2023-04-26 16:15:39
The Chinese grandmaster equalizes the duel and faces the last two games as a light favorite
The twelfth round of the Chess World Cup that takes place in Astan will not go down in history for its quality, but it has had an indisputable emotion and has once again put the duel red hot, with a tie on the scoreboard (6-6), after two games to go. It was a very “emotional” game, Ian acknowledged. Nepomniachtchiwho came to have an advantage that seemed to liquidate the hopes of Ding Liren. The Russian denied that the war of nerves is more important than chess itself, but admitted that he was “imprecise” today. “It happened at an important time, yes; these things happen,” he added with obvious disgust.
The great Spanish master Miguel Illescas was less lenient: “The Russian’s pulse trembled when he had the World Cup within his reach, as some tennis players lose control of their racket in a match point“, he wrote on Twitter, where he also praised the courage of the Chinese candidate.
Indeed, few things are more difficult in a World Championship than winning on demand. Ding has managed to recover from his three defeats with as many victories and if he has shown anything it is courage and tenacity. It took courage for him to go on the attack, although he had no choice, but above all he was able to grasp the burning nail that the board had become after the first 25 moves. If he loses, he’ll drop two points down with two games to go, a situation that no one has ever overcome in a World Championship.
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A posteriori and with the help of computer modules it is easy to criticize the decisions made by Nepo, who did not know how to finish off the exposed king of his rival. In just ten moves, the Chinese player, who did not get carried away by vertigo, had turned the tables on the game and the entire World Cup. Now he is even emerging as a favourite, more than anything because of the psychological blow that the Russian has suffered from having let such a favorable situation slip away.
In case the mental warfare isn’t so snide, which it isn’t, Ding dropped his note at the post-game press conference, saying he loved the fast pace of the four tie-break duels that will be played if the tiebreaker isn’t broken. equality in the last two days. Nepo did not even want to assess what those games will be like (25 minutes plus a 10-second increase per move) and remarked that there are still two classic chess matches left.
It is true that in this permanent drama that the World Cup has become, the last word has not yet been written. The air resounds with accusations of Andrey Filatov, president of the russian federation: “On his bad days, Nepo is a monkey with a grenade.” He alone knows how to face the final stretch, whether to try to win with white tomorrow or if he will be content to avoid a new disaster.
Ding Liren, on the other hand, revealed yesterday the peace that flooded him during the game: “Actually I wasn’t that nervous. At a certain point I felt that the game room was completely silent, as if there was no one watching the games.” The zen master is managing to maintain peace of mind, despite the sinking score, but there are still two decisive duels to go and maybe the tiebreakers.
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