In what was a very exciting championship match in recent memory, Ding Liren of China eclipsed Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the rapid to clinch the title. With both having identical scores of 7-7 after the classical matches, the two duked it out in the quicker format with Ding winning with the black pieces in the 4th match.
It was a tragedy for Ian who only needed to secure a win in Round 12 and draw the remaining two matches. Leading 6-5, this was definitely achievable as the first one to reach 7.5 wins the title. With the engine pointing heavily in Ian's favor during this round, the former title challenger played unusually fast for a game of significant importance. Was nerves getting to him? Blunders after blunder happened and Ding capitalized!
Ding played the timer to the full extent, even having the clock nearly reach 0 in one of the games, and captured his big break when he stole this round and momentum clearly swinging in his favor.
Rapid chess seems to favor the Chinese as he is a higher rated player in the quicker formats.
Chess is mental but it's also an emotional game as well. The pressure can get to you at this high level.
With this win, China has its first ever world champion. Will Carlsen challenge the crown?
How will the reign of "Emperor Ding" look like after Magnus Carlsen's decade of domination? A new breed of strong prodigies are also rising to take up the challenge.
rb28
0 comments:
Post a Comment