Faith and Fade

Wesley So – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
7th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Tbilisi, September 19, 2017
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Re1 a5 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bb5!? Qb8!? 10. Nf1 Qa7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Nxe3 Ne7 13. a4 Ng6 14. Bc4 Bxc4. Here 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) offered a draw, which So refused. 15. Nxc4 Qa6 16. g3 Rfe8 17. Qb3 Nf8 18. Qb5 Qxb5 19. axb5 b6 20. Ra3 Ne6 21. Ne3 Nc5 22. c4 a4. This is not an easy decision, but Black had to do something against his opponent’s aim to double Rooks on the a-file and then advancing b2-b4. 23. Rea1 Nb3 24. Rd1. After 24. Ra2 Black would have been only too happy to repeat the position by 24. ... Nc1. 24. ... Rec8 25. Nd2 Nxd2 26. Rxd2 Nd7 27. Rd1 Nc5 28. Nd5 Kf8 29. f4 Ra5 30. Nb4 Raa8 31. Kf2 Ke8 32. Ke3 f6 33. f5! Kd7 34. g4! White’s got a manifest advantage in space and position, but its exploitation depends on the possibility to break through into Black’s blockhouse. 34. ... Rh8 35. h4 h6 36. Nd5 Ra5 37. Rg1 Kc8 38. g5 hxg5 39. hxg5 Rh3+ 40. Kd2 Nb3+. I don’t understand too much why 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) did not play to maintain the status quo by 40. ... Rh2+ 41. Kc3 Rh3, leaving his opponent the task of demonstrating an eventual win.

41. Kc3. So thought for less than 3 minutes, apparently skeptical about White’s chances after the eventual Exchange sacrifice. If Emanuel Lasker had reasoned thus in his game against Capablanca at Saint Petersburg in 1914, he would have been wrong, so maybe So is not right – and surely not from a practical viewpoint. After 41. Rxb3! axb3 42. gxf6 gxf6 43. Rg8+(!) Kd7 (43. ... Kb7 44. Rg7 looks even worse) 44. Nb4! Rh2+ 45. Kc3 Ke7 (not 45. ... Ra2?? because of 46. Nc6! catching His Majesty in a mating net) 46. Rc8! Black might even come up with a miraculous way to draw (even though it’s hard to believe), but in any event he should have earned it dearly. Now, instead, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) finds an elegant and quick way out: 41. ... Nd4! 42. gxf6 Rh2! 43. Nxb6+. Clearly not 43. fxg7?? on account of 43. ... Rc2+ 44. Kb4 c5+ 45. bxc6 Nxc6 mate. 43. ... cxb6 44. fxg7 Rc2+ 45. Kb4 Rxb2+ 46. Kc3 Rc2+ 47. Kb4 Rb2+ ½ : ½.