The Chinese Ding Liren equalized in the sixth game at the World Chess Championship. The 30-year-old won the duel with the two-year-old Russian Jan Nepomnjaschtschi on Sunday in Astana in 44 moves. The score between the two grandmasters is 3:3. Game seven is scheduled for Tuesday in the Kazakh capital, with no games on Monday.
“I felt in good shape throughout the game. The defeat yesterday didn’t affect me,” said Ding after the win. Nepomnjaschtschi, who took a 3-2 lead on Saturday, spoke of one of his “worst games” ever: “Almost every move was bad.”
At the World Cup, 14 games will be played with long periods of time. A win is worth one point, and a draw gives each player half a point. Whoever reaches 7.5 points first wins. Nepomnyashchi had won the 2022 Candidates Tournament, Ding had finished second. Because permanent world champion Magnus Carlsen did not compete due to a lack of motivation, the two are playing for the world title. In the event of a tie, the tiebreak will be decided on April 30th.