Chess World Championship: A Wrong Move Can Cost 400,000 Euros
Chess can be the most boring game in the world and the wildest. A spark is enough to set the board on fire. Players can choose the role of firefighter or arsonist, but neither guarantees anything, especially if the nerves appear. That happened in the last game of the Chess World Cup, in which Ding Liren attacked early, then recoiled in fear and hurriedly relaxed.
He was miraculously saved, because Ian Nepomniachtchi 's understanding was also clouded when he saw himself with the crown on his head and because the Chinese found saving plays of merit. In the end, a draw was signed after more than six and a half hours of fighting, 90 moves and visible signs of exhaustion. Tomorrow the title will be decided in four rapid tie-break games, maybe a few more, if necessary.
The great Chinese master attended his appointment with history willing to enter it through the front door, but anxiety got the better of him. If his rival had kept her cool, he would already be Magnus Carlsen's successor. And if Ding were a cat, he would barely have lives left.
Now it will be seen who is made of better dough, in the four quick tiebreakers. In the event that they are not enough to undo the equality, the pace will be further accelerated, first in batches of four and then in two, until one wins and the other does not, in a kind of penalties transferred to the board. Not everyone likes this solution, which brings chess (not so much) closer to gambling.
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"LOS SABIOS DE TWITTER"
For the fans, the luck is that they will not be deprived of a new day of emotions, although the experts, Carlsen included, have been hard on the mistakes made. Spanish grandmaster Miguel Illescas calls them "the wise men of Twitter." People who raise their hands to their heads at the slightest inaccuracy just because their computer blows the bug instantly. True wisdom is to sit back and enjoy the spectacle that two great masters have given us, unable to contain their emotions in the face of the greatest occasion of their lives.
We have experienced a spectacular championship, with three victories per side and some other unfulfilled opportunities. Ding also went for the jugular as soon as he saw an opportunity, not only when he was behind on the scoreboard. As Levon Aronian says, "you have to be a man of steel" to come back so many times, especially after a particularly painful defeat.
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But in chess there are no absolute truths either. Another former champion, Tigran Petrosian, once explained the disadvantages of attacking at all costs: "I could play more beautiful games... and I could also lose," he said. Today we saw a good sample.
The Russian candidate, for his part, bears on his shoulders the "obligation" to recover the title and has been harmed by friendly fire. Andrey Filatov, president of his federation, stated that Nepo, "on his bad days, is a monkey with a grenade." Caruana, not much more benevolent, believes that someone would have used someone to explain that he is playing a world championship.
But today the grenade flew from hand to hand and the closest to being blown up was Ding Liren. He believed that he could abort his plan of attack and draw without suffering, but he slowly fell apart, with increasingly artificial plays. At one point, only the machines gave him options to endure. That's where Nepo returned the favors, just as nervous as his rival. He does not consider his attitude to have been the most serious.
CARLSEN'S ATTACKS
At this point it is interesting to know what the still current champion says. Between poker games, live broadcasts and festive chess, Carlsen has been somewhat jealous of the applause received by two colleagues he considers inferior, as rightly so as immodestly. "The World Cup is an exciting duel between two very strong chess players, who are not necessarily the two best in the world," he declared.
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Magnus applauds the originality and the risk that has been seen in Kazakhstan, but justifies that his World Cups were more boring because of the fear it instilled: "Against me, they chose the most solid lines, which is probably the best strategy", says smugly. He also insists that classical chess is a thing of the past, despite the 'revival' of happiness experienced in Astana.
Nor does he really want to return and assures that, for now, the title will remain "in the hands of others." Even tougher is the Russian Daniil Dubov: "It's wonderful for the spectators and as an official commentator I can't say that I don't like this World Cup, but for the professionals it's a bit absurd."
The debate will remain pending, because now it is only possible to focus on the resolution of the World Cup. Another former champion, the Russian Vladimir Kramnik, assures that at this point the least important thing is who plays better: "The objective strength in rapid chess is not that important. In this format, with only four games, it depends more on how well you you slept, how lucky you are...". We are in time for someone to rescue the topic of the penalty lottery.
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