Ding Returns

 After an extended post-world championship layoff, Ding Liren has returned to international chess. He is taking part in the Tata Steel masters, which began yesterday in The Netherlands. His first round opponent was Vidit (IND), and the game ended in a draw. I'm not sure if there were signs of Ding being a little rusty, as I thought White stood better for a lot of the game, although by the end, a draw was the correct result.

Tata Steel is slightly unusual (at least these days) in that the players in the top section aren't all 2800+ GM's. This leads to some more combative games, as even missed half points against the back markers can affect the final outcomes. Curiously, the first round saw 4 wins, all by the players with the black pieces, with the victims all being rated below 2700!

Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi (2742) - Ding,Liren (2780) [E20]
Tata Steel Masters 2024 Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands (1.3), 13.01.2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 c5 8. d5 exd5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Be2 a6 11. Nf3 h6 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. O-O Bg4 15. Bd3 Bxf4 16. Qxf4 Nbd7 17. Nd2 Bh5 18. Bf5 Bg6 19. Nde4 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 b5 21. cxb5 axb5 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. Nxb5 Qb8 24. a4 Re5 25. Qf4 Rxd5 26. Qxb8+ Rxb8 27. Rfd1 c4 28. Rxd5 Nxd5 29. Rc1 Ra8 30. Rxc4 Nb6 31. Rc6 Nxa4 32. b3 Nb2 33. Rd6 Rb8 34. Rd2 Rxb5 35. Rxb2 Kf8 36. Kf2 Ke7 37. b4 Kd6 38. Ke3 Ke5 1/2-1/2