After boosting his morale on Wednesday with a convincing draw, Ding Liren confirmed on Thursday that he had finally entered his World Championship. With the whites, the Chinese player totally dominated the fourth game, perfectly exploiting an error by his opponent. This victory brought him back to 2-2 with Ian Nepomniachtchi.
” Of course, I’m very happy to have won this game. I’m very happy with the quality of my game. It was a very tough game, but I managed to stay in control. “commented the world number 3 on the heat of the moment. As for Nepo, he explained that he had lost his concentration after misjudging the situation during the game.
The psychological confrontation will now be decisive for what happens next. How will Nepo cope with this crushing defeat? As Maxime Vachier-Lagrave explained to L’Équipethe Russian’s main weakness lies in his difficulty in dealing with setbacks, to the point where the fine mechanics can break down. We saw him unable to bounce back and then collapse after his first defeat at the 2021 World Championship against Magnus Carlsen. The situation and the opponent are different, but ” if he sees the ghosts of Dubai resurfacing, it could be complicated for him”. “MVL imagined before the start of the match.
The Russian will benefit from a day’s rest on Friday to regain his composure and not let his emotions get the better of him. ” I’m going to have a chat with my team tonight. It’s a long game and we’re only at the beginning. I wouldn’t compare this match with Dubai. It’s a different story. “he wants to believe.
