chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Sergey Karjakin vs Ding Liren
World Championship Candidates (2018), Berlin GER, rd 14, Mar-27
Spanish Game: Closed. Martinez Variation (C78)  ·  1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 25 more Karjakin/Ding Liren games
PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: Some games have annotation. These are denoted in the game list with the icon.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-27-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Rather an odd duck of a game. Black has two extra pawns and a 5 v. 3 majority on the Queen side, but he can do nothing with it.
Mar-27-18  NBZ: Fascinating: after 17. b3 White looks comfortably better, but then Black plays 17. ... e5! and 18. ... b4! and later 21. ... g5!, seemingly making his bishop bad, but killing all of White's pawn breaks in the process. White had to fight hard for a draw. Of course the classical principles (bad bishop etc.) still hold which is why White can hold despite the two pawn deficit.
Mar-27-18  NBZ: I do wonder if 41. .. c4 was possible, counting on 42. bxc4+ Kc6 with a very dangerous passed a-pawn. But I guess White doesn't have to take on c4 and can just leave the pawn there.
Mar-27-18  ChessHigherCat: I was wondering whether 38. Nxf2 was possible, but SF the Omniscient says "No, foolish Carbon Life Form":

1) -1.19 (29 ply) 38...d5 39.exd5+ Kxd5 40.Ke2 Be7 41.Ne4 Kc6 42.Kd2 Kb5 etc.

Mar-27-18  Toribio3: Ding, I want you to be a World Champion in the future. Explore on other openings like Alekhine Defence and Dutch Opening; so that your opponents will be ill-prepared.
Mar-27-18  Petrosianic: On Chess24, the kibitzers believe that a blunder is any non-engine move. A move that changes the eval from 1.20 to 1.13 is a blunder.

But Karjakin's 27. Nd5 really is a blunder. He overlooks a simple two-mover that wins a pawn outright (and the a pawn soon follows). It's a tribute to just how BAD Ding's Bishop is that despite this, Black never has any real winning chances.

The problem is that Ding's Bishop serves a purely defensive role. That means that when Black attacks, he's basically a piece down (for two pawns). Only when he defends, is he up those two pawns. But he can't win a piece down, nor can he change his Pawn structure enough to make his Bishop better.

Mar-28-18  NBZ: Interesting <Petrosianic>! I am guessing he missed that after 27. Nd5 h3+, 28. Kxh3 isn't possible due to 28. ... g4+! Definitely a blunder at the super-GM level, but it takes a bit of effort (at least for patzer me) to see why.

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC