Russian Chess Federation (RCF) Vice President Sergey Smagin shared his opinion on what conclusions can be drawn from the first game of the match for the chess crown between Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and Chinese Ding Liren.
“What conclusions can be drawn from the match from the first match? Ian is not sticking to the classic opening, he will not play the most basic schemes. Today’s match showed that Liren could have a hard time playing black. Liren will have to work hard if Yang changes the openings. At the opening today, Ian got everything White needed to get in the fight for victory, Smagin told socialbites.ca.
The Russian played with the white pieces. It is worth noting that the match ended in the 49th move. The party was held in Astana.
For the second time Nepomniachtchi received the right to compete for the world chess crown. In 2021, he fought for the title with Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and was defeated by losing four matches. After Jan won the next Candidates’ Tournament, Carlsen refused to play with him, thus losing the world champion title. The right to play with Nepomniachtchi received the second issue of the Candidates’ Tournament Ding Liren.