11:54
Ding Liren’s response is a long time coming
In fact, it is now the Chinese who have to think longer for the first time in the game. At least he hasn’t returned from the rest area in the first five minutes after the surprising 11…Na5, so that at the moment there are only two empty chairs facing each other on the board.
11.
11:50
11… Na5
Jan Nepomnyashchi
The Russian now responds with a quite surprising move. 11… Na5 is a pawn sacrifice, since Ding Liren could now use c5 and get the bishop pair as well as the pawn. From a practical point of view, however, the move may not be wrong, since the Chinese could potentially be torn out of the preparation, while Nepo could also work on the safety of the king in the medium term with 12. Nxc4 Bxc4 13. dxc4, since the way to castling would hereby be free.
11.
11:46
11. Ne4
thing Liren
Again, Ding Liren takes only a few seconds to reply. With 11. Ne4 he now offers to exchange the knights and asks his opponent the next complicated questions. The psychological advantage is clearly on the Chinese side.
10
11:46
10…b4
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Again Jan Nepomnyashchi thinks for more than ten minutes before he has weighed his options sufficiently and with 10…b4 passes and questions his opponent’s knight.
10
11:36
10.a4
thing Liren
Again, Ding Liren, who has only used eight minutes of his time, has the direct answer ready. With 10. a4 he attacks on the queenside and again forces the Russians to make concrete decisions and to neglect the development of them. One possibility for Jan Nepomnjaschtschi would be to pass b4 and thus create a direct counter-threat.
11:35
9… Bb7
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi now fianchets his white-squared bishop with 9… Bb7, whereby he also neglects the development on the kingside. However, Ding Liren is of course just waiting for the dark-squared bishop to move so that he can force another bishop move with dxc5 and the associated loss of tempo, which the Russian does not want to accept.
9.
11:32
9. Bd3
thing Liren
Ding Liren withdraws his bishop and places it on d3 in the center.
8th.
11:30
8… b5
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Now Jan Nepomnjaschtschi also answers relatively quickly and chooses the continuation in principle with 8… b5, with which he attacks his opponent’s light-squared bishop with speed.
8th.
11:30
8. Nc3
thing Liren
Ding Liren again takes a good three minutes before he leaves the rest room, enters the stage and confidently continues with 8.Nc3.
7.
11:26
7… Nc6
Jan Nepomnyashchi
After eleven minutes of thinking Jan Nepomnjaschtschi decides like most of his predecessors in this position for development. 7… Nc6 is on the board.
11:19
The Russian is in demand again
While Ding Liren used up just three minutes, much of which was due to the distances covered from the relaxation room to the board, Jan Nepomnjaschtschi had to invest more than a quarter of an hour. Even now he has been thinking about his next steps for five minutes. However, the position also offers countless options. From cxd4 to b5 to Nc6 or even Bb7, four moves seem tempting.
11:14
5… c5 | 6. Bxc4 a6 | 7.OO
Both players are on the board and the moves are coming pretty quickly now. Nepo attacks the center directly with c5, whereupon Liren retrieves the pawn with Bxc4. After the Russian prepares a move like b5 with a6, the Chinese castles briefly. By changing moves, there are now even a few games in which exactly this position was on the board. Most of the predecessors with the black pieces bet on development at this point and played 7…Nc6.
5.
11:10
5.e3
thing Liren
Ding Liren takes another two minutes in the rest room before returning to the stage and continuing with 5.e3. Jan Nepomnjaschtschi could now theoretically cling to his extra pawn with a move like b5, which is attacked on c4 by the move e3 from the Chinese bishop with a light square. But that in turn could burst open Ding Liren immediately with a4. Consequently, it is a normal developing move that allows the Chinese to capture on c4.
4.
11:09 a.m
4… dxc4
Jan Nepomnyashchi
Nepomnyashchi has made his decision and with 4… dxc4 he now goes into a kind of Queen’s Gambit Declined with a tempo more that Liren gave away with 4. h3. All the more exciting is the question of what the Chinese have specifically prepared.
11:08
Nepo broods
Jan Nepomnjaschtschi has been pondering his next move for more than eight minutes. The situation could hardly be more difficult for the Russian. Apparently Ding Liren has finally prepared a repertoire around the unambitious waiting move 4. h3, which the Russian now somehow has to avoid. With logical moves like c6 or dxc4 he would definitely run into his opponent’s preparation. The only question is how he can pull Ding Liren out of preparation without falling behind with unusual moves himself. The Chinese player’s move could hardly have been more brilliant in the truest sense of the word.
4.
11:05
4h3
thing Liren
Wow! The Chinese’s first White game starts with a bang! Ding Liren dodges all the beaten paths as early as move four, drawing 4. h3, a move that has never been played before. He immediately leaves the table and leaves Jan Nepomnjaschtschi to think, who smiles in disbelief and obviously didn’t expect this move for a second. What a start!
11:00 a.m
1… Nf6 | 2. c4 e6 | 3. Nf3 d5
The game follows familiar paths. After 3… d5, Ding Liren has the choice of going into the Queen’s Gambit Declined with 4. Nf3.
1.
10:58
1.d4
thing Liren
The game is on and there is no surprise on the first move. Ding Liren opens with 1. d4.
10:58
The players are there
After Jan Nepomnjaschtschi reached the stage first, Ding Liren now also takes a seat on the board. Both players shake hands. The second game of the 2023 World Chess Championship can start shortly.
10:51
Positive record for Liren with White
Six games took place in classical chess between Ding Liren and Jan Nepomnyashchi, in which the Chinese played with White. In three draws, Ding Liren managed two wins (one loss).
10:39
How well has the Chinese acclimatized?
For long stretches of the opening game yesterday, the question arose as to how well Ding Liren had already acclimatized in Astana. Again and again the Chinese withdrew to the relaxation room yesterday, where he crouched on an armchair with a hood pulled over his face and his hands buried in his trouser pockets. At the press conference that followed, he let it be known that he hadn’t felt well at all and was having trouble thinking clearly. In addition, he felt uncomfortable in his original hotel and changed accommodation at short notice.
10:33
Ding Liren with the white pieces for the first time
Today Ding Liren plays with the white pieces for the first time. His first move will also allow conclusions to be drawn about what he has prepared for the world championship fight. The Chinese is known as a d4 player, although he occasionally works with move changes or opens with 1. c4 or 1. Nf3. Should 1. d4 come onto the board, there’s a good chance we’ll see the Grünfeld Indian Defense Jan Nepomnyashchi is known for today.
10:14
Welcome back to the 2023 World Chess Championship
Welcome back from Astana. The second game of the 2023 World Chess Championship between Jan Nepomnyashchi and Ding Liren is taking place here today. It starts at 11:00 a.m.