Words of Passage

A review of ChessBase Magazine #214, June 2023, was published on the web site of the German company on September 7, 2023. Among the many topics of interest, one should mention a deep study of the last World Chess Championship match which culminated in the historic victory of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) over Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi. No wonder, therefore, that four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) annotated, with her customary thoroughness and objectivity, the final crucial tie-break game:

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)

World Chess Championship 2023; tie-break game 4; time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Astana, April 30, 2023

8/6pk/5r1p/p1pQ4/1b6/4B1PP/4qP2/2R3K1 w - - 10 46

Position after 45. ... Kg8-h7

Notes by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), ChessBase Magazine #214, June 2023.

46. Qe4+. An historic moment! While most of the people are already expecting the next tiebreak mini-matches, 丁 (Dīng) decides to fight for a win. Practically, it’s a nice test, as both were under very few minutes, and Nepo probably already expected a draw. With such mindset, things may go wrong as what happened in the game.
46. ... Rg6!? 47. Qf5?! Now things have started to go wrong. 47. h4 was more precise: 47. ... a4 (47. ... h5 48. Rc2 Qd1+ 49. Kg2 Qd6 50. Qf5 — Too many weaknesses for Black to protect) 48. Qf5 Qg4 49. Qc2 It is impossible for Black to keep both passed Pawns on board while stopping the h4-h5 threat.
47. ... c4! 48. h4? Towards the wrong side. 48. Qf4 was the only way to prevent the Black Queen from taking over the b1-h7 diagonal: 48. ... c3 (48. ... Bd6 49. Qxc4 Rxg3+ 50. fxg3 Qxe3+ 51. Kh1 Qf3+ 52. Kg1 Qxg3+ 53. Kf1 Qxh3+ 54. Ke2=) 49. Qf5! Although two tempi down, now White gets the full dominance over the diagonal. 49. ... a4 50. h4 Qg4 51. Qd3= with the idea of Be3-d4.
48. ... Qd3−+. Now it’s a clear win for Black.
49. Qf3 Rf6 50. Qg4 c3 51. Rd1 Qg6 52. Qc8 Rc6 53. Qa8

53. ... Rd6? Making things complicated again. 53. ... c2 54. Rf1 Rd6−+.
54. Rxd6 Qxd6 55. Qe4+ Qg6 56. Qc4. Suddenly White may be able to create a fortress.
56. ... Qb1+ (56. ... c2 57. h5!=)
57. Kh2 a4 58. Bd4 a3

59. Qc7? Missing the final chance of the match. Honestly speaking, under super high pressure, such move may occur with high probability. However, with a closer look one would understand, the key thing is to control the golden g6 square. 59. h5! Bf8 (59. ... a2 60. Qf7+−) 60. Qf7 Qd3 61. Bxc3! Qxc3 62. Qxf8= The Black Queen cannot find a good place to prevent both the perpetual check and support the promotion of the a-Pawn.
59. Bxg7! draws as well, but one needs to have a broad picture in mind to ensure the perpetual check. 59. ... Kxg7 60. Qc7+ Kf6 61. Qc6+ Ke5 62. Qe8+ Kd4 63. Qh8+ Kc4 64. Qg8+! Kb5 65. Qe8+!=.
59. ... Qg6 60. Qc4. 60. Bxc3 Bxc3 61. Qxc3 a2 With ... Qg6-b1 coming next, queening is unstoppable.
60. ... c2−+. Now it’s hopeless for White.
61. Be3 Bd6 62. Kg2 h5 63. Kf1 Be5 64. g4 hxg4 65. h5 Qf5 66. Qd5 g3 67. f4 a2 68. Qxa2 Bxf4 0–1. A very well-fought game, lots of interesting content. Congrats to 丁 (Dīng) for winning the title! Also congrats to Nepo showing greater technique in the match.