If Ian Nepomniachtchi ends up losing this match, he may need a decade’s worth of therapy to get over his epic failure in game 12. After a strange opening (6…Bd7?!) Nepo started to outplay Ding Liren, and by move 24 he enjoyed a winning advantage on the board and a lead on the clock. Life was good. Up a point in the match, a win in this game would make the match score 7-5, and Nepo would only need a draw to finish the match, become the world champion, hit 2800 and live happily ever after.
Instead, he started making iffy decisions and then truly bad ones - and did so using far less time on the clock than was appropriate. The position was a mess and neither player was fully up to the challenge, but Nepo’s errors were more plentiful and stranger. Nevertheless, not all was lost, and after Ding’s 33rd move the position was equal. Nepo’s reply wasn’t the best, but he was still only a bit worse until his next move, which was an absolutely horrific blunder. Ding made the obvious, correct move, and *then* Nepo thought for 16 minutes. That kind of thing happens in amateur play all the time, but is rare among professionals, for a good reason. Yes, the game was complicated, but this looks a lot more like Nepo cracking under the pressure than the product of befuddlement.
The good news is that the score is still tied, and Nepo has been resilient all match. Both of his previous losses to Ding were met in the next game by his winning right back, so who knows? - maybe he’ll do it a third time in game 13. In a few hours, we’ll find out. For now, here’s game 12, with my notes. Savor it, Ding fans; Nepo fans, you might want to pop an antacid before you have a look.
Actually the line you (and engines) give after 27.Qxc4 Nf3, culminating in 36.-b3 "there's no good answer to ...Ba3, and the b-pawn promotes" continues. The b-pawn doesn't promote but black is still winning: 37.Nf6 Ba3 38.Nd7 Bxb2 39.Nc5 - white is just in time to stop the b-pawn but 39.-Bxd4 40.Nxb3 Bxf2. And this - two connected passers for black - is of course resignable.
Not to "correct" you, I just wonder whether there is any "logic" to black winning in such a way, made possible by three white pawns (b2, d4, f2) on dark squares. Who would predict the game to end like this?