No Farewell, Yet Goodbye

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi
World Chess Championship 2023; match game 12; Astana, April 26, 2023
1b3r1k/p4p1p/4p1nr/7N/P2P1pPq/2Q4P/1P2RPB1/6RK b - - 6 34

Position after 34. Re1-e2

After a slew of twists and turnarounds, Nepomniachtchi broke down completely, allowing 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) to win the game and level the match. For most commentators, the timing of Nepomniachtchi’s nervous crisis suggests a shocked response to a shocking declaration by the President of Chess Federation of Russia, Andrey Vasilievich Filatov, who, bothered by the unpredictability of his fellow countryman, called him “a monkey with a grenade”. In a statement published on Nepomniachtchi’s web site, his manager, Zoya Viktorovna Arnatskaya, argued with irony: “We are not hinting at anything. But since we’re talking about comparisons with wildlife, the chameleon-position is a most convenient one. Praises to Ian Alexandrovich in one interview and mocking criticism in another sounds like informational cheating. Whether the match ends in a win or a loss, one can say, anyway, ‘As I said!’”.
34. ... f5?? 35. Rxe6 Rxh5 36. gxh5 Qxh5 37. d5+ 1 : 0.

Much is happened. And yet everything can still happen — or not. Photo: Stev Bonhage/FIDE.