Exactly sixty years ago, as it happened in 2023 between Ding LIren and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Tigran Petrosian opposed Mikhail Botvinnik for the FIDE World Championship Chess Championship. The victors of both championships, Ding and Petrosian, were considered underdogs. Yet they both triumphed on the biggest stage of all.
Petrosian lost the first game to his opponent, whilst Ding scrambled a “wobbly” draw to his, according to an international journalist who was present at the championship at Astana. The first game of a World Championship Match essentially gives confidence to the player who has the upper hand, and impetus to the one who wins the first game.