2023 World Chess Championship: Game 10
2023 World Chess ChampionshipAstana, Kazakhstan (April 7th-May 1st) 
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2023 World Chess Championship: Game 10
Sunday, 23 April 2023
With Ding playing white in Game 10, this match has officially entered the final phase and seems to be settling down after there were five decisive results in the first seven games. The game entered a Four Knights English and followed a game that Nepomniachtchi had played in 2020. It’s often very uncomfortable to play against a line that you also play. Did Ding have an improvement?
In this critical position, Nepo responded with 14…h4 with the intention of playing with his king in the center of the board.
After 15.Qd3 g5 16.exd6 cxd6 17.Bd6 Qxd6 18.Qxd6 Bxd6 19.Rxd6 the games started to fizzle out. White is a pawn up, but his battered pawn structure did not provide a tangible advantage. Even after 19…Be6 20.f4 the open f-file would not provide any chances for white. Nepo remained alert and found the right moment to trade off the bishops assuring a drawn rook ending.
34…Bb3! forces the bishops off the board. After 35.Bxb3 35…Rxc3+ 36.Kh4 Rxb3 37.Rb5 Ra3 38.Rxb6 Rxa4 39.Kxh3 the position is dead equal and now Ding had to go back to the drawing board with his white game.
In other news, popular streamer James Canty III is a long way from Detroit, Michigan, but he is part of the commentary team. It has certainly been a whirlwind since 2020 when Canty broke into the upper echelons of streaming personalities. “That is not a move” is one of his favorite sayings. While he won’t get a chance to use this as much at this level he brings a colorful perspective to the games.
FM James Canty III in Astana, Kazakhstan
Photo by David Llada
Analysis by IM Robert Ris (ChessBase)
Game 10 – Full Broadcast
Video by FIDE
Press Conference – Game 10
Videos by FIDE Chess
PowerPlay Chess
Video by GM Daniel King