Russian grandmaster Nepomniachtchi will play a tie-break with Ding Liren in the championship game.

The last 14th match in the classical format of the match played for the world chess crown ended in a draw. Playing white pieces, Chinese Ding Liren and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi signed a peace agreement after 90 moves and nearly seven hours of hard fighting. The match is tied again – 7-7, the world champion will be determined after an additional (at least four) games of speed chess on Sunday.

Ding Liren traditionally starts the match with the queen-pawn, and soon the already familiar structure of the Nimzowitsch defense appears on the board. On the fifth move, the Chinese player played reliably, avoiding the usual opening plans. Opponents quickly swapped two pawns and had more room on adjacent d and c lines.

Then Ding Liren slightly surprised Yang with the knight attack on g5, as the move did not correspond to the computers’ first lines. And in the next step, the Chinese had already given up this stone, but accepting the “Danaan” sacrifice was like death – Black was horribly attacked.

Waiting for the opponent’s mistakes, the opponents maneuvered behind them, and then, realizing that the cavalry charge had not passed, the whites went to change the horses. Queens, like mating motifs, instantly disappeared from the board. However, Ding Liren had the opportunity to sacrifice a pawn and sharpen the game again. Then the position got easier, but the Chinese grandmaster stubbornly continued to play for the win. But even Black did not stand still and sought tactical counter chances. In one of the key sections, Nepomniachtchi rushed to push his e-pawn forward, giving his opponent a chance to draw.

Time-strapped Ding Liren found an obvious source, giving up a pawn and forcing it to switch to a slightly worse endgame. The check is passed and a rook ending with an extra pawn (three versus four) appears for Black. And here the fans of Nepomniachtchi calmly sighed – he could not lose such a position, the game was already going to two conclusions.

The Russian tried to win almost five dozen more moves, constantly making his opponent nervous, but Ding Liren clearly neutralized all his threats.

Nepomniachtchi complained of a major mistake at a press conference.

Ding Liren noted that he found the location preferable, but that it had been rearranged over time.

In the first part of the game, it can be said that the representative of the “dragon realm” spews fire, which can turn against him more than once. But at the right moment, a sense of protection prevailed, and Ding Liren managed to find an opportunity to maintain his championship chances even though he didn’t suffer from nervous breakdowns.