Centralizing the queen, simply protecting the c4-pawn and not fearing the vis-a-vis with White's g2-bishop.
. . . and Black successfully held on to his extra pawn, with his queen still centralized.
Ding Liren needed all his defensive tenacity to survive his first ever World Championship game after Ian Nepomniachtchi sprung an opening surprise and gradually upped the pressure. Ian had a choice of ways to capitalise, but ultimately chose wrongly. Instead of winning a pawn and going for a long grind he tried to complicate in his opponent's time trouble, but Ding made no mistake and had solved his problems by move 40. There are 13 games to go.
The World Chess Championship game2: Nepo wins World Championship game at 13th attempt
Ian Nepomniachtchi has won a World Championship game at his 13th attempt to take a 1.5:0.5 lead over Ding Liren. Ding sprung a Richard Rapport-inspired near-novelty on move 4, but his first long think of the game on move 12 gave Nepomniachtchi the chance to launch a powerful kingside attack. Ding was soon lost on the board and on the clock and resigned on move 29.
Following a disappointing defeat, Ian Nepomniachtchi scored a remarkable win with white to regain the lead at the World Championship match in Astana. Once the Russian gained the initiative, he played flawlessly, making the most of his superior minor piece. Ding Liren will get a chance to bounce back in Sunday’s sixth game, when he will have the white pieces for a third time in the match.