Game 13 of the FIDE World Championship match ended in a draw, on Thursday, April 27, leaving Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi and Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren tied at 6.5-6.5 with one last classical game to go. Ding did have a very good position in this game, but he can be happy he equalised the match yesterday and Nepo can be relieved today!@FIDE_chess #NepoDing — Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) April 27, 2023 Despite creating a better position as Black, Ding simplified and entered a riskier endgame where he was at a disadvantage. Earlier, on Wednesday, April 26, game 12 was filled with dramatic turns of fortune as Ding opted to go for the Colle System of Queen's Pawn and emerged victorious after Nepomniachtchi played hastily and completely destroyed a commanding position. ALSO READ: World Chess Championship 2023: Ding wins ‘nerve-racking’ game 12, equalises Missed yesterday's #NepoDing game? It was a rollercoaster! Here are the highlights of Game 12, before we dive into following Game 13! https://t.co/c11o44up4p — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 27, 2023 On Wednesday, Ding, playing as White, equalized with just two more games to go for the next FIDE World Chess Champion to be crowned. Ding played with the Black pieces in the next round, game 13, which started 1. e4 e5. It was not so long before – after about 20 moves – Ding got better. The question was; how big is Black's advantage and, how will he use it? “This is just insane to play that fast,” - Daniil Dubov about Rc1 after Re5. #NepoDing pic.twitter.com/H93UDbSTbP — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 27, 2023 And when Ding went for a positional exchange sacrifice, Indian chess grandmaster Vishy Anand who was following the game was mystified. He tweeted: “Black may well have enough compensation, but is he better? I don't think so. Why did Ding go down this road at all?” ALSO READ: Former world champion Kasparov calls April’s world title match ‘amputated event’ One game remains for Nepomniachtchi and Ding to decide who becomes the 17th undisputed world chess champion in a 14-game match. With both players on 6,5 points, everything now hangs on the final, game 14, on Saturday, April 29. Whoever wins on Saturday will take the crown. But if they draw, again, the FIDE World Championship match will go into tiebreaks. About the match The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship match between Ding and Nepomniachtchi takes place from April 7 to May 1, 2023, in Astana, Kazakhstan. The match consists of 14 games, followed by a rapid/blitz tiebreak in case of a tie. The time control for the standard games is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. The first player to reach 7,5 points in the 14 games will win the match. If it’s a tie, the two go to tiebreaks. The prize fund for the match is two million euros, with the reward being split 60:40 between the winner and the runner-up.
