A fast turnaround isn’t simple, particularly after a one-move blunder in a profitable place prices you an opportunity to struggle for the title. This was the truth for Russia’s Andrey Esipenko within the closing spherical of the 2025 FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa. Following a brutal semifinal tiebreak loss to China’s Wei Yi, Esipenko needed to instantly regroup to face Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev for the essential third-place playoff.
Esipenko rose to the problem, placing again immediately to beat Yakubboev and take an important 1-0 lead on Monday. He’s now only a draw away from changing into the sixth confirmed participant for the Candidates event.
The Russian gained an early benefit with white items within the Sicilian Protection recreation after Yakubboev made two questionable strikes – the doubtful bishop placements on transfer 12 (12…Bd5?) and transfer 13 (13…Be7). These inaccuracies price the Uzbek dearly, leaving him half-hour behind on the clock.
Though Esipenko continued to grind and initiated exchanges, he misplaced the sting of his place. His saving grace was his important time benefit. Yakubboev, a pawn down, was left with simply three minutes to make 11 strikes earlier than the time management. Beneath this intense stress, he failed to seek out correct defensive strikes, and his place slowly crumbled. Yakubboev in the end resigned on the thirty eighth transfer, being two pawns down.
In the meantime, on the highest board – the place the ceremonial first transfer was made by legendary Indian sporting icon Abhinav Bindra, an Olympic gold medalist – the ultimate between Wei Yi and Javokhir Sindarov had a extra relaxed power, as each gamers had already achieved their main objective of qualifying for the Candidates. Regardless of this, they engaged in a combating recreation.
Wei Yi as soon as once more opted for the Petrov Defence with the black items, forcing Sindarov to take dangers looking for a decisive edge. Each gamers confirmed large opening preparation, proving to be equal and worthy opponents. By the nineteenth transfer, every nonetheless had almost 90 minutes left on their clocks.
Simply as the sport appeared balanced, Sindarov made a slight inaccuracy that would have altered the course of the sport. On transfer 22, as an alternative of capturing the pawn on c5 along with his knight, he performed the questionable transfer (22…Rb1?), attacking Black’s bishop on b2.
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Nevertheless, discovering it troublesome to transform this slight benefit, Wei Yi instantly simplified the place. The Chinese language Grandmaster, the upper seed, dictated the tempo for a lot of the sport and even went a pawn up in a bishop endgame. Nevertheless, the place proved too stable to transform right into a win. Sindarov exhibited distinctive endgame method, and the gamers agreed to a draw after 50 strikes.
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