What is to be done about the Queen’s Gambit Declined? Ding Liren’s desperate idea in game 2 was the semi-ridiculous 4.h3, and today Ian Nepomniachtchi seemed only slightly less helpless, following an Anish Giri game against Ding in which White got little-to-nothing. That’s contemporary chess, it seems.
That said, while neither player managed to obtain an advantage with the white pieces, they did manage to create positions with some play. Unfortunately for them, Black also got some play, and in game 2 Black won while it was Ding with Black in today’s game who managed to press a little.
I’m not sure if they were improvements, exactly, but Nepo had some reasonable alternatives before his 21st move - see my annotations for details. But the choice between his 21st move and, say, 21.Nd4 wasn’t merely a matter of taste; it was a clear inaccuracy. He may have missed Ding’s 21…Nxd7!, or at least underestimated it. He needed to work to hold the game and he did so, with 25.Na4! and 27.Nb5! being especially good moves. Ding found nothing better than to head for a repetition, and the players called it a day after 30 moves.
If this game is representative of what Nepo has planned against the QGD, I doubt we’ll see 1.d4 from him again (unless he’s going to play a Catalan or a London) in this match. Meanwhile, the question is now on Ding: he’s not going to play 4.h3 again, is he? Stay tuned for game 4 tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s game 3, with my annotations.