GM Pravin Thipsay writes: In Game 6, Ding Liren won battle of errors against Ian Nepomniachtchi
The best sports coaches often tell their teams to keep it simple, especially under pressure. It’s seldom heard in chess, though. Yet, at the highest level – the World Chess Championship — sometimes, that’s all you need.In Game 6 of the Championships, Ding Liren kept it simple and was able to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi (Nepo) to level the score at 3-3. Had Ding lost this game, it would’ve been a huge blow to his chances of being the first Chinese Grandmaster to win the Championship. (You can also read GM Pravin Thipsay’s analysis for The Indian Express of Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5)In the games in which we’d seen a result so far, it has been one player who has dominated. Game 6 was totally different in that respect. It was more a battle of strategic errors and the one who made fewer errors — in this case, Ding — won.
He opened the game with the quiet and harmless ‘London system reversed’, an opening which has become popular recently mainly in Blitz and Bullet games. Nepo started well. He played the most logical few moves initially and soon the players went into the Carlsbad Pawn Structure (Queen’s Gambit Declined structure) reversed.
It was clear that Ding avoided a complex opening on purpose. He chose simpler and flexible moves rather than going for sharp options. He knew that Nepo prepares very well and perhaps wanted to throw his preparation off.
After seeing the initial moves, one could only wonder if Ding was trying to go for a win or just settle for a draw to steady himself in the competition.
It turned out to be more than chess. One wonders if Ding was playing mind games. Whatever he was trying to do worked in unsettling Nepo. That was vital in the middlegame. Nepo admitted that “every mood was bad in the middlegame” and it’s something that undoubtedly put the game in Ding’s favour.
Ding would’ve known that Nepo is neither a Queen Pawn player nor a Caro-Kann defence player. He was banking on Nepo failing to see the intricacies of White’s play and that’s exactly what happened.
On move 11, Nepo made a slight make letting Ding’s Knight get at an important central square. On the 13th move, Nepomniachtchi committed another fundamental error, compromising his Queen-side Pawn Structure. After avoiding an exchange of Queens in a slightly inferior position, Nepo offered a Pawn on move 22 but Ding chose a safer and more solid option of keeping the pressure on rather than going for the Pawn.
Game of makes
With Nepo opting for mediocre moves throughout the middlegame, Ding was able to improve slowly and with a sham Knight sacrifice on move 29, put himself in a winning position.
The errors didn’t stop. This time, Ding committed a serious make on move 32 offering Nepo a pawn. The move could’ve given Nepo a way back in the game, but the Russian was wary of the move and didn’t accept it, putting Ding in a winning position again.
I feel that, in his mind, Nepo had already accepted defeat after move 29, so when he was given a lifeline on 32, he simply couldn’t see the positivity of it.
Ding carried out the rest of the game in an exemplary manner. Faced with an unavoidable mate, Nepomniachtchi resigned on move 44.
The curious fact about this World Championship is that the players have shown a poor sense of activity of their strongest piece — the Queen. In the fourth game, Nepomniachtchi had his Queen deployed for defence of one Pawn and didn’t seem to be bothered about it. In game 5, Ding made the wrong choice of placing the Queen consently, choosing the least active and productive squares for it. In Game 6, we saw Nepo’s Queen isolated from the battlefield for the last 12 moves while Ding was tightening the noose around the King.
Monday is a rest day, and both players have the opportunity to just think of how they want to approach the business end of the Championship. The fact that Nepo accepted his makes on Sunday is good. It shows that he knows something is wrong so he will undoubtedly fight back.
It seems to me that Ding only plays well when he absolutely needs to. He likes to fight back. He must be reminded that we’ve reached the seventh game, the halfway stage. There’s no time to bank on the opponent’s makes.
For both players, it’s time to act.
(Pravin Thipsay is an Indian Grandmaster and a recipient of the Arjuna Award. He spoke to Anil Dias)
Moves (Game 6): 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5 7.c3 e6 8.Bb5 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Qxd6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 h6 12.Ne5 Ne7 13.a4 a6 14.Bf1 Nd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.a5 Qc7 17.Qf3 Rfc8 18.Ra3 Bg6 19.Nb3 Nc6 20.Qg3 Qe7 21.h4 Re8 22.Nc5 e5 23.Rb3 Nxa5 24.Rxe5 Qf6 25.Ra3 Nc4 26.Bxc4 dxc4 27.h5 Bc2 28.Nxb7 Qb6 29.Nd6 Rxe5 30.Qxe5 Qxb2 31.Ra5 Kh7 32.Rc5 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 f6 34.Qg3 a5 35.Nxc4 a4 36.Ne3 Bb1 37.Rc7 Rg8 38.Nd5 Kh8 39.Ra7 a3 40.Ne7 Rf8 41.d5 a2 42.Qc7 Kh7 43.Ng6 Rg8 44.Qf7 Black resigned in view of the possible continuation 44…Qg5 45.Qxg8+! Kxg8 46.Ra8+ Kf7 47.Re8 Checkmate!
