FIDE World Championship 20233.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I27951–02023A28FIDE World Championship 20234.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L27881–02023C84FIDE World Championship 20235.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I27951–02023D02FIDE World Championship 20236.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L27881–02023C07FIDE World Championship 20237.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I2795½–½2023E28FIDE World Championship 20238.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023C65FIDE World Championship 20239.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I2795½–½2023A28FIDE World Championship 202310.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023C84FIDE World Championship 202311.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I27951–02023D04FIDE World Championship 202312.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023C84FIDE World Championship 202313.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I2795½–½2023E46FIDE World Championship 202314.1
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I2795½–½2023D02FIDE World Championship 202315.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L2788½–½2023C84FIDE World Championship 202315.2
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I2795½–½2023A14FIDE World Championship 202315.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2795Ding,L27880–12023C84FIDE World Championship 202315.4

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!


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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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