Nepo was actually playing for the win when he could've drawn and came back next game. Nepo stepped out onto a cliff... and fell. Owell, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
@@jowbloe4700 I don't think Nepo played for the win. He did refuse to go for a draw but that was because time was on his side so he carried on with less risky moves. Ding on the other hand was losing on time and to let your rook be pinned like that with less than minute to go was just heroic.
@@Caleb-zl4wk blocking with the rook was not a winning line. you have super gms commentating the game live with engines on saying taking a perpetual check by moving the king was the safe play. You even have Magnus tweeting about the move.
- He played 30 classical games in a month in order to qualify for the candidates, because Karjakin was not allowed to play. - Finished 2nd in the candidates and only qualified for the world championship because Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title. - Was down one point from the beginning of the match, managed to equalize a couple of times, almost lost in game 12 but then made a huge comeback and won that game equalizing the match again. - Went to the tie breaks and won his first game against Nepo with the black pieces in the last game of the rapid section. - And finally became the first Chinese World Chess Champion ❤️🎉💯 Congratulations Ding Liren, he fought a lot for this. 👏🏻👏🏻🎉💯 I wanted Nepo to win but Ding definitely deserves it. 👏🏻👏🏻
That last minute was great when you saw they weren't gonna draw. Nepo was stretching his pieces too thin. I thought he was gonna get a Tal checkmate or lose badly. Also, the time was getting really tight.
@@zameer9164 Same here. He's always so far ahead in his calculations than us mere mortals 😂. Every time we think he's in time-trouble, that's only because he made sure to double-check the next 10.000 possible moves.
I think that game 14 in the classical is also immortal. After Nepo played yesterday that pawn to e6 inaccuracy, Ding became a whole new player, the best Ding. He litterally played the best 40 moves in a row while in time trouble to save the game. He even found the only 2 engine moves that kep him alive. Nepo was in the same difficult end game today but could not find the right move and he collapsed. Ding is a better defensive player, and most important, the better end game player.
It's a matchup where either player is winning is fine for me. But witnessing Nepo stare at nothingness, with his hands shaking, and fumbling those pieces is so heartbreaking to watch. Props to both players for giving their all and providing many great games for everyone to see. Bounce back Nepo and Congratulations to Ding!
It's the same for me too, just bar one thing. The kind of composure and poise that Ding reflects is something I aspire to have and my World Champion should have. And honestly, Ian throwing pieces and storming away from the board without congratulating Ding isn't really good sportsmanship at that level.
@@JJ8HN Wth are you talking about? Not just you, but even the dude with the non-English name. If you have watched the game, you can see Nepo's hands shaking (not hand shake) and he breaks down, trying to rest his hand on the table but knocks down the chess pieces on the side of the board. That was what he was referring to. Edit: He was sympathising with Nepo.
@@devadathans5506 They were simply and clearly responding to the first comment that said Ian didn't congratulate Ding and was disrespectful. They were saying he shook Ding's hand twice and WAS respectful...
@@gurjassinghbatra5758 seriously dude! Imagine putting everything into a match and then lose it while being so close to winning it. Despite that Nepo did shake hands with ding. Stop looking for negatives everywhere.
the end of this game was incredible, the way Nepo was visibly shaking, knocking the captured pieces over, Ding looking absolutely drained just sitting there with his head in his hand, man
As a viewer in China, I’m shocked Ding played so well after being lockdown for 3 years during Covid. Life has been hard for most of us in China, but this is just awesome to be part of witnessing history. Thank you for this lovely channel!!
What a championship. Heartbreaking for Nepo and glorious for Ding. The emotion coming from Ding after the game says it all. What a rollercoaster. Thank you gentlemen
This was ians championship all the way. He choked. Just like against magnus but in an even more painful way this time. He had the lead 3 times and still couldnt finish it. Nepo isnt coming back from this.
Ding's Rg6 10:41 avoiding the draw will forever be one of historical move in chess history PERIOD. I never seen such an underdog story in chess such as this world championship, never forget Ian is the favorites throughout the tournament. The caisa finally pays Ding for his couragement to play till the end. Very poetic.
I never understood why Ian was the favorite... Ding is a more solid player, higher rated (I think Ian never was a 2800 elo player)... Well, I bet some bucks on ding as for me he's a better player and I'm glad I did
@@mathiasfreytag6835 People write off Ding because due to China's strict covid measures, he basically hasn't played classical chess with the world's top 50 players for 2 years. The 30 games he had to play to meet the minimum fide requirements were all against China's own maybe 2300-2600 players. Everyone agreed that he was out of form, but he really worked hard and deserves this.
Some moments you are just glad to be alive to witness history. This game really came down to courage. Turning down the draw in those positions, even if it sort of looks okay for you, was just like a movie ending. The eval bar swinging back and forth, time counting down from just a few seconds, my goodness!
The butterfly effect summed up perfectly: Russia Ukraine war -> Karjakin making comments and getting disqualified -> Ding replacing him last moment -> Ding with a clutch win in the last round coming 2nd in candidates -> Magnus refusing to defend the title, letting Ding play the match he wasn't originally supposed to -> Ding putting in resilience and coming back and forth each time he was down, and takes the title at the end A story for the ages! King Ding! ❤
After the first game I started sort of rooting for Ding. Not because of how he played, but because of what his reply to one of the questions during press conference was. When asked about who he would be if he wasn't a chess player, Ding simply froze. There was nothing on his face, and he couldn't reply. He simply said "I don't know.." He apparently never thought about anything else but chess. Imagine if he lost this.
@@blackhatch46hey don't execute people for losing anymore over there. Losers do get a lot of hate though, with some legitimately never recovering (e.g. Chen Long, Wang Hao). Not sure if Ding would have been able to recover had he lost
@@nathanhosea489 I think there was a post-game interview with Ding, who stated that he would have never returned to chess had he lost this championship. I think the horrors with failure in China is quite real but for Ding to overcome this huge hurdle, with even China knowing he had such long odds to win, to win against such long odds, is the stuff of legends. I don't think China will be withdrawing support for this king anytime soon. China now has a champion, and his victory here has given him legendary status.
Ding was better from the beginning , he was just not confident enough as he was overthinking in winning postions . His brilliancy was shown today . He played perfect chess without hesitation
Replaces Karjakin in the candidates , loses the first match to Nepo in the candidates but comes second defeating Hikaru in the final game . Qualifies and wins today . Worthy world champion .
All the commentators declared a sure draw. They cut away from the game to speak blitz. Then Ding showed utmost courage and blocked with the rook to continue the game. Proud to have Ding as the champion.
I actually closed the stream because I thought the game was drawn and when i came back I was confused that the game was still going and thought they started the blitz round since they had 1 min each
@@g.3521 No, fool, go watch the replay or an analysis of the game, Nip could have perpetually checked Ding’s king, he chose to play for a win like an idiot and lost.
Agadmator has been my world champion channel for the last month with steadfastly fluent coverage of the tactics and positions. Another splendid accomplishment 🏆
The engine would say Rg6 was just a good move but given the context, in my eyes it was brilliant. Ding was lower on time, everyone was saying it would be drawn, but from here onwards he just exploded with confidence and decided he was going to end this right here right now. Congrats Ding 2023 WC 🎉🎉🎉
Well, it's better to play this endgame in blitz mode then faxe Ian's prepared line in the opening in blitz. But yeah, I was as shocked as anyone when the repetition did jot happen.
@@bradmodd7856 No its brilliant because he had 1 minute on his clock / less time than nepo and could have chosen the easier path of repetition but instead tried for the win, battling all his confidence demons throughout the match. Not a hard move to find, but a hard one to play given the context.
I saw this live and my appreciation for Ding grew a lot even before winning. He has played a brilliant game, being lower on time until the last moves when Nepo was already in trouble. He totally deserved this, he held his nerves together better
One of the best World Chess Championship series of modern times. Thriller of a series. Ding's one and only win with the black pieces where he self-pins himself to produce his Immortal game and becomes the World Chess Champion. This series will be remembered for a very long time. Cheers to both competitors. What an event! And congratulations to Ding Liren, he had to fight with every bit of his being to reach the pinnacle of chess. Victory favors the brave! Well deserved!
The audio quality and Ding's accent made it a bit tough for me to hear, but Ding was asked if winning the World Championship was a unique and special moment (he said life was worth living for those moments in an old interview with a Chinese magazine in 2019). Ding answered something along these lines: "You know... When I started to learn chess from 4 years old, and I spent 26 years playing, analysing, trying to improve my chess ability with many different ways... Many different training methods with, I think, many new ways to train - maybe not so well known amongst the elite players. So, I think I beat nearly everything. Yes, sometimes I thought I would education-teach because sometimes there are results and tournaments where I'm not so happy; sometimes I struggle to find other hobbies to make me happy. So, also I was inspired by many things to achieve: to climb mountains or to strive to be the best- or to learn from the best. I think this was-... The match reflects the deepest of my soul."
I have been a Ding supporter since his game with fabi in the previous candidates game...Agadmator covered that game at length with around 40 minutes and i knew that this man is goin places...what a journey for ding clutching the candidates by beating hikaru in last game of tournament and becoming the 17 th world champion.
I'm moved I swear. What an ending. Incredible series of game, Ding started the first games shaking and finished by attacking and winning fearlessly the world title
Unbelievable. I made sure to video the final 15 minutes to share on my WeChat, more in anticipation of a draw with a ‘It’s still not over!’ type message before blitz. I never expected Ding to reject the safe draw opportunity and bravely go for the win, nor that Ian would fail to defend it as his clock ticked down. An absolutely sensational end to a brilliant world championship. It’s been a privilege to have watched every minute of it live. I feel for Nepo after losing two WCCs, and that moment when he knew the game was up and he knocked his pieces off the table was hard to watch, but I’m so delighted for Ding. I’ve been sharing the articles of every game since game 1, trying to generate some buzz among my friends here in Shanghai. I know at least one of them started following as he messaged me the moment Ding won, so that’s one new chess fan Ding has created. I hope he can do for chess in China what Anand did for India now.
The first Chinese world champion... Meanwhile I think chess is still pretty uncommon in China, I've never seen anyone play it lol meanwhile I'm watching this using VPN, from Hangzhou 🤣 I wasn't really rooting for anyone, because from the start, it should've been Nepo who became the WC since Magnus refused to defend the title, and Ian leading the whole 2022 Candidate tournament, at that time I was rooting for the wild card, Radjabov to perhaps take second place, and have never seen Ding played... But yeah, this year's WCC is a weird and unique one!! So many decisive games, both players didn't play the most accurate moves and losing or drawing because of blunders :/ Ding's hometown, Wenzhou, is very close to the city I'm living in, I'm wondering if I can see people who are into chess celebrating his victory soon lol
Congrats my bro as China has their 1st World chess champion these games have been awesome at the end of the day Chess is the ultimate winner love from New Zealand
Wenzhou is like 300 km from Hangzhou, haha, but that’s not important. I think Ding might even live in Hangzhou as he said he was there with Rapport before the match, but maybe that was just as tourists. Not sure.
@@8964TS ohh wow!! But it's expected since Hangzhou is the bigger city and capital of Zhejiang, pretty much the next city after Shanghai lol, idk how far the distance is, but they're both in the same province anyway lol travelling within a province isn't a big deal lol, I've been to Shanghai a couple times as well, big city, but nothing much IMO xD (I hate big cities u,u) It's nice to know they had a friendship trip to Hangzhou or wherever together in China hahaha
I'm happy for Ding, he crumbled before our eyes and was so candid when discussing his feelings through the finals, proving that being honest about your bad moments does not make you weak but someone brave enough to admit and face your fear. What a story, what a Champion! All the best to Nepo, he too would be a worthy winner and I hope he'll bounce back stronger from this match. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn...
Watched the stream with Tania, Fabi and Hess, they went crazy after Rb6!! They even mentioned, that if one just skips over the game in analysis, the eval bar is 0.0 before and 0.0 after and we might miss the importance of this move, but it is actually THE move, that tells that Ding is ready to go for more than a draw even thoug he has maybe half the time than Ian. What a banger!
Watching live was amazing. I felt like Ding lulled Ian to stop thinking by the repetition and Ian allowed his clock to get low expecting the draw. Ding gave Ian just enough rope to where one slight inaccuracy would lose him the game. And that is what happened. An equal position with a few mistakes cost the championship.
6:37 I want to point out that Ding probably intentionally played Nd3 to trade it with the bishop. While the bishop was dead for most of the game, it was really coming alive and putting pressure on the f5 pawn. The commentators also recommended that the knight be traded off with the light squared bishop since it was becoming a menace.
This game was poetic: Not only did Ding win. He did it with black - something he had yet to do in this World Champsionship. Plus, he did something similar to Nepo, when he won as black: Ding shoved queenside pawns to victory, just as Nepo did.
Press conference is still going on. Agad -- Hello everyone Congratulations to ding . Feeling bad for Nepo. Looks like he's gonna burst to tears after leaving press conference
Absolutely happy for Ding! With all he had to go through to even get to the Candidates in the first place - this has got to be one of the most satisfying champions of anyone or any sport. Constantly in time trouble throughout the match, he still totally looked unphased! Going into the match, I felt he was the better player and rooted for him - but feared for his lacked of experience at this level. I hope he goes on to defend it next time!
This was an absolutely monstrous day of chess. Both guys were playing absolutely immense stuff, finding the only moves to defend and generally playing the highest level of chess you can imagine. A worthy way to end the world championship. I think Nepo was shocked by Ding continuing and it caused him to lose some focus, because Ding took over after that moment. At the end, watching Nepo's hand shake as he realised he was lost and the WC was gone was heartbreaking. As was watching Ding lose himself as he realised he had won. Both guys played fearless chess today. Absolutely a worthwhile battle for the title. Thank you for the coverage, it has been great, especially for the classical games where I have not the time to watch them in full.
That ending was just amazing, I won't pretend I kept up with all the moves (it was happening so fast!), but I felt something very special was about to happen when Ding refused to repeat the position. They both had like a minute left and it was like Ding said "We're not going to blitz tomorrow, we're gonna play blitz right here and now!" o.O What a legendary way of winning the title! Hugely disappointing and heartbreaking for Nepo obviously, but hey, that's chess for you.
It was heartbreaking seeing Nepo shake after realizing he was going to lose the World Championship a second time. Perhaps he was just tired, but Ding deserved every bit of the respect and the accolades after holding on and deciding to push at the most opportune times. Congrats to Ding!
In blitz he pushes the pieces over after a loss, he looked to do the same thing and held it back. Not a good loser but managed to hold it together just
This is not out of context with what we've come to know of Nepo after seeing him play in two consecutive World Championships. Normally, he is an extremely strong player - as demonstrated by his lengthy list of accomplishments since losing the last WC against Magnus. He also plays very strong moves in quick time and has a tendency to put his opponent under immense pressure. But the flip side is that Nepo is also prone to making mistakes, and prone to cracking under pressure.
I won the u120 section (lowest rated section, I believe) of the British Chess Championships in 2015 (when David Howell won the GM section) and I remember how amazing I felt, I can only imagine how Ding feels today! I've been rooting for him the whole time, he deserves this. Well done, Ding and thanks Agad' for the summary, as always.
@Qasim Zulfikar It was called under 120 at the time, I was rated 119 so I guess this would translate somewhere around 1600 ish. I've just joined a chess club in Birmingham (UK) after 8 years and apparently there is such a thing as 'rating rust' lol so I'm rated 1503 and just won 2 league games but I play around 1700-1800 at the minute. Not a strong player at all but I'm progressing
I think Ding got tired of Nepo not taking the Draw. Nepo got a little loose and Ding got even crazier with the Rook pin 🤣. Nepo was stretched too thin and Ding's A Pawn was marching.
I hope he will popularize chess in China in the same way Anand did in India and there will be a new wave of young prodigys ready to rival the current generation of super grandmasters. Massive congratulations to Ding.
i think it would be more appropriate to put their rapid ELO rating, instead of their classical ELO rating, as these were rapid games; Ding has almost 100 rating points higher than Nepo in rapid!
Nepo's grave error is that he played for draw to get to the blitz tiebreaks but he was shocked by Ding's unexpected decision to play for win. When Nepo realized that he countered with his attack but it too little too late.
Nepo had at least 2 chances to force a draw, but he pushed for a win despite facing the two queenside passed pawns. When he was finally content with a draw by repetition, Ding refuted it and played for a win. What a game.
On the one hand, it shows how amazingly strong of a player he is, getting to the finals of all of those events -- no small feat. On the other hand, it does indicate that in the most high-pressure situations his game can falter. He's kind of like the Buffalo Bills (for fans of American football) of chess.
Well played Ding. Incredible fortitude to keep hanging in there. This was a strange one to finish on. Nepo as white was under pressure straight out of the opening, as White, in a Ruy Lopez. Almost like he just ran out of the steam in the end.
Absolutely amazing match. Ding played such amazing chess to come back twice during the capital section. I like both players but Ding is a very worthy champion
And a BIG win for Ding. That Rg6 pin really freaked me out but he correctly assessed that there was no threat which caused Nepo to burn time. Well done Ding. Thankfully it did not get to blitz where Nepo is far stronger.
Congratulations to Ding. Ding is from 溫州 Wen Zhou, Zhejiang 浙江 Province in SE China, famous for Wei Qi aka Go masters such as 范西屏 Fan Xiping, 施襄夏 Shi Xiangxia, 陳子仙 Chen Zi Xian, 吳清源 Wu Qingyuan aka Go Seigen, and 柯杰 Ke Jie. Wen Zhou is also the hometown of 謝俠遜 Xie Xia-xun, the famous Xiang Qi champion from 1910s to 1950s who were Shanghai Chess Champions from 1929-1931, won the 1935 Guangzhou 5 Countries Tournament (China, US, UK, Germany and Austria) and won against British Army Champion in Singapore in 1934. Xie lived a long life as well, 100 years and was known as 棋壇總士令 Commander-in-Chief of Xiang Qi and 百歲棋王 100 years old King of Xiang Qi.
The funny thing is, I think if Ian considered himself weaker than Ding, he probably looks for something like that. It's definitely a tough move but if that was magnus in the other seat, I guarantee Ian looks for a way to draw that game instead of win it, and may actually find that move.
Nepo has been leading both in match point and in the game. How many times he had the upper hand but Liren always manage to clutch it out..... Congrats for Liren. Nepo will have another chance. Great WCC!!!
And, yet, once again, nepo is The Buffoon that LOSES the World Chess Championship ! Nepo The Buffoon ! The World Chess Championship Back ToBack Loser !
@@cmc2110 Nepo was leadingg most of the time. Ding did not win with Black pieces in classical. Ding was the better rapid player but honestly I still feel Nepo is better in classical.
@@saviobenitez4710 I am not disputing that. Every time Nepo won Ding made unforced errors, whereas Ding won by playing Nepo with amazing tactics. Nepo is great but I still believe 3 players are just better than him. Ding, Magnus and Fabi
Great video as always Agad. Heartbroken for Nepo but rejoicing for Ding, who had to go through so much for this victory. I'll definitely be sharing this game with my friends at the library.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the insane amount of things that had to happen for Ding, a player who wasn’t even qualified for the candidates (due to his bad luck not being able to play OTB qualifier tournaments), to manage to WIN the world chess championship???? Russia invaded Ukraine, Karjakin lost his spot for political reasons, and then Ding got the spot due to his rating and playing a bunch of games to get enough. Then, even in the candidates, Ding was doing poorly in the first half of the tournament, only to improve towards the end and just barely secure second place by half a point by winning the drawish final game against Nakamura. Then, Magnus announces that he’s not playing, and Ding is up to play the WCC. Then, Ding loses game 7 due to freezing in time trouble, and fails to win game 8 due to Nepo’s bluff… and right when it seems like Nepo is about to convert his winning position in Game 12 and effectively win the match, he makes a series of blunders that allow Ding to win that game and equalize instead. Then, in rapid tiebreaks, it was three draws, and Nepo had the white pieces in the 4th and final rapid game, and was about to make a threefold repetition, only for Ding to refuse the repetition, play for a win instead of going to Blitz tiebreaks, and then manages to WIN the final rapid tiebreak with the black pieces to become World Chess Champion, becoming the first Chinese player to win (or even to challenge for) that title. That is such an INSANE series of events that this feels like a movie where Ding is the underdog protagonist lmao
Once I seen game 12. I knew he had a chance to win the match. Had to work today and yesterday so I didn’t watch the games live, but after that last classical game where nepo didn’t get a win while ding pulled of this amazing six hour long draw it must have been nerve racking . It kinda reminded me of what Antonio always mentions when talking about the lines and how every position is a draw with perfect play. Ding showed that he could draw the game even when he had a losing position. He chose the path with the best possible outcome. I like how he kept making little minor changes and played some sub optimal moves just to get nepo out of his preparation. It was a great world chess championship match. I appreciate the fact that Magnus gave up his title so we could see some good competitive games. I really thought nepo had it up until the second ding comeback. They made every game very entertaining. Thanks for the videos and the hard work you put into releasing them all in a timely manner it must’ve taken a lot of hard work.
Thanks for everything you are doing Agad! I recently started being interested in chess and this WCC is the first that I follow match after match thanks to your videos. You have a true talent in making chess fun, accessible and enjoyable. Thanks for all the great content you provide and for your enthusiasm. You are making a big difference in the chess community :)
Simply watching the clickbait on this video brought me to tears. Thank you for everything Mozart of chess: Magnus Carlsen. Already waiting for some epic comeback as world champion….
Congrats Ding Liren on becoming World Chess Champion!!! Woke up from a nap just in time for Rg6! What a courageous move by Ding!! :) Best wishes also to Ian Nepomniachtchi for giving us one of the best world chess championships in history!!
Couldn't ask for a better ending. The courage of Ding to play for a win rather than draw was incredible.
Nepo was actually playing for the win when he could've drawn and came back next game. Nepo stepped out onto a cliff... and fell. Owell, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
@@jowbloe4700 I don't think Nepo played for the win. He did refuse to go for a draw but that was because time was on his side so he carried on with less risky moves.
Ding on the other hand was losing on time and to let your rook be pinned like that with less than minute to go was just heroic.
@elora danon thank you. Idk people are way too prone to making up narratives about courage and western heroic ideals in the most unrelated of events.
@@Caleb-zl4wk blocking with the rook was not a winning line. you have super gms commentating the game live with engines on saying taking a perpetual check by moving the king was the safe play. You even have Magnus tweeting about the move.
@@RobPires definitely. Nepo was surely thinking of flagging Ding and it ricocheted
Seeing nepo shaking and dropping the pieces was just heartbreaking
i feel you, i was a ding supporter through and through but watching nepo lose like that just made my heart sank.
I felt that. I feel for him
I literally cried 😢
Nepo: "I resi-"
Agadmator: "Hello everyone!"
Yeah that was really painful to watch
- He played 30 classical games in a month in order to qualify for the candidates, because Karjakin was not allowed to play.
- Finished 2nd in the candidates and only qualified for the world championship because Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title.
- Was down one point from the beginning of the match, managed to equalize a couple of times, almost lost in game 12 but then made a huge comeback and won that game equalizing the match again.
- Went to the tie breaks and won his first game against Nepo with the black pieces in the last game of the rapid section.
- And finally became the first Chinese World Chess Champion ❤️🎉💯
Congratulations Ding Liren, he fought a lot for this. 👏🏻👏🏻🎉💯
I wanted Nepo to win but Ding definitely deserves it. 👏🏻👏🏻
You forgot to mention that his prep got leaked as well
Thank for the fair minded summary.
They could make a movie out of this
Ding had a whole anime protagonist backstory no wonder he won
What an awesome guy too
Watching this live was the most exciting chess game I have ever seen. When he refused the repetition and set up the pin I was freaking out. Lol
That last minute was great when you saw they weren't gonna draw. Nepo was stretching his pieces too thin. I thought he was gonna get a Tal checkmate or lose badly. Also, the time was getting really tight.
When he refused to repeat moves, Ding earned my respect beyond words can describe. That last game was amazing
@@zameer9164 Same here. He's always so far ahead in his calculations than us mere mortals 😂.
Every time we think he's in time-trouble, that's only because he made sure to double-check the next 10.000 possible moves.
yea like he unleashed the beast lol
I think that game 14 in the classical is also immortal. After Nepo played yesterday that pawn to e6 inaccuracy, Ding became a whole new player, the best Ding. He litterally played the best 40 moves in a row while in time trouble to save the game. He even found the only 2 engine moves that kep him alive. Nepo was in the same difficult end game today but could not find the right move and he collapsed. Ding is a better defensive player, and most important, the better end game player.
It's a matchup where either player is winning is fine for me. But witnessing Nepo stare at nothingness, with his hands shaking, and fumbling those pieces is so heartbreaking to watch. Props to both players for giving their all and providing many great games for everyone to see.
Bounce back Nepo and Congratulations to Ding!
It's the same for me too, just bar one thing. The kind of composure and poise that Ding reflects is something I aspire to have and my World Champion should have. And honestly, Ian throwing pieces and storming away from the board without congratulating Ding isn't really good sportsmanship at that level.
@@JJ8HN so strange that shaking hands twice isn't enough for some people
@@JJ8HN Wth are you talking about? Not just you, but even the dude with the non-English name.
If you have watched the game, you can see Nepo's hands shaking (not hand shake) and he breaks down, trying to rest his hand on the table but knocks down the chess pieces on the side of the board. That was what he was referring to.
Edit: He was sympathising with Nepo.
@@devadathans5506 They were simply and clearly responding to the first comment that said Ian didn't congratulate Ding and was disrespectful. They were saying he shook Ding's hand twice and WAS respectful...
@@gurjassinghbatra5758 seriously dude! Imagine putting everything into a match and then lose it while being so close to winning it. Despite that Nepo did shake hands with ding. Stop looking for negatives everywhere.
the end of this game was incredible, the way Nepo was visibly shaking, knocking the captured pieces over, Ding looking absolutely drained just sitting there with his head in his hand, man
As a viewer in China, I’m shocked Ding played so well after being lockdown for 3 years during Covid. Life has been hard for most of us in China, but this is just awesome to be part of witnessing history. Thank you for this lovely channel!!
Huh? You were the ones that created the virus. How was it hard for you?
Bro what you mean life is hard for you, covid came from your country
@@denzelclauded.pagaduan9560 it means as a normal guy, we suffer from things that we can’t control.
@@denzelclauded.pagaduan9560 They probably suffered the most as the virus came from their country and spread too quickly for anyone to react in time
@menglongzzz Glad you pulled through. Stay strong friend! :)
What a championship. Heartbreaking for Nepo and glorious for Ding. The emotion coming from Ding after the game says it all. What a rollercoaster. Thank you gentlemen
This was ians championship all the way. He choked. Just like against magnus but in an even more painful way this time. He had the lead 3 times and still couldnt finish it. Nepo isnt coming back from this.
Don't you think Ding played better in the classical games and "deserved" the title?
@@erdibulku6848 but in game 6 against magnus, when it reaached endgame, we all know it will be all magnus. Not much of a choke.
Ding's Rg6 10:41 avoiding the draw will forever be one of historical move in chess history PERIOD. I never seen such an underdog story in chess such as this world championship, never forget Ian is the favorites throughout the tournament. The caisa finally pays Ding for his couragement to play till the end. Very poetic.
I never understood why Ian was the favorite... Ding is a more solid player, higher rated (I think Ian never was a 2800 elo player)... Well, I bet some bucks on ding as for me he's a better player and I'm glad I did
@@mathiasfreytag6835 People write off Ding because due to China's strict covid measures, he basically hasn't played classical chess with the world's top 50 players for 2 years. The 30 games he had to play to meet the minimum fide requirements were all against China's own maybe 2300-2600 players. Everyone agreed that he was out of form, but he really worked hard and deserves this.
Some moments you are just glad to be alive to witness history.
This game really came down to courage. Turning down the draw in those positions, even if it sort of looks okay for you, was just like a movie ending. The eval bar swinging back and forth, time counting down from just a few seconds, my goodness!
Nepo should've drawn and came back next game. He made a ballsy move by pushing it and lost dearly. But... you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Yes, courage, exactly
It was mostly due to too much courage on Nepo's part, rather than Ding's courage.
@@denisl2760 literally it was Ding that declined the draw and pushed for the win being down on time!
@@smut_operator1179 yes, but before that Nepo was taking unnecessary chances to push for a win, he had many chances to play safe and draw
After Ding had a streak of over 100 games without a loss, I was behind him all the way. He has 'made my day'!
The butterfly effect summed up perfectly:
Russia Ukraine war -> Karjakin making comments and getting disqualified -> Ding replacing him last moment -> Ding with a clutch win in the last round coming 2nd in candidates -> Magnus refusing to defend the title, letting Ding play the match he wasn't originally supposed to -> Ding putting in resilience and coming back and forth each time he was down, and takes the title at the end
A story for the ages! King Ding! ❤
How come Ding replaced Karjakin? Was he not included in the candidates tournament till then?
You missed Ding winning the final game of the candidates to take 2nd
@@shahrahul6843 yes
@@shahrahul6843 nope. Ding hadn't qualified for the candidates, he was given a spot
@@AarushAgarwal he qualified by his rating
That rook g6 move was a stunner. Refusing to draw and pushing till the end. What a fight!
especially considering he had like a minute left and ian had 3 minutes, it was really risky
In a way it was forced, the only move that didn't draw, and he was positionally better, it was too soon to draw.
After the first game I started sort of rooting for Ding. Not because of how he played, but because of what his reply to one of the questions during press conference was. When asked about who he would be if he wasn't a chess player, Ding simply froze. There was nothing on his face, and he couldn't reply. He simply said "I don't know.." He apparently never thought about anything else but chess. Imagine if he lost this.
What an answer. Lol
He would be executed most likely.
@@blackhatch46hey don't execute people for losing anymore over there. Losers do get a lot of hate though, with some legitimately never recovering (e.g. Chen Long, Wang Hao). Not sure if Ding would have been able to recover had he lost
@@nathanhosea489 I think there was a post-game interview with Ding, who stated that he would have never returned to chess had he lost this championship. I think the horrors with failure in China is quite real but for Ding to overcome this huge hurdle, with even China knowing he had such long odds to win, to win against such long odds, is the stuff of legends. I don't think China will be withdrawing support for this king anytime soon. China now has a champion, and his victory here has given him legendary status.
That was an amazing game, glad to have watched it live.
I was out of breath watching when Ding went Rg6, I'm happy Ding won but I'm heartbroken for Ian.
I was standing in front of my TV and jumping out of joy for Ding when Ian resigned, though Ian’s pain was unfortunate.
Ding was better from the beginning , he was just not confident enough as he was overthinking in winning postions . His brilliancy was shown today . He played perfect chess without hesitation
Replaces Karjakin in the candidates , loses the first match to Nepo in the candidates but comes second defeating Hikaru in the final game . Qualifies and wins today . Worthy world champion .
All the commentators declared a sure draw. They cut away from the game to speak blitz. Then Ding showed utmost courage and blocked with the rook to continue the game.
Proud to have Ding as the champion.
The Roooooooooooook is always the main character in Chess. What a lad
I actually closed the stream because I thought the game was drawn and when i came back I was confused that the game was still going and thought they started the blitz round since they had 1 min each
Nepo refused the draw…. Like an idiot, it was his call…. They thought he was smarter than that….
@@chuckytronicx ding refused the draw
@@g.3521 No, fool, go watch the replay or an analysis of the game, Nip could have perpetually checked Ding’s king, he chose to play for a win like an idiot and lost.
That was heart breaking for Nepo
Wish this wasn't the top comment before I got a chance to watch
Nepo 😢💔
Not, he kept on pushing when he was in a bad position hoping Ding would blunder
Every time I click a video on this channel there's always a top comment that reveals the result that I see out of the corner of my eye
@@cmc2110 He was not in a bad position when he offered the draw. It was equal, shown by the eval bar.
Agadmator has been my world champion channel for the last month with steadfastly fluent coverage of the tactics and positions. Another splendid accomplishment 🏆
The engine would say Rg6 was just a good move but given the context, in my eyes it was brilliant. Ding was lower on time, everyone was saying it would be drawn, but from here onwards he just exploded with confidence and decided he was going to end this right here right now. Congrats Ding 2023 WC 🎉🎉🎉
Well, it's better to play this endgame in blitz mode then faxe Ian's prepared line in the opening in blitz.
But yeah, I was as shocked as anyone when the repetition did jot happen.
Brilliant or just forced? Name another move to stop repetition?
@@bradmodd7856 No its brilliant because he had 1 minute on his clock / less time than nepo and could have chosen the easier path of repetition but instead tried for the win, battling all his confidence demons throughout the match. Not a hard move to find, but a hard one to play given the context.
Yes, I was watching live and left for a few moments and when I returned the evaluation bar was nowhere close to the middle
Loved that Ding did not settle for a repetition, left it all out on the board. Incredible match!
I saw this live and my appreciation for Ding grew a lot even before winning. He has played a brilliant game, being lower on time until the last moves when Nepo was already in trouble. He totally deserved this, he held his nerves together better
One of the best World Chess Championship series of modern times. Thriller of a series. Ding's one and only win with the black pieces where he self-pins himself to produce his Immortal game and becomes the World Chess Champion. This series will be remembered for a very long time. Cheers to both competitors. What an event! And congratulations to Ding Liren, he had to fight with every bit of his being to reach the pinnacle of chess. Victory favors the brave! Well deserved!
The audio quality and Ding's accent made it a bit tough for me to hear, but Ding was asked if winning the World Championship was a unique and special moment (he said life was worth living for those moments in an old interview with a Chinese magazine in 2019). Ding answered something along these lines:
"You know... When I started to learn chess from 4 years old, and I spent 26 years playing, analysing, trying to improve my chess ability with many different ways... Many different training methods with, I think, many new ways to train - maybe not so well known amongst the elite players. So, I think I beat nearly everything. Yes, sometimes I thought I would education-teach because sometimes there are results and tournaments where I'm not so happy; sometimes I struggle to find other hobbies to make me happy. So, also I was inspired by many things to achieve: to climb mountains or to strive to be the best- or to learn from the best. I think this was-... The match reflects the deepest of my soul."
It was a remarkable interview… 👍🏽👏🙏
I have been a Ding supporter since his game with fabi in the previous candidates game...Agadmator covered that game at length with around 40 minutes and i knew that this man is goin places...what a journey for ding clutching the candidates by beating hikaru in last game of tournament and becoming the 17 th world champion.
Man, honestly same. I even took more interest of chess after watching that Ding vs Fabi game. So happy for Ding!
Hikaru did screw up that last game
I'm moved I swear. What an ending. Incredible series of game, Ding started the first games shaking and finished by attacking and winning fearlessly the world title
Unbelievable. I made sure to video the final 15 minutes to share on my WeChat, more in anticipation of a draw with a ‘It’s still not over!’ type message before blitz. I never expected Ding to reject the safe draw opportunity and bravely go for the win, nor that Ian would fail to defend it as his clock ticked down. An absolutely sensational end to a brilliant world championship. It’s been a privilege to have watched every minute of it live. I feel for Nepo after losing two WCCs, and that moment when he knew the game was up and he knocked his pieces off the table was hard to watch, but I’m so delighted for Ding. I’ve been sharing the articles of every game since game 1, trying to generate some buzz among my friends here in Shanghai. I know at least one of them started following as he messaged me the moment Ding won, so that’s one new chess fan Ding has created. I hope he can do for chess in China what Anand did for India now.
The first Chinese world champion... Meanwhile I think chess is still pretty uncommon in China, I've never seen anyone play it lol meanwhile I'm watching this using VPN, from Hangzhou 🤣
I wasn't really rooting for anyone, because from the start, it should've been Nepo who became the WC since Magnus refused to defend the title, and Ian leading the whole 2022 Candidate tournament, at that time I was rooting for the wild card, Radjabov to perhaps take second place, and have never seen Ding played... But yeah, this year's WCC is a weird and unique one!! So many decisive games, both players didn't play the most accurate moves and losing or drawing because of blunders :/
Ding's hometown, Wenzhou, is very close to the city I'm living in, I'm wondering if I can see people who are into chess celebrating his victory soon lol
Congratulations
Congrats my bro as China has their 1st World chess champion these games have been awesome at the end of the day Chess is the ultimate winner love from New Zealand
Wenzhou is like 300 km from Hangzhou, haha, but that’s not important. I think Ding might even live in Hangzhou as he said he was there with Rapport before the match, but maybe that was just as tourists. Not sure.
@@8964TS ohh wow!! But it's expected since Hangzhou is the bigger city and capital of Zhejiang, pretty much the next city after Shanghai lol, idk how far the distance is, but they're both in the same province anyway lol travelling within a province isn't a big deal lol, I've been to Shanghai a couple times as well, big city, but nothing much IMO xD (I hate big cities u,u)
It's nice to know they had a friendship trip to Hangzhou or wherever together in China hahaha
What a journey Ding had.
It was destined to happen.
Take a bow, King Liren.
how destined ?
@@ajr1791ze because it has happened
I'm happy for Ding, he crumbled before our eyes and was so candid when discussing his feelings through the finals, proving that being honest about your bad moments does not make you weak but someone brave enough to admit and face your fear. What a story, what a Champion! All the best to Nepo, he too would be a worthy winner and I hope he'll bounce back stronger from this match. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn...
Watched the stream with Tania, Fabi and Hess, they went crazy after Rb6!!
They even mentioned, that if one just skips over the game in analysis, the eval bar is 0.0 before and 0.0 after and we might miss the importance of this move, but it is actually THE move, that tells that Ding is ready to go for more than a draw even thoug he has maybe half the time than Ian.
What a banger!
Watching live was amazing. I felt like Ding lulled Ian to stop thinking by the repetition and Ian allowed his clock to get low expecting the draw. Ding gave Ian just enough rope to where one slight inaccuracy would lose him the game. And that is what happened. An equal position with a few mistakes cost the championship.
Seeing Nepo at the end of the match was heart wrenching. Chess is so brutal.
Someone has to lose
6:37 I want to point out that Ding probably intentionally played Nd3 to trade it with the bishop. While the bishop was dead for most of the game, it was really coming alive and putting pressure on the f5 pawn. The commentators also recommended that the knight be traded off with the light squared bishop since it was becoming a menace.
This game was poetic:
Not only did Ding win. He did it with black - something he had yet to do in this World Champsionship. Plus, he did something similar to Nepo, when he won as black: Ding shoved queenside pawns to victory, just as Nepo did.
Press conference is still going on. Agad -- Hello everyone
Congratulations to ding . Feeling bad for Nepo. Looks like he's gonna burst to tears after leaving press conference
Thanks magnus for giving us this amazing championship with so many ups and downs
Well said.
Magnus was probably the most boring chess champion ever - it's good that he's gone.He's no champion just a good chess player.
@@robertblake-ez3id Imagine being so good that it made Chess boring cause no one can bear you. 😂
Absolutely happy for Ding! With all he had to go through to even get to the Candidates in the first place - this has got to be one of the most satisfying champions of anyone or any sport. Constantly in time trouble throughout the match, he still totally looked unphased! Going into the match, I felt he was the better player and rooted for him - but feared for his lacked of experience at this level. I hope he goes on to defend it next time!
This was an absolutely monstrous day of chess. Both guys were playing absolutely immense stuff, finding the only moves to defend and generally playing the highest level of chess you can imagine. A worthy way to end the world championship. I think Nepo was shocked by Ding continuing and it caused him to lose some focus, because Ding took over after that moment.
At the end, watching Nepo's hand shake as he realised he was lost and the WC was gone was heartbreaking. As was watching Ding lose himself as he realised he had won. Both guys played fearless chess today. Absolutely a worthwhile battle for the title. Thank you for the coverage, it has been great, especially for the classical games where I have not the time to watch them in full.
That ending was just amazing, I won't pretend I kept up with all the moves (it was happening so fast!), but I felt something very special was about to happen when Ding refused to repeat the position. They both had like a minute left and it was like Ding said "We're not going to blitz tomorrow, we're gonna play blitz right here and now!" o.O What a legendary way of winning the title! Hugely disappointing and heartbreaking for Nepo obviously, but hey, that's chess for you.
It was heartbreaking seeing Nepo shake after realizing he was going to lose the World Championship a second time. Perhaps he was just tired, but Ding deserved every bit of the respect and the accolades after holding on and deciding to push at the most opportune times. Congrats to Ding!
Held back in almost throwing the pieces while shaking due to disbelief.
In blitz he pushes the pieces over after a loss, he looked to do the same thing and held it back. Not a good loser but managed to hold it together just
@@Chessdrummer83 i think he tries to grab a piece but due to his shaking hand he ended up pushing the pieces
This is not out of context with what we've come to know of Nepo after seeing him play in two consecutive World Championships. Normally, he is an extremely strong player - as demonstrated by his lengthy list of accomplishments since losing the last WC against Magnus. He also plays very strong moves in quick time and has a tendency to put his opponent under immense pressure. But the flip side is that Nepo is also prone to making mistakes, and prone to cracking under pressure.
Self-pinning TWICE with few mins left in the final game? U can say Ding forced those final mistakes from Ian. Well-deserved
With 1 minute left.
Ding has a huge heart and sparkling soul. What a win. What a match! Great champion!!! Love u agad. ❤️❤️❤️
Magnus is the real chad…. No one was able to take the title away from him so he himself gave it up….. respect
I won the u120 section (lowest rated section, I believe) of the British Chess Championships in 2015 (when David Howell won the GM section) and I remember how amazing I felt, I can only imagine how Ding feels today! I've been rooting for him the whole time, he deserves this. Well done, Ding and thanks Agad' for the summary, as always.
Under 120 or 1200?
@Qasim Zulfikar It was called under 120 at the time, I was rated 119 so I guess this would translate somewhere around 1600 ish. I've just joined a chess club in Birmingham (UK) after 8 years and apparently there is such a thing as 'rating rust' lol so I'm rated 1503 and just won 2 league games but I play around 1700-1800 at the minute. Not a strong player at all but I'm progressing
@@qasimzulfikar8749 it was the old rating in england, the new ratings are in elo so its u1600.
@@qasimzulfikar8749 i think U12
nvm
Congrats to Ding. Outstanding matches through and through.
Sometimes, we need to take risks in life. Self pinning was outrageous but king Ding went for it. No risk, no reward. All hail the new king.
I think Ding got tired of Nepo not taking the Draw. Nepo got a little loose and Ding got even crazier with the Rook pin 🤣. Nepo was stretched too thin and Ding's A Pawn was marching.
That was a really tight game all the way to the end. Amazing. Congrats to Ding, and a job well done by Nepo!
"Self pinning for immortality!!" ~Magnus Carlson
I hope he will popularize chess in China in the same way Anand did in India and there will be a new wave of young prodigys ready to rival the current generation of super grandmasters. Massive congratulations to Ding.
I doubt it,Go is far more famous in china
Just like cricket in India
The combination after Rg6 by Ding is just beautiful.
This was wild. Ding with a comeback in a gutsy manner. Congratulations.
i think it would be more appropriate to put their rapid ELO rating, instead of their classical ELO rating, as these were rapid games; Ding has almost 100 rating points higher than Nepo in rapid!
Nepo's grave error is that he played for draw to get to the blitz tiebreaks but he was shocked by Ding's unexpected decision to play for win. When Nepo realized that he countered with his attack but it too little too late.
I did root for Ding but. It was heartbreaking moment for Ian Nepomniachtchi.😢❤
Fantastic work over this world championship Agadmator! Thanks you for the hard work.
Nepo had at least 2 chances to force a draw, but he pushed for a win despite facing the two queenside passed pawns. When he was finally content with a draw by repetition, Ding refuted it and played for a win. What a game.
That’s what I thought…in the end, we all regret all the chances that we did not grab
Thank you Antonio for your EXCELLENT coverage of this match! My goal every day was to avoid spoilers and watch your video on my lunch break at work!
What an En-ding to the most brilliant World chess championship of this century till now.
Another WC with you Antonio. Life is good. Thanks to you for your contribution to chess.
A new Era begins, let's share it in #Agadmator's channel ❤
Nepo loses his 4th world championship final - 2021 Classical, 2021 World Rapid, 2022 Fischer Random, and 2023 Classical. Absolutely BRUTAL!!
On the one hand, it shows how amazingly strong of a player he is, getting to the finals of all of those events -- no small feat. On the other hand, it does indicate that in the most high-pressure situations his game can falter.
He's kind of like the Buffalo Bills (for fans of American football) of chess.
OutstanDing! Humdinger match, spellbinding game with heart-pounding (and for Nepo heart-rending) ending. All hail King Ding!
Well played Ding. Incredible fortitude to keep hanging in there.
This was a strange one to finish on. Nepo as white was under pressure straight out of the opening, as White, in a Ruy Lopez. Almost like he just ran out of the steam in the end.
10:39 Rg6 playing for the win is such a Bobby Fischer-thing to do. That proves why Ding has the mettle to be World Champion and carry on the legacy...
I was watching the game live and at the end of the game where Nepo was sure he had lost he averted his eyes from the game to the side, he was tearful💔
He was looking straight at the trophy which was next to the table... Can only imagine what went through his mind in that moment 😳
Nepo que se foda kkkkkkkk
Saw a lot of reviews and commentaries of this championship. This channel is by far the best! Thank you!
Absolutely wild ride for Ding. Very happy for him, and I hope Nepo can recover from this.
Thank you so much for your excellent coverage of this match! You're the best by far!
Finally agad puts magnus in his thumbnail. 🥳
Mark my words This video will get more views then rest of the WC Match Combined.
Absolutely amazing match. Ding played such amazing chess to come back twice during the capital section. I like both players but Ding is a very worthy champion
And a BIG win for Ding. That Rg6 pin really freaked me out but he correctly assessed that there was no threat which caused Nepo to burn time. Well done Ding. Thankfully it did not get to blitz where Nepo is far stronger.
Congratulations to Ding. Ding is from 溫州 Wen Zhou, Zhejiang 浙江 Province in SE China, famous for Wei Qi aka Go masters such as 范西屏 Fan Xiping, 施襄夏 Shi Xiangxia, 陳子仙 Chen Zi Xian, 吳清源 Wu Qingyuan aka Go Seigen, and 柯杰 Ke Jie. Wen Zhou is also the hometown of 謝俠遜 Xie Xia-xun, the famous Xiang Qi champion from 1910s to 1950s who were Shanghai Chess Champions from 1929-1931, won the 1935 Guangzhou 5 Countries Tournament (China, US, UK, Germany and Austria) and won against British Army Champion in Singapore in 1934. Xie lived a long life as well, 100 years and was known as 棋壇總士令 Commander-in-Chief of Xiang Qi and 百歲棋王 100 years old King of Xiang Qi.
A real underdog ding went through so much and it was so emotional, really happy he is the world champion he deserves it, congrats ding liren!
Congratulations Ding; a great match and great sporting conduct from both players.
I never realized that even at 13:20 nepo could STILL draw with a brilliant bishop sacrifice.
The funny thing is, I think if Ian considered himself weaker than Ding, he probably looks for something like that. It's definitely a tough move but if that was magnus in the other seat, I guarantee Ian looks for a way to draw that game instead of win it, and may actually find that move.
I’m so happy for Ding even though Magnus is my favorite player I have no horse in this race yet i really wanted Ding to win. He’s so underestimated.
Nepo has been leading both in match point and in the game. How many times he had the upper hand but Liren always manage to clutch it out..... Congrats for Liren. Nepo will have another chance. Great WCC!!!
Nah...his chances are slim, making a third candidate is very difficult...
Ding is better though. Ding was always taking risks from game 1
And, yet, once again, nepo is The Buffoon that LOSES the World Chess Championship !
Nepo The Buffoon !
The World Chess Championship Back ToBack Loser !
@@cmc2110 Nepo was leadingg most of the time. Ding did not win with Black pieces in classical. Ding was the better rapid player but honestly I still feel Nepo is better in classical.
@@saviobenitez4710 I am not disputing that. Every time Nepo won Ding made unforced errors, whereas Ding won by playing Nepo with amazing tactics. Nepo is great but I still believe 3 players are just better than him. Ding, Magnus and Fabi
It was an incredible tournament. Thanks for all the commentary and explanation.
The fastest and the best! Agadmator is the World Chess youtuber champion!
Happy for Ding but my heart goes to Nepo. Looking forward to the hugs and joy from rapport meeting ding after the match
Честитки Динг, поздрав од Република Македонија од Алкалоид, шаховскиот клуб кој е горд што те имаше тебе! Остани на врвот уште многу години!
Thanks for the coverage, agadmator! Wonderfully done as always :)
恭喜! 恭喜! 向你祝賀，丁立人! 😃🥳
Great video as always Agad. Heartbroken for Nepo but rejoicing for Ding, who had to go through so much for this victory. I'll definitely be sharing this game with my friends at the library.
RG6 took balls of steel. Make or break. That's what we need in a champ!
Congratulations!!! Ding!!!!!
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the insane amount of things that had to happen for Ding, a player who wasn’t even qualified for the candidates (due to his bad luck not being able to play OTB qualifier tournaments), to manage to WIN the world chess championship???? Russia invaded Ukraine, Karjakin lost his spot for political reasons, and then Ding got the spot due to his rating and playing a bunch of games to get enough. Then, even in the candidates, Ding was doing poorly in the first half of the tournament, only to improve towards the end and just barely secure second place by half a point by winning the drawish final game against Nakamura. Then, Magnus announces that he’s not playing, and Ding is up to play the WCC. Then, Ding loses game 7 due to freezing in time trouble, and fails to win game 8 due to Nepo’s bluff… and right when it seems like Nepo is about to convert his winning position in Game 12 and effectively win the match, he makes a series of blunders that allow Ding to win that game and equalize instead. Then, in rapid tiebreaks, it was three draws, and Nepo had the white pieces in the 4th and final rapid game, and was about to make a threefold repetition, only for Ding to refuse the repetition, play for a win instead of going to Blitz tiebreaks, and then manages to WIN the final rapid tiebreak with the black pieces to become World Chess Champion, becoming the first Chinese player to win (or even to challenge for) that title. That is such an INSANE series of events that this feels like a movie where Ding is the underdog protagonist lmao
Once I seen game 12. I knew he had a chance to win the match. Had to work today and yesterday so I didn’t watch the games live, but after that last classical game where nepo didn’t get a win while ding pulled of this amazing six hour long draw it must have been nerve racking . It kinda reminded me of what Antonio always mentions when talking about the lines and how every position is a draw with perfect play. Ding showed that he could draw the game even when he had a losing position. He chose the path with the best possible outcome. I like how he kept making little minor changes and played some sub optimal moves just to get nepo out of his preparation. It was a great world chess championship match. I appreciate the fact that Magnus gave up his title so we could see some good competitive games. I really thought nepo had it up until the second ding comeback. They made every game very entertaining. Thanks for the videos and the hard work you put into releasing them all in a timely manner it must’ve taken a lot of hard work.
That self pin 🧷 .. wow
Thanks for everything you are doing Agad! I recently started being interested in chess and this WCC is the first that I follow match after match thanks to your videos. You have a true talent in making chess fun, accessible and enjoyable. Thanks for all the great content you provide and for your enthusiasm. You are making a big difference in the chess community :)
Simply watching the clickbait on this video brought me to tears. Thank you for everything Mozart of chess: Magnus Carlsen. Already waiting for some epic comeback as world champion….
Amazing. Thank you for the detailed coverage of the match!
Ding Liren looks shy and decent but over the board he’s a Dragon
The thrill of Victory. And . The agony of Defeat! Wow!!!. Many. Thanks Sir!🎈🎈🎈🎈
Congrats Ding Liren on becoming World Chess Champion!!! Woke up from a nap just in time for Rg6! What a courageous move by Ding!! :) Best wishes also to Ian Nepomniachtchi for giving us one of the best world chess championships in history!!
That shot of Ding holding his head at the table after winning while Ian Nepo hurriedly walks out is so powerful
Ding Ding Ding congrats to our boy. F in the chat for Nepo, he played some great games
WINNER WINNER Chicken dinner
Brilliant play by Ding to self pin in such a circumstance.
I wanted Ding to win, but I didn't want Nepo to lose
An absolutely incredible tournament - loved your coverage