13.
12:07 p.m
13.Qe4
Jan Nepomnyashchi
After almost twelve minutes of thinking, Jan Nepomnyashchi now builds up a clumsy mate threat with 13. Qe4 that Ding Liren has to deal with. The aim behind this is, of course, to lure the knight, brilliantly positioned on d5, to f6. However, the Chinese has a more elegant answer with g6, although this then allows the Russian to develop the dark-squared bishop, still on the baseline, to h6. Nevertheless, Black is a tiny Mü better in this position, even according to the computer engine’s assessment.
12:01
No sign of Nepo
Jan Nepomnyashchi retired to the rest room after his last move and has stayed away from the stage since his Chinese opponent’s most recent move. The Russian grandmaster has been thinking in the relaxation room for more than seven minutes.
12.
11:57
12… Qc7
thing Liren
Ding Liren continues to evolve. With 12… Qc7 he not only protects his bishop, but also connects the rooks and opens up the b8-h2 diagonal for the queen. A very useful and natural continuation.
12.
11:51
12. Bd3
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi now also has to invest a little more than seven minutes and then decides for the quite surprising retreat of his bishop, who now shines on d3 to the point h7. Once again, the seventh game of the 2023 World Chess Championship has reached a unique position that has never existed before in competitive chess.
11.
11:44
11… Bb7
thing Liren
Ding Liren puts more than 17 minutes into his deliberations. Then he repeats the already mentioned Dokhoian move and fianchets his white-squared bishop to b7. Jan Nepomnjaschtschi could exchange this bishop with Ba6 or start with a4 directly on the a-file. Incidentally, in the Dokhoian game Yuri Kruppa continued with 12.Ne5.
11:30
Is thing “out of book”?
It now looks like Ding Liren, who had been thinking for five minutes, is finally out of his preparation. That’s a pity, because he might know exactly this position that is now on the board. The French expert Yury Dokhoian – in his capacity one of the teachers of the later world champion Garry Kimowitsch Kasparov – continued here with the fianchetto and played 11… Bb7. In the further course of the game played in 1987 he beat the strong grandmaster Yuri Kruppa with the black pieces.
11.
11:27
11.Qe2
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi now also plays the natural move 11. Qe2 relatively quickly and thus further advances his development. As a result, Ding Liren has to look at the position a little longer for the first time.
11:26
10. OO OO
Both players castle briefly, which means that there are actually a few role models for this position after the move has been changed. In Kruppa vs. Dokhoian (1987), for example, the white player then continued with Qe2.
11:22
9. Nxc6 bxc6
Jan Nepomnyashchi accepts Ding Liren’s invitation to capture the knight on c6 and the Chinese grandmaster, who is forced to respond with 9…bxc6, thus destroying the pawn structure. However, it is obvious that there is a plan behind this offer. The Russian is accordingly daring to go into a system for which his opponent has obviously prepared himself.
8th.
11:18
8… Nc6
thing Liren
After the last move of the Russian there were moves like Qc7 or a6 besides castling. However, Ding Liren now lays his cards on the table on move eight: 8…Nc6 is the innovation the Chinese have prepared. The position is now unique. Jan Nepomnjaschtschi again remains quite at a loss.
8th.
11:17
8. Bc4
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi invests five minutes and then decides to develop his white-squared bishop, which he moves to c4. Among others, this position already existed between Vladimir Kramnik and Muuel Illescas Cordoba (1996). There it continued with short castling.
11:16
5… Nf6 | 6. exd5 Nxd5 | 7. N2f3 Be7
Both players bring completely normal moves onto the board and follow the aforementioned Euwe-Keres line. However, while Ding Liren moves very quickly, it is the otherwise so fast-playing Jan Nepomnjaschtschi who is forced to think with every move. After 7… Be7, the Russian grandmaster has been sitting at the board for over four minutes, staring into space. His opponent’s choice of opening surprised him again. In fact, there are also numerous trains at this point. From Be2, Bd3 or Bc4 to g3 or even c3.
11:13
3… c5 | 4. Ngf3 cxd4 |5. Nxd4
Ding Liren continues with the direct attack on the center and plays 3… c5 to open the position with 4… cxd4 on the next move. Jan Nepomnjaschtschi takes back with the knight. This is the Euwe-Keres-Line as part of the Tarrasch variant of the French Defense. Among other things, this position already existed between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana (2014).
11:05
2. d4 d5 | 3. Nd2
With 3. Nd2 Jan Nepomnjaschtschi goes into the Tarrasch Variation. The Russian is well versed in French defence.
1.
11:04
1… e6
thing Liren
All the more surprising is Ding Liren’s answer, who now switches to the French Defense with 1… e6. A move that is also not exactly the first choice at the top level in modern chess. Another big surprise at this World Chess Championship.
1.
11:04
1.e4
Jan Nepomnyashchi
The Russian opens with 1.e4. No surprise.
10:52
The pressure is on Nepo again
Jan Nepomnjaschchi, who admitted to having played one of his worst games ever after his defeat on Sunday, now has to prove his resilience once again. After the 2021 World Chess Championship, when he slumped in an unprecedented manner after his first defeat against Magnus Carlsen and played hair-raising mistakes in the subsequent games, the Russian grandmaster still has the reputation of getting into quicksand when things don’t go well. However, on Saturday he proved that the Russian does have comeback qualities, when he fought back with a win in the first match after his first defeat at the 2023 World Chess Championship.
10:41
Nepomnyashchi with solid plans?
While Jan Nepomnjaschtschi had problems in his White game, which he opened with 1.d4, the two games with the Spanish opening went well overall for the Russian, who was even able to win with the Martinez Variation (6.d3). It is quite possible that he is therefore sticking to this system and that a similar position is being sought this Tuesday.
10:32
Versatile openings on both sides
While Jan Nepomnyashchi opened twice with his standard move 1.e4, the Russian already surprised in the third game with 1.d4. Ding Liren, on the other hand, started twice with 1. d4 and once with 1. c4. So far, only the Spanish game has been played twice, but in different variants. A total of five different openings have already been shown in six games – including the London system for the first time ever at a World Chess Championship. So we can look forward to today’s game.
10:24
Draw after four decided games
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi has taken the lead by one point twice so far. Twice, however, Ding Liren managed to win and equalize in the subsequent white game. This makes the 2023 World Chess Championship the world championship with the most decided games in the first six games since the 1981 World Chess Championship between Karpov and Korchnoi. At that time Karpov, who also won the competition in the end, led with 3.5 to 2.5.
10:20
Welcome back to the 2023 World Chess Championship
Welcome back from Astana! The seventh game of the 2023 World Chess Championship will take place here today between Jan Nepomnyashchi and Ding Liren. It starts at 11:00 a.m.
