Ding Liren strikes back hard after poor start against Ian Nepomniachtchi

China’s Ding Liren has fought back strongly from a disastrous start against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the €2m world championship match in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Russian, playing under a neutral flag, blew the nervous 30-year-old title debutant from Wenzhou off the board in 29 moves of zestful attacking chess in game two of their scheduled 14-game series, before an increasingly confident Ding comfortably drew game three, then found a winning rook for knight sacrifice to score in 47 in Thursday’s game four. The score was Ding 2 Nepomniachtchi 2 before Friday’s rest day.

Ding’s troubles began in game one, after Nepomniachtchi chose a rare variant of the DERLD (Delayed Exchange Ruy Lopez Deferred), known as the Deadly Derld when it was popular in London tournaments in the 1970s. His selection of 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 Re1 even causing Magnus Carlsen to ask his aides whether that move had been considered during the prep for his 2016 match against Sergey Karjakin (yes, it had).

The semi-novelty was harmless apart from its surprise value, but Ding’s reaction was sub-optimal, even provoking former champion Vishy Anand to call one of his choices “shocking” during the Fide commentary.

Ding’s weak queen’s side pawns were on dark squares, the same colour as Nepomniachtchi’s bishop, but despite Black’s defensive errors the engine assessment never got above +1, so there was no clear win.

The most remarkable aspect of game one was the ensuing press conference where Ding, in language more suited to a psychiatrist’s couch than to an audience of journalists, admitted that he had felt depressed and unable to concentrate properly.

Game two opened with a sensational fourth move by Ding: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3