“Normally, I like to keep the window in my lounge open. This meant the private lounges for the players had become too cold, forcing them to stay near the stage. On Saturday, temperatures in Astana had dipped to minus seven degrees with the city experiencing snowfall. The players revealed that there was a practical reason for them loitering around in the playing hall. It was a marked departure from the way the two players had treated each other in the first few games where they would flee from the stage, not wanting to be caught in the other’s company. There was also the sight of him realising that the endgame was near after making the 48th move, pacing on the circular stage itself with his hands behind the back. At multiple points during the game, cameras caught sight of him in his chair, leaning over the board eyeballing Ding (who would surely have seen his opponent’s face in his peripheral vision). While Ding preferred to lean over the board, concentrating hard, Nepo paced around the stage obsessively. On Saturday, however, barring brief sorties to their private rooms, both players spent most of the four hours 15 minutes of Game 5 in the playing hall under the glass dome.
Like in the first two games, Ding again found himself in time trouble, and made his 40th move with just 30 seconds left on the clock (tournament regulations stipulate that the first 40 moves have to be made within 120 minutes before more time is added).īoth players had spent considerable amounts of time over the past four games seeking refuge in their private lounges during games. Playing white on Saturday, the Russian blitzed his way at the start, at one point accumulating over 40 minutes of time advantage over his opponent, who he forced into deep thought for most of the game. While Nepo had won Game 2, Ding had drawn level by winning Game 4.
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