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World Chess Championship Championship 2023
How important is the World Championship Match?
"It's important, but it's not everything, so I wouldn't overestimate that".
by Ian Nepomniachtchi
General Information
The 2023 FIDE World Championship Match took place in Astana, Kazakhstan from April 9th to May 1st. The match was held at the upscale luxury St. Regis Astana hotel, located in Astana Central Park, the heart of the country's capital. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and GM Ding Liren played a match to decide the 17th world champion in chess.
The prize fund was 2,000,000 euros. The winner of the match, if decided in the 14 classical games, received 60% of the prize fund, while the runner-up received the remaining 40%. However, if the match went into tiebreakers, the winner would get 55% of the prize fund, and the runner-up would receive the remaining 45%.
Match Rules
- The match consisted of up to 14 classical games.
- The player who scored at least 7.5 points won the match and became the next World Champion.
- The time control was 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 more minutes for the rest of the game.
- Starting on move 61, there was a 30-second increment per move. Players could not draw by agreement before Black's 40th move.
Tiebreak Rules
If the match was still tied after the 14th game, the following tiebreakers decided the champion, in order:
- A four-game rapid playoff with a 25+10 time control. A drawing of lots decided which player started with White.
- If the tie persisted, the players contested a two-game playoff with a 5+3 time control. A drawing of lots decided which player started with White.
- If the tie persisted, players contested another two-game playoff with a 5+3 time control. A drawing of lots once more decided which player started with White.
- If still tied, players played 3+2 games until there was a winner. A drawing of lots once more decided who started with White, with colors alternating after each game.
What happened to Magnus Carlsen?
Following the decision of the reigning World champion Magnus Carlsen to relinquish his title, the next World Champion will be determined by a match played between the winner and the runner-up of the Candidates Tournament, which was held in July 2022 in Madrid, Spain.
Having successfully defended his title against Nepomniachtchi in 2021, Carlsen stated that he would only play the next World Championship match if his challenger was young prodigy GM Alireza Firouzja. At the beginning of 2022, Carlsen once again stated in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper that he would probably not defend his title.
However, it was only in July 2022 that Carlsen officially announced that he would not play in the next World Championship match and would relinquish his title. The news came as a shock to many people in the chess world. We can assume that Carlsen did not play because the tournament did not offer large cash prizes. Most people probably thought he would easily beat Nepomniachtchi again.
Back in 1948, after Alexander Alekhine passed away, FIDE decided to organize a tournament between six players to determine the new World Champion. The players who were due to take part were Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Salo Flohr, Samuel Reshevsky, and Reuben Fine. Unfortunately, Fine decided to withdraw just before the tournament, and there was no time for a substitute, so it was a round-robin tournament between five players. Two games were played in The Hague, and three were played in Moscow. Botvinnik won the tournament.
In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with the international governing body of chess, FIDE, over the tournament conditions. The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio, Philippines, from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won, thereby retaining the title.
The Players' Background
Ian Nepomniachtchi
His nickname is "Nepo," and he was born on July 14, 1990, in Bryansk, Russia. He learned to play chess at a young age and quickly showed great talent for the game. Nepomniachtchi won his first Russian Junior Championship in 2007, and in 2008 he became an International Master.
In 2010, Nepomniachtchi won the Aeroflot Open, a prestigious open tournament held in Moscow. In 2011, he won the Russian Championship Superfinal, becoming the youngest player ever to win the event. In 2013, he won the European Individual Chess Championship. He has represented Russia in several Chess Olympiads and has won team gold medals in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. He also won a team gold medal at the World Team Chess Championship in 2013.
In 2021, Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament, which gave him the right to challenge the reigning world chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, in the World Chess Championship. However, he lacked experience with the World Chess Championship and lost badly to Carlsen. You can read more information regarding this event by clicking here.
Ding Liren
Ding Liren is a Chinese chess Grandmaster who was born on October 24, 1992, in Wenzhou, China. Ding learned to play chess at the age of 5 and quickly showed great talent for the game. He won his first national chess championship in 2005 at the age of 13.
In 2009, Ding became the youngest-ever Chinese player to cross the 2600 Elo rating mark. He has won several prestigious chess tournaments, including the Chinese Chess Championship, the Chinese Chess League, and the Biel Chess Festival. He has represented China in several Chess Olympiads and won team gold medals in 2014, 2016, and 2018. He has also won individual medals, including a bronze medal on board 1 at the 2018 Olympiad.
In 2018, Ding participated in the Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship. He finished in second place, narrowly missing out on the chance to challenge the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen. However, he became the first-ever Chinese player to cross the 2800 Elo rating mark in the same year.
Ding is known for his positional style and his ability to play both solidly and aggressively. He is widely regarded as one of the best chess players in the world and a strong contender for the World Chess Championship title. After Magnus Carlsen's decision not to defend his World Champion Title, he replaced him as the new World Chess Champion challenger.
Their previous clashes
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren know each other well. They played for the first time at the CHN-RUS Summit Men 6th, which took place in 2009. Nepo won all four games in their match, which consisted of two rapid games and two blitz games.
Over the next three years, Nepo dominated in faster time controls, winning six games and drawing one in rapid and blitz. With his very aggressive and tactical style, he managed to win a lot of games. Ding has better positional and strategic understanding, but he wasn't able to fight against Nepo. In fast games, intuition, and good tactical understanding prevail, and Nepo was superior in this regard.
Nepomniachtchi's first classical win against Ding Liren happened in 2016 at the Hainan Danzhou GM event. In this game, they played the Scotch opening, and Ding had the black pieces. Ding's first win happened at the Abidjan GCT rapid with the White pieces. Black chose a hybrid between the King's Indian and Benoni Defense.
Ding managed to win the first classical game at the Croatia GCT 2019 with the White pieces. He chose the Reti system, a quieter opening. He managed to double the c-pawns of his opponent, and with a brilliant technique, he was able to breach his defenses.
World Chess Championship 2023 Games
World Chess Championship 2023 ( Nepomniachtchi vs Ding) || Game 01
The Fine Line Between Victory and Defeat: World Championship | Ding vs. Nepomniachtchi
MASSIVE WIN | World Chess Championship 2023 ( Nepomniachtchi vs Ding) || Game 02
Queen's Gambit Declined | World Championship | Ding vs. Nepomniachtchi – Game 03
The #moment That #changed #everything : An #epic #tale | #ding vs #nepomniachtchi | 4 #shorts
Game 4 Brilliance: A Recap of Ding vs Nepomniachtchi | FIDE World Championship Match 2023
Masterful Moves and Tactical Blows: The Ding-Nepo Chess Match 2023
Ding Liren - Thug life
The London System: A Powerful Weapon in Your Arsenal
Ding Liren | Overthinking | World Chess Championship Match 2023
EPIC Own Goal !! Nepomniachtchi-Ding | World Chess Championship Match 2023 || Game 7
The Chess Bluff of the Century !! Nepomniachtchi-Ding 2023
Masterful Bluffing Technique by Nepo | WCC 2023 | Game 8
Who Will Break First? Nepo vs Ding | WCC 2023 | Game 9
Mind Games: Nepo and Ding Challenge Each Other in the WCC 2023
How Did the Leak Affect Ding's Chances?
Mistakes, Miscalculations, and Blunders: A Strategic Nightmare | WCC Nepo - Ding 2023
Game 13
Self-Pinning Your Hopes on the Future Perpetuity - The New King of Chess: Ding Liren's Triumph
Tie Breaks
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