A draw in the ninth round of the 2023 FIDE World Championship was welcomed by both challengers on Friday, who both had incentives to take half a point away from the round. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi moved to within two and a half points of the world championship crown after adequately dealing with GM Ding Liren‘s Ruy Lopez Opening: Berlin Defense.
After several tumultuous days, Ding was happy to hold with black in a long-winded knight and pawn endgame down a pawn, squashing any concerns about his emotional state and keeping himself within striking distance of Nepomniachtchi with the scores poised at 4-5.
The world championships will continue on Sunday, April 23, at 15:00 Astana time (2 a.m. PT/11:00 CEST) after a rest day.
This is a flash report. The full report including game annotations, videos, and photos will be added shortly.
How to watch the 2023 FIDE World Championship
GM Rafael Leitao‘s analysis of the game will be added shortly.
You can watch video recaps of the FIDE World Championship in our playlist below (click here).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries
Match Score
| Fed | Name | Rtg | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Score |
| Ding Liren | 2788 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | 4 | |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2795 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | 5 |
The 2023 FIDE World Championship is the most important over-the-board classical event of the year and decides who will be the next world champion. Nepomniachtchi and Ding play a match to decide who takes over Carlsen’s throne after the current world champion abdicated his title. The match has a €2 million prize fund and is played over 14 classical games; the first player to gain 7.5 points wins.
Previous Coverage
https://www.chess.com/news/view/fide-world-chess-championship-2023-game-9