The 2023 Chess World Championship (the intro.)

A prelude to the coming World Chess Championship that is being played in
the St. Regis Astana Hotel, Astana, in Kazakhstan starting on the 9th April.

First I shall explain the flags. Nepomniachtchi (from now on Nepo the fully
accepted name used by everyone) is a Russian and due to sporting sanctions
imposed against Russia because of the current conflict in the Ukraine he can
only play under the flag of FIDE. Ding was planning a summer trip last year
but Karjakin started making some silly remarks about the afore mentioned war
and he was removed from the candidates. Ding Liren gratefully took his place.

So no Summer holiday for Ding Liren.


Nepo won the candidates and Ding Liren who was possibly thinking
of taking that postponed summer holiday in April 2023 came second.
He then discovered that fate dealt him another joker when the current
champ (I’ll see if I can get this done without mentioning his name.)
decided that he had had enough of being the world champion and walked.

Nepo is on the cover of the August 2022 CHESS gives a hint of the chaos.


If Ding Liren wins we will see a cover akin to this October 2019 CHESS


And if Ding wins and successfully defends the title. CHESS January 2020.


(I have 100’s of CHESS’s I wonder if I can tell the story of the match through covers.)

Sadly, or whatever way you feel about it, no matter who wins some will say.


And every report of the match will mention him more than the players.


I intended as I have done in the past to do an instant page on every game but
something has come up and I may not be able to go over every game right away.

I’ll finish this World Championship opener with this piece of chessboard magic.

Kraemer & Massmann, 1955

White to play and mate in 5 (Black can 0-0-0 if allowed.)

This a beauty. I am going to show you two wonderfully variations.


Another variation. This is pure chess wizardry.


The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 196575