Chess Championships 2023 Game 13 Live: With two games left, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren headed for dramatic showdown

Ian Nepomniachtchi (right) reacts after realising he’s about to lose Game 12 of the 2023 World Chess Championship to Ding Liren. (Photo: FIDE/Stev Bonhage)

Nepo was leading the Championship match comfortably before Wednesday. The Russian was in full control of the tie and it was Ding who was under pressure to get a win. All Nepo had to do was grind out three draws to be crowned World Champion. He didn’t have to do anything fancy. But yes, he also didn’t have to make any big makes.
Pressure sometimes gets to you. And this is the biggest match of them all, with the eyes of the world on them. When you play 11 games that last an average of four hours each, there are chances that one of the players shows signs of nervousness. On Wednesday though, it seemed like both of them were a bundle of nerves, making one make after the other until Nepo made a really bad one from where Ding just couldn’t lose.
Ding chose to start the game with d2-d4, instead of repeating the English opening which didn’t do any good to him in Game 10. This time, he tried to play the reverse Carlsbad Pawn Structure again but not with the Queen Bishop developed as in Game 6. (Read Full Article)