Having been caught by some very deep Fabiano Caruana preparation yesterday, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave looked to be on track for a second loss in two days, this time against Ding Liren. Ding had a big advantage in the middlegame, and if he had played 36.Rxb6 it wasn't clear how MVL could have saved the game. Instead Ding chose a plan the involved pushing his passed d pawn, which turned out not to work. Despite attempts to exploit MVL's exposed king, Ding wasn't able to find anything more than a draw. This missed opportunity leaves Ding at the tail of the field, while MVL stays in touch with the leaders.
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (9.4), 20.04.2021
Great blog you have
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating to see how a missed opportunity can significantly impact the tournament standings.
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