When the dust settled on the 2023 World Chess Championship last month (April 7-30, 2023), Russian grandmaster Ian “Nepo” Nepomniachtchi had lost to China’s Ding Liren.
The gruelling 18-game, 24-day match in Astana, Kazakhstan, took its toll on both Nepo and Ding. In the end, it came down to the fourth and last rapid game to determine the winner.
It was fairly tense, trust me. But I’m sure there are the more sceptical among you who doubt this.
After all, isn’t chess more about cold logic than hot passion? On top of that, since the best computers in the world consistently beat top human players, watching a chess game with computer analysis might seem like waiting for the first mistake.
The thing is, though, it’s the mistakes that help a player to win.After 14 games, the match was drawn 7-7. In the 46th move of the last rapid tiebreaker, computer analysis concluded that equality was the best result either player could get.
The commentators noted that the only way Ding, playing black, could avoid the draw was by pinning his rook against his king, a risky move.
“If Rook (to) g6 is not better for white, I’d be shocked,” said one commentator. Literally half a second later, Ding moved the rook to that square.
At that point, although the chess computers still marked it down as a draw, there was less than two minutes on the clock.
Nepo made a small mistake, followed by a bigger one, giving Ding the advantage. However, Ding then made consecutive errors, evening the game again. Finally, with 23 seconds on the clock, Nepo made his last mistake, allowing Ding to push his pawns to victory.
The commentators’ reactions were intense. Nepo, realising his loss, fumbled with his captured pieces, knocking them over. “I could not imagine that this position could be lost,” he said later, “but as it turned out, it can”.
Ding’s journey to the championship was nothing short of remarkable, involving a series of events that had to align almost perfectly to give him the opportunity to compete in the finals.
These included the banning of a Russian chess player who accused Ukraine of war crimes; the Chinese Chess Association organising 26 games within a month for Ding to meet the qualifying criteria; and Ding’s impressive comeback in the Candidates Tourna-ment, finishing second in the final round just behind Nepo. Then, world No.1 Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Nepo, paving the way for Ding to vie for the chess championship.
Who says chess is boring?
Even during the tournament, Ding’s trials were not over. His opening preparation was leaked, forcing him and his team to devise new strategies during the match itself. He didn’t lead until the final clinching game.
He is a worthy champion. But I think, for me, I would prefer to pay tribute to the challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Nepo’s style is a blend of aggression and creativity, with a penchant for risky moves that lead to beautiful combinations if he can pull them off. This style contributed to his loss against Carlsen in the 2021 Chess Championship.
After one epic game that involved 136 moves over more than seven hours, Nepo seemed mentally exhausted, making careless mistakes in later games, allowing Carlsen to secure his title.
The thinking was that this year, Nepo would have learned from past mistakes and be more mentally prepared. Indeed, he realised he didn’t rest enough during the 2021 tournament and so brought sleep medicine. Unfortunately, it mysteriously disappeared on the eve of the tie-break. (Hmmm)
In many ways, the tournament result emerged from the mistakes Nepo made.
In Game 12, he was in a commanding position but, after a series of small errors, he lost that advantage. Nepo knew this, and struggled to compensate.
A commentator said that it had stopped being chess then, and was now a matter of nerves.
Nepo then basically moved the wrong pawn and his position collapsed. He struggled for 17 more minutes and after three moves, he resigned.
Nepo went from an unassailable lead to dead equal.
Critics have chastised the Russian for making moves too quickly in crucial positions, suggesting he should take more time to avoid mistakes. Beginners are often told, “When you see a good move, look for a better one”.
And yet, it is this style that defines Nepo. I think his tendency to look for brilliance is what gave him top place in the Candidate’s Tournament.
So there is plenty of human drama behind this cold and calculating game. But I think most people who play chess know this.
I mean, if you play it as a kid, there’s this frisson of excitement when you beat somebody older, who should be “better” than you.
And, of course, you play for fun at first, and then you start to play in tournaments, and learn to be responsible, and take more care in what you do.
And that is much like life, isn’t it? You have fun while you’re young, and then you grow older and become more responsible.
So when you find somebody who can do their job in a way that’s slightly less responsible but a lot more fun, you should really encourage that.
Because I think as we grow up, it shouldn’t be about eliminating risks entirely and always taking the safe, responsible route. It’s about understanding which risks can’t be undone, and which push you to better yourself.
As a losing finalist, Nepo automatically qualifies for the Candidate’s Tournament next April in Toronto, Canada, and I completely expect him to be not only the front challenger, but a better player again – thanks to his losses this time around.
In his fortnightly column, Contradictheory, mathematician-turned-scriptwriter Dzof Azmi explores the theory that logic is the antithesis of emotion but people need both to make sense of life’s vagaries and contradictions. Write to Dzof at lifestyle@thestar.com.my. The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own.
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