The Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi won a first game against the Chinese Ding Liren in their second duel as part of the World Chess Championship on Monday in Astana. Nepomniachtchi landed this success while his opponent had the white pieces, allowing the first move to be played. But the Russian is still far from the world title, since the world championship takes place in the best of 14 games.
The two adversaries were neutralized during their first game on Sunday. For ten years, the world crown has been monopolized by the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who crushed Nepomniachtchi in December 2021 but who decided in July 2022 to give up defending his title. Ian Nepomniachtchi, 32, and Ding Liren, 30, hold the world’s top ranks behind Carlsen, and qualified by finishing in the top two places in the Candidates tournament a year ago, featuring eight of the best players in the world.
The Chinese grandmaster is the first representative of his country to participate in a world championship. After a day of rest on Tuesday, the world championship resumes on Wednesday for match N.3 that Nepomniachtchi will start with the white pieces.