Almost obscured by the bulky silhouette of Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren are ready to do battle. Starting today and until May 1st, the two will compete in 14 classic games that will decree the best in the world.
– The curtain rises on the 2023 World Chess Championship, the most important event for chess enthusiasts. A classic of recent years is staged in Astana: the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi (who, however, will play under the FIDE international flag due to the well-known war events) faces the Chinese Ding Liren: a match which, in the current geopolitical context, is loaded with implications of various genre. The second and third ELO score compete respectively, testifying to the very high level reached by the two contenders. The background smiles at Right (3 to 2, with 8 draws), which also prevailed in the last direct confrontation and which tomorrow will start with Bianco. However, woe to underestimate the verve and stubbornness of the Chinese, who has the support of an entire continent on his side;
– With the hope of being proven wrong along the way, this edition seems destined to go down in history forabsence of Magnus Carlsen. The number one in the world, probably the strongest of all time, indeed announced last July of give up the defense of the world title which would obviously be his due. The more mischievous underlined that it was a position taken due to an almost absolute superiority and that the prospect of facing the Russian again, already clearly defeated two years ago, did not arouse any stimulus; the more cautious have instead identified the federation as the main culprit, which has not shown itself in the slightest willing to retract an objectively exhausting formula.
What is certain is that Magnus abdicates after an unrepeatable decade in which he scored 5 victories (against Karjakin, Caruana, Nepomniachtchi himself and Anand twice). It seems inevitable that sooner or later the new champion will need a direct confrontation with the Norwegian to legitimize the crown;
– Ian Nepomniachtchi he’s in his second consecutive World Cup and will have the opportunity to redeem the Dubai debacle, in which he picked up just 3.5 points. The Russian had the great merit of subverting the predictions of the eve and of (re)triumph by margin in last year’s Candidates Tournament, an Italian group of 8 participants in which the record holder earns the opportunity to challenge the reigning champion. If in the previous edition Nepo showed mental cracks even before tactics (especially after the memorable sixth game), this time the Russian will have to demonstrate that he has definitely matured and learned to handle pressure. The stakes are huge, but past experience can certainly help that. Precisely for this reason the balance seems to tip slightly on his side: we’ll see if the role of favorite will be more congenial for him;
– Ding Liren he took off the pass for Astana almost by accident. Admitted to Candidates last year following Karjakin’s ban (6 months per position openly Philoputinian), then concluded an excellent tournament by placing second, then being catapulted to the World Cup following Carlsen’s withdrawal.
Talented and solid player, between August 2017 and September 2018 boasts an impressive unbeaten streak of 100 classic matches consecutive with 29 wins and 71 draws. In the same period, his ELO score culminated at 2816 points, one of the highest recently recorded (on the other hand, the Russian has never crossed the threshold of 2800 points). After last year’s tour de force, in 2023 he practically disappeared from the scene, with the aim of arriving in Kazakhstan in the best possible psychophysical condition. Even for him, however, the great unknown is mental strength in a competition which, between now and the end of the month, can really decide on a single inaccuracy;
– Technical-tactical chapter: both players have repeatedly shown that they are at ease over long distances. Both prefer one aggressive style in which there is often some sacrifice in exchange for activity and/or development of the pieces. From this point of view, however, it is the Russian who will probably have the greatest need to conduct operations, with the Chinese being better at extricating himself from the positional web. Right much prefers to open with 1. e4 col Bianco; col Nero often relies on the Petrov defense or the rejected queen’s gambit. While it’s a rather linear style of play that doesn’t have many alternatives, Russian can certainly boast an almost unique mastery of these variants. Surely he won’t back down when it comes to attacking. On the other side Ding is a more flexible and complete player, capable of varying opening and adapting in the middlegame. On the other hand, this versatility has sometimes led him into confusion in the past. It is up to him to make the most of the weapons he possesses, without falling into the trap of exaggerated originality.
Neither stands out in the finals, although perhaps the Russian should be credited with a better attitude. In short, the prerequisites for seeing an emotionally engaging and tactically spectacular challenge are all there: all that remains is to wait a month or so to celebrate the new king of the chessboard.
