There have been stories that former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik helps Ian Nepomniachtchi in his battle towards Ding Liren on the 2023 World Chess Championship. Whereas we don’t know if it’s really true, we are able to see that Nepo has been enjoying rather a lot like Kramnik within the final two Video games.
Sport 11 on Monday was the second consecutive sport during which Nepo didn’t actually appear to be curious about going for a win. Thoughts you, this time he was enjoying with White. (Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay has been analysing video games of the World Chess Championship for The Indian Specific because the begin of the occasion. It’s also possible to learn his evaluation of Sport 10, Sport 9, Sport 8, Sport 7, Sport 6, Sport 5, Sport 4, Sport 3, Sport 2, and Sport 1.)
That begs the query: why ought to he push for a win? He has a snug lead of 1 level (6-5) and there are simply three video games to go on this title conflict. He might actually change into a world champion this week.
Not pushing laborious for a victory is maybe Kramnik’s affect on him. The Soviet college of thought is that it’s harder to win than to attract a sport, so why push for a win when you don’t must?
Kramnik would’ve advised him to play it secure. Even when Kramnik defeated Garry Kasparov to win the World Championship in 2000, he had extra attracts than wins. He received simply two video games within the 16-game match and that was sufficient for him to triumph 8.5-6.5. The important thing half right here is that he didn’t lose a single match. Apparently, it was the primary time since 1921 {that a} defending champion misplaced his crown with out successful a single sport within the Championships.
That’s positively the leaf Nepo has taken out of Kramnik’s e book, if he has discovered something from him throughout these couple of weeks. He’s going to proceed holding it easy.
That’s what he did on Monday. He knew that happening the assault usually exposes the protection that Ding would certainly pounce on. So why ought to he take a danger and lose with White?
He is aware of that he simply must preserve it tight and even when he loses one sport, the match will go into tie-breakers and I do consider that he can be a lot better ready for that state of affairs than Ding.
It was maybe with this thought that he selected the tried and examined Ruy Lopez Spanish opening in Sport 11. However Ding is aware of that he has to strive one thing out of the field with a view to draw degree and provides himself an opportunity at successful. The Chinese language replied with the variation he had chosen within the fifth sport, exhibiting that he had ready one thing higher.
Sensing that Ding was able to play a fancy sport, Nepo went for a quieter choice on transfer 8, making it clear that he was going to play one thing much like Sport 5, however at a a lot slower tempo.
Ding went for a much less versatile choice on transfer 8, thereby forcing the positional course of the sport. Not like sport 5, Ding positioned his Queen Bishop on the proper sq. this time. Nepo tried to make some headway with a novelty (new transfer) on transfer 15 however Ding replied with a pointy aggressive transfer, making an attempt to create initiative on the Queen facet at the price of weakening his place.
Nepo did get a slight positional benefit however on transfer 19, he determined to simplify issues by opening up the place. The subsequent twenty strikes had been nearly pressured however fairly easy. The gamers claimed a draw after a ‘three-fold repetition’ of the ultimate place.
Nepo made it clear that he’s not going to go for double-edged battles so long as he’s main. And we’re seeing a really matured Nepo right here. He’s not going to crumble as he did towards five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen in 2021. He’s ready, and never making impulsive selections.
Let’s not overlook there’s rather a lot driving on Ding too. Being the primary Grandmaster from China to compete for the World crown, there’s actually a whole lot of stress on him. He has two video games with White and that’s what I feel could possibly be decisive. He has to go all-out in Sport 12 on Wednesday if he needs a direct win or will he go away the perfect for final within the 14th sport?
Within the Candidates to qualify for this Championship, he received within the final sport (completed second behind Nepo). However that was solely the Candidates. There’s much more at stake right here and he positively can’t afford to attend.
(Pravin Thipsay is an Indian Grandmaster and a recipient of the Arjuna Award)
Strikes (Sport 11)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 Na5
[Less flexible option.] 9.Ba2 c5 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Bg5 0–0 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Nd5 g6 14.Qd2 Bg7 15.Ng5! [New Move.] 15…c4?! 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Ne3 Bh6 18.Rad1 Rb8 19.dxc4?! 19…Nxc4 20.Bxc4 bxc4 21.Qxd6 Qxd6 22.Rxd6 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Rxb2 25.Rxe6
Rxc2 26.Rxa6 Ra2 27.Rc6 Rxa3 28.Rxc4 Rxe3 29.Kf2 Ra3 30.Rc5 Ra2+ 31.Kf3 Ra3+ 32.Kg4 Ra2 33.Kh3 Re2 34.Rxe5 Kf7 35.Kg3 Kf6 36.Re8 Kf7 37.Re5 Kf6 38.Re8 Kf7 39.Re5
Sport drawn by the rule of ‘threefold repetition.