FIDE World Chess Championship 2023
April 30, 2023 1:43 PM Subscribe
After Magnus Carlsen declined to defend his title, the 2023 World Chess Championship between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren has concluded. Guardian coverage. Full streams playlist on youtube. Agadmator recaps playlist.
The classical time format section ended in a draw despite a possibly (?) unprecedented number of decisive (non-draw games) in the modern era. Heading into the last game of the rapid time format tiebreaker, it looked as if we might be headed into a blitz format tiebreaker for a first time in the history of the competition, but Ding Liren had other ideas. It is the first time a men's champion has been from China. Combined with Ju Wenjun as the women's champion, both champions are currently from China.
Spoiler
The classical time format section ended in a draw despite a possibly (?) unprecedented number of decisive (non-draw games) in the modern era. Heading into the last game of the rapid time format tiebreaker, it looked as if we might be headed into a blitz format tiebreaker for a first time in the history of the competition, but Ding Liren had other ideas. It is the first time a men's champion has been from China. Combined with Ju Wenjun as the women's champion, both champions are currently from China.
This was an incredible match. I've been paying attention to competetive chess for almost 20 years now, and never have I seen such an exciting, dynamic match as this one. Carlsen is undoubtedly excellent, but his matches always seem to be draw-fests. Nepomniachtchi and Ding played to win every game, and just in case anyone is here avoiding spoilers, I'll just say this: The player who won was demonstrably the one who was willing to go for it instead of taking the safe draw. That's good chess!
posted by dbx at 1:57 PM on April 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by dbx at 1:57 PM on April 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm delighted by Carlsen's decision. He's going to keep on having fun with the game, but he isn't letting people bully him into chugging along trying to win over and over again. I've seen it happen too many times.
posted by Peach at 1:58 PM on April 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Peach at 1:58 PM on April 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ok, but what's the latest NSFW cheating scandal?
It wasn't NSFW nor was it cheating, but there was some spice as it's possible (and speculated likely though I don't believe confirmed) one of the players preparation done using a pseudonymous account may have been leaked.
posted by juv3nal at 2:05 PM on April 30, 2023
It wasn't NSFW nor was it cheating, but there was some spice as it's possible (and speculated likely though I don't believe confirmed) one of the players preparation done using a pseudonymous account may have been leaked.
posted by juv3nal at 2:05 PM on April 30, 2023
The remarkable thing is that Ding wasn't even supposed to be here, in so many ways.
He had failed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. But Sergey Karjakin got kicked out of the tournament for his vocal support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rules said that the highest ranked active player on the May 2022 FIDE list would get his spot. Ding was the highest ranked player, but he had been unable to travel to tournaments because of Covid, so he had to play 26 ranked classical games in March and April 2022 to secure the spot.
Then he barely squeezed into second place in the Candidates with a clutch win against Hikaru Nakamura in the final round. And of course, 2nd place wouldn't have meant much if Carlsen hadn't chosen not to defend his title.
Add to that the match itself, where Ding trailed by a single point for much of it, and you've got one hell of a come-from-behind underdog story. In a game and format that are so much about mental fortitude, I can only imagine what it took to keep fighting back from the underdog position again and again and again to reach this result. Congratulations to the new World Champion!
posted by firechicago at 2:18 PM on April 30, 2023 [9 favorites]
He had failed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. But Sergey Karjakin got kicked out of the tournament for his vocal support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rules said that the highest ranked active player on the May 2022 FIDE list would get his spot. Ding was the highest ranked player, but he had been unable to travel to tournaments because of Covid, so he had to play 26 ranked classical games in March and April 2022 to secure the spot.
Then he barely squeezed into second place in the Candidates with a clutch win against Hikaru Nakamura in the final round. And of course, 2nd place wouldn't have meant much if Carlsen hadn't chosen not to defend his title.
Add to that the match itself, where Ding trailed by a single point for much of it, and you've got one hell of a come-from-behind underdog story. In a game and format that are so much about mental fortitude, I can only imagine what it took to keep fighting back from the underdog position again and again and again to reach this result. Congratulations to the new World Champion!
posted by firechicago at 2:18 PM on April 30, 2023 [9 favorites]
If it wasn't real, I'd say Nepo was going for an Oscar with his shaking hands knocking captured pieces off the table during the final moves. It was certainly a moment that deserved the emotional intensity.
I'm a little worried for Ding. I dunno why, but he seems like the kind of person to suffer post-win depression. Hopefully he has the supports around him that he needs as potentially complicated emotions kick in.
posted by clawsoon at 2:36 PM on April 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm a little worried for Ding. I dunno why, but he seems like the kind of person to suffer post-win depression. Hopefully he has the supports around him that he needs as potentially complicated emotions kick in.
posted by clawsoon at 2:36 PM on April 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Carlsen is undoubtedly excellent, but his matches always seem to be draw-fests.
That's precisely the thing that makes Carlsen brilliant in classical time format: when he sees a win isn't on for him (and he will usually see it before his opponent), he will give you absolutely nothing whereas both Ian and Ding have shown they can lose a potentially winning position, much less a drawn one.
posted by juv3nal at 2:43 PM on April 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
That's precisely the thing that makes Carlsen brilliant in classical time format: when he sees a win isn't on for him (and he will usually see it before his opponent), he will give you absolutely nothing whereas both Ian and Ding have shown they can lose a potentially winning position, much less a drawn one.
posted by juv3nal at 2:43 PM on April 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
In the classical time control games, Ding was usually in time trouble for the first period. I thought that might cost him the match.
Nepo played a horrible blunder in game 12 which gave Ding the win and evened the score. Nepo did not hide his emotions when he realized what he had done.
In the fourth tiebreak game all of the GM commentators were predicting a draw. Rather than accept a draw by perpetual check Ding covered up his king with Rg7 and decided to play for the win.
Both players were low on time at the end of the game but Nepo made a blunder and had to concede. Nepo again showed his emotions; his hands were shaking so much when he conceded that he knocked some captured pieces from the table to the floor. Ding Laren is the World Chess Champion.
Certainly none of their blunders were anything like the blunders a patzer like me makes over the board. It was a roller coaster of a tournament. Nerves and emotional control were a problem at different times in the match for both players. They’re not machines.
posted by Warren Terra at 3:32 PM on April 30, 2023
Nepo played a horrible blunder in game 12 which gave Ding the win and evened the score. Nepo did not hide his emotions when he realized what he had done.
In the fourth tiebreak game all of the GM commentators were predicting a draw. Rather than accept a draw by perpetual check Ding covered up his king with Rg7 and decided to play for the win.
Both players were low on time at the end of the game but Nepo made a blunder and had to concede. Nepo again showed his emotions; his hands were shaking so much when he conceded that he knocked some captured pieces from the table to the floor. Ding Laren is the World Chess Champion.
Certainly none of their blunders were anything like the blunders a patzer like me makes over the board. It was a roller coaster of a tournament. Nerves and emotional control were a problem at different times in the match for both players. They’re not machines.
posted by Warren Terra at 3:32 PM on April 30, 2023
We have an open thread on this.
posted by interogative mood at 9:02 PM on April 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 9:02 PM on April 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Magnus turns himself into an unstoppable robotic machine, a brick wall, when he wants to, for example in world championship matches. The standard of chess he plays is more disciplined, cautious, scrupulous and higher quality, which produces more draws at that level. That's why he's considered the best in chess history by many experts and statisticians, and is 60+ rating points above Nepo and Ding, which is a huge margin in chess.
As juv3nal points out, these two took the types of risks, and played the types of blunders, that Carlsen would not have done, especially in a WCC match. Magnus remains head-and-shoulders above the entire field for the foreseeable future. But I'm really glad Ding won, and he certainly deserved it.
posted by TreeHugger at 9:10 PM on April 30, 2023
As juv3nal points out, these two took the types of risks, and played the types of blunders, that Carlsen would not have done, especially in a WCC match. Magnus remains head-and-shoulders above the entire field for the foreseeable future. But I'm really glad Ding won, and he certainly deserved it.
posted by TreeHugger at 9:10 PM on April 30, 2023
Yeah I guess I was rooting for Ding, the pandemic threw so many obstacles in his way. And he’s been one of the very-top-but-not-Magnus players for years but then one could say that of most of the possible competitors here.
Though it’s also hard not to feel for Nepomniachtchi because, between this championship and last, it seems like the pressure really gets to him.
posted by atoxyl at 10:15 PM on April 30, 2023
Though it’s also hard not to feel for Nepomniachtchi because, between this championship and last, it seems like the pressure really gets to him.
posted by atoxyl at 10:15 PM on April 30, 2023
You’ve heard about the agony of defeat, but this photo shows the agony of victory
posted by interogative mood at 5:32 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 5:32 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, at Magnus Carlsen's place...
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:59 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:59 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was curious why I only saw one passing reference to Ding's win on my Chinese social media feed, and did a search. The most popular post I found has only 2k likes, and a post below says 'Wow it's hard to find a sport that's even more obscure than snooker here.'
posted by of strange foe at 10:42 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by of strange foe at 10:42 AM on May 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Chess was banned in China from the mid sixties to the mid seventies, I have to wonder if that has long lasting effects on its visibility, or if the recent chess renaissance has been mostly limited to the West for whatever reason.
posted by axiom at 11:05 AM on May 1, 2023
posted by axiom at 11:05 AM on May 1, 2023
My son is super into chess, and it was such a thrill to watch the final minutes of the live stream with him. Just seeing Nakamura's commentary in the moment ("if he moves there, he wins, if he moves this other piece, he wins too--he's got it, folks") was so great since we were rooting for Ding the whole time.
posted by umbú at 12:10 PM on May 1, 2023
posted by umbú at 12:10 PM on May 1, 2023
This should be a big moment for China as a milestone in their rise to global superpower. Perhaps this is a story that will build over the next few days once it sinks in. If he can’t get the recognition he deserves in China he can always move to Saint Louis.
posted by interogative mood at 12:40 PM on May 1, 2023
posted by interogative mood at 12:40 PM on May 1, 2023
How many other nations have multiple champions in an activity that's popular in other parts of the world but which they don't pay much attention to?
posted by clawsoon at 2:02 PM on May 1, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 2:02 PM on May 1, 2023
How many other nations have multiple champions in an activity that's popular in other parts of the world but which they don't pay much attention to?
US women’s national soccer team?
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:07 PM on May 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
US women’s national soccer team?
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:07 PM on May 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
Vishy Anand reviews the whole match. Near the end he suggests that the reason this match was so exciting was that both players genuinely believed they could beat the other.
posted by clawsoon at 2:23 PM on May 2, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 2:23 PM on May 2, 2023
Another reason this was so exciting was that Ding worked with GM Richárd Rapport to prepare for the match. Rapport is known to be an aggressive, creative player who seeks out unbalanced and unusual positions to force his opponents to play chess as opposed to the more theory/opening preparation style of play that has dominated classical chess in the Magnus era. GM Ben Finegold did a lecture on him last year highlighting some of his games.
To expand on Anand's point, playing against Magnus meant only a narrow path to victory for his opponents. Magnus is the highest rated player, so he starts out stronger on paper. The theoretical way to beat Magnus in a WC match, is to win one game and draw the rest. If you fall behind in the match by losing a game, he's so much stronger you won't catch up. So his opponents went with really complicated but generally solid openings where they had some hope that Magnus would make an error in one game. When Magnus played Fabiano Caurana they played the same opening every game. It almost worked out for Fabi, he got a winning endgame but failed to see the key idea and ended up drawing all the classical games.
posted by interogative mood at 3:06 PM on May 2, 2023
To expand on Anand's point, playing against Magnus meant only a narrow path to victory for his opponents. Magnus is the highest rated player, so he starts out stronger on paper. The theoretical way to beat Magnus in a WC match, is to win one game and draw the rest. If you fall behind in the match by losing a game, he's so much stronger you won't catch up. So his opponents went with really complicated but generally solid openings where they had some hope that Magnus would make an error in one game. When Magnus played Fabiano Caurana they played the same opening every game. It almost worked out for Fabi, he got a winning endgame but failed to see the key idea and ended up drawing all the classical games.
posted by interogative mood at 3:06 PM on May 2, 2023
If I've got my facts right, the top five classical chess players in the world right now are a poker player, a streamer, a fashion design student, and the two guys who just finished battling it out for the championship.
posted by clawsoon at 5:58 PM on May 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by clawsoon at 5:58 PM on May 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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