Nepo's prep worked, it's not that Ding is bothered by the pace it's that Nepo who is the genuine #2 in the world, prepped well with white and won. Also Carlsen is a special case, every super GM has admitted that there is a psychological hurdle to pass against him because you can't make even minor inaccuracies against him, you also have to be very careful about every move and their direct or indirect consequences when it comes to endgames. That doesn't apply to Ding, Ding is a more normal Super GM, he is roughly equal to Nepo, Caruana, Wesley So or Nakamura, you can play a game that isn't perfect against them and still get a draw or a win.
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- Thread starter Danny1982
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Ding looks super sloppy in this match. His prep has been pretty poor at this level, all things considered. It's a World Championship match and he looks out of book very easily which is kind of surprising to me.
I also thought Rapport was kind of strange as a second. Completely polar opposite players. Surely at some point it would be more logical to have a player who has more similar tastes, so when the suggestions are made it is more natural, both for the player and the second.
I also thought Rapport was kind of strange as a second. Completely polar opposite players. Surely at some point it would be more logical to have a player who has more similar tastes, so when the suggestions are made it is more natural, both for the player and the second.
It's a fairly even match. I don''t really see what makes Ding look less prepared especially when both players gained advantages with white. The one thing that people need to keep in mind is that neither is playing for draws, so they both avoid lines with theoretical draws which are the majority of main line plays and what we are used to see in big tournaments.
Game 2 gave away that his prep is shoddy for this level of match. Plays h3 to opt against the Catalan, worse within 14 moves, probably lost within 20. That's pretty poor for a line he has come up with which his opponent couldn't possibly have expected. That would rarely happen to the best prepared players in a line they go for.
I think he needs to be more prepared than Nepo. I'm not saying he can't come back in this match, he easily could, but he's always had a fairly narrow repertoire he plays extremely well. Which also suits his style. He seems to gain a lot of confidence in that. When they're just free styling from early on I think that's a pretty good situation for Nepo more than Ding as he's been comfortable playing many openings in classical, he's going to pressure on the clock, I think that situation works for him. Then he has prep with white, especially.
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I don’t know enough about their respective styles but presumably Ding wants someone advising him who sees the game differently, ideally someone who plays similar to Nepo rather than similar to himself.
What's up with these players giving away solid advantages pretty much out of the opening.
No one cares about classical anymore
Nonsense, match is actually very good and shows that classical can also be entertaining.
We are just very lucky that both of them think themselves better than the other, and aren't defaulting to drawish lines. Wouldn't be like this with Carlsen.
Especially since they made most of their work in the middle game. Neither is relying on openings and neither is rushing to the endgame, it's all about who is better at calculating sharp lines.
Ding froze. 
What the feck is happening
Pressure. He bottled it.
Quite tragic to show such terrible time management in such an important game.
It's still completely random to try and make this point in the middle of a match that has seen 5 wins in seven games?
Maybe these games will stop the trend?
In football terms last year's Championship was like watching peak Barca/Spain dismantle a team clearly levels below them. Whereas this is like some random PL Monday night 3-3 where both teams could implode at any point.
These games are just wild
On a side note: god I hate Hess' comentating. Americans have to ruin everything..
On a side note: god I hate Hess' comentating. Americans have to ruin everything..
Agree he's annoying. Super sharp game today. Loved that perpetual bluff, even if he didn't realise, by Nepo.These games are just wild
On a side note: god I hate Hess' comentating. Americans have to ruin everything..
On an other note: I love Anish, he has my type of silly sense of humour.These games are just wild
On a side note: god I hate Hess' comentating. Americans have to ruin everything..
And yes the games are wild, I wonder if they realize that they are probably of equal strength but with very different styles.
Anish is brilliant, I quite like Daniel too.
The other day I was thinking about something. I don't know if in 14 games, you would have a clear winner between any combination of Abdusattorov, Wesley So, Ding, Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura, Vishi, Giri and Caruana.
Carlsen is clearly above them but that group is pretty even.
Carlsen is clearly above them but that group is pretty even.
Hess is still miles better than Danny Rensch, who is truly horrific cliché American.
Caruana and Anish are my favorites I'd say.
Caruana and Anish are my favorites I'd say.
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Totally agree. Find Rensch awful, and he's such a smug prick.
In other news... supposedly Ding/Rapport lichess prep accounts have been leaked. Mainly because they played a game together last month that followed today's game exactly. Mad if true.
Those accounts were only found, because they played rated against each other, weren't they?
All-time choke
Nepo collapsed against Carlsen 2 years back.. Ding clearly holds his nerve better .
Wtf was that... It's like leading 3-0 at halftime and losing 8-3 at the end
A handful of GMs are likely fuming, including Caruana.
I feel a bit for him. Chess is absolutely brutal.
Rewatching the end of the game, Ian's distress is a rare sight.
My other half captioned this as me Vs my mate being asked to display a variety of emotions and I nearly died laughing
I hope it becomes a meme
Is Robert Hess the James Corden of chess commentary?
Nepo under pressure out of the opening, with white... Considering this is Ding and not Magnus it seems like he unfortunately didn't to work through the issues he had in his previous match.
Nepo under pressure out of the opening, with white... Considering this is Ding and not Magnus it seems like he unfortunately didn't to work through the issues he had in his previous match.
Some of the journalists at the post game conference ask some good questions then you got some others who go "I got a question for Ian, can you tell us about the game today, how did it go?", like what the hell are you covering that for
On that topic youtube suggested me that short this morning.
Well, well, well.. Ding is actually under a bit of pressure right now. It's still nothing definite, but I guess either player losing the match with white in the final game would only be fitting to his roller coaster of a duel.
... and Nepo comes back to the board and instantly drops a "?" on the board...
... and Nepo comes back to the board and instantly drops a "?" on the board...
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Ding wins in rapid
I'm shaking after just watching that, can't imagine what the players were going through. Nepo was convinced it was going to be a draw