Ding Liren scores a hat-trick
World no.2 Ding Liren is a calm and composed fellow. He barely shows any kind of emotions. That does not mean there are no tidal waves crashing in his ocean of emotion. He scored his third consecutive victory of the event by grinding an endgame against Fabiano Caruana in Round 11. After seven draws, it seems like Ding Liren has got into his groove. Now only he wishes, Nakamura, Rapport and Duda to stop the Nepomniachtchi train, so that he can have some practical chances.
Firouzja - Nepomniachtchi: 0-1
Alireza Firouzja (FRA) came to the board with only one thing in mind - win by hook or crook. Well that strategy does not work at the top level, especially after playing 268 Hyperbullet games till 5 a.m. in Madrid.
White went for an all out attack 16.g4 h6 17.h4 Rfe8 18.g5 hxg5 19.hxg5 Nh5 20.Kg2 Ng6 21.f4 Nhxf4+! 22.Bxf4 Qxb2 completely disintegrated White's position. Firouzja was barely keeping it together. It was just a matter of time before White's position fell apart like a house of cards.
Caruana - Ding Liren: 0-1
The prolonged battle between Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Ding Liren (CHN) was seemingly headed towards a draw after the queens got exchanged.
After more than six hours, Caruana finally cracked as he played 74.Bc7 which immediately gave his opponent a decisive advantage. Find out the winning continuation.
Replay Round 11 games
Round 11 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 6 | 2760 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | ½ - ½ | GM | Rapport Richard | 2764 | 8 |
| 2 | 5 | 2793 | GM | Firouzja Alireza | 0 - 1 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2766 | 7 |
| 3 | 4 | 2753 | GM | Radjabov Teimour | ½ - ½ | GM | Duda Jan-Krzysztof | 2750 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 | 2783 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | 0 - 1 | GM | Ding Liren | 2806 | 2 |
Round 12 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 8 | 2764 | GM | Rapport Richard | GM | Caruana Fabiano | 2783 | 3 | |
| 2 | 2 | 2806 | GM | Ding Liren | GM | Radjabov Teimour | 2753 | 4 | |
| 3 | 1 | 2750 | GM | Duda Jan-Krzysztof | GM | Firouzja Alireza | 2793 | 5 | |
| 4 | 7 | 2766 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | 2760 | 6 |
Standings after Round 11
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 7 | GM | Nepomniachtchi Ian | FID | 2766 | 8,0 | 40,25 | 5 | 0,0 |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Ding Liren | CHN | 2806 | 6,5 | 33,25 | 3 | 0,0 |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Nakamura Hikaru | USA | 2760 | 6,0 | 30,50 | 3 | 0,0 |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Caruana Fabiano | USA | 2783 | 5,5 | 30,75 | 3 | 0,0 |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Radjabov Teimour | AZE | 2753 | 5,0 | 28,00 | 1 | 0,0 |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Duda Jan-Krzysztof | POL | 2750 | 4,5 | 23,75 | 1 | 0,0 |
| 7 | 8 | GM | Rapport Richard | HUN | 2764 | 4,5 | 23,25 | 1 | 0,0 |
| 8 | 5 | GM | Firouzja Alireza | FRA | 2793 | 4,0 | 20,25 | 1 | 0,0 |
