The Russian, competing as a neutral, had developed a commanding position early on in the Kazakhstan capital but hastily tried to finish it which cost him as Ding snatched a crucial victory.

Playing as white, Ding began with an attempt to attack his opponent's king immediately but a premature pawn advance backfired.

Nepomniachtchi easily countered on the kingside and found himself in a dominant position.

Ding looked to be in dire straits as a loss would have meant the end of the series for him.

He made a desperate attempt for a break in the centre which surprisingly came off and saw the momentum change hands.

It was fairly even for the subsequent sequence but a hurried move from Nepomniachtchi on the 34^th move was met by disbelief from spectators as his position completely collapsed.

Even Ding was surprised before capitalising and by move 38 he had forced the Russian grandmaster into submission and levelled the score at 6-6.

Following the match, Ding admitted that the quality of play was "very low" but dismissed claims that it was down to nerves.

In his response, Nepomniachtchi said it's "not the best thing to lose a supposedly winning position".

"It was a big, big mess," he added.

"It happens."

The 13th Match is set to take place tomorrow at 3pm local time.