More and more we see this opening being played at the very highest levels. It seems that ever since Ding Liren used it with success against Gukesh in their 2024 World Championship match, most top grandmasters have taken a liking to this battle-tested weapon.
Defending the central pawn, and inviting both ambitious options (like the Winawer) and more solid paths for Esipenko to choose from.
One of the oldest variations in the French Defense, and a notoriously tough nut to crack for the White player!
Wei Yi takes the pawn back, and will be hoping that his stronger standing in the center of the board will leave him with a small but enduring edge.
A safe choice
Esipenko signals that his main ambition in this game is simply to try to fight for a relatively safe equality. His last move prepares to bring the king's knight out, and then be able to recapture with a knight in the event that Wei Yi goes for a piece trade.
He goes into the tank for some minutes, likely mentally scanning the various options he has in his repertoire, and trying to judge which might offer the best chances of fighting for an edge.
Following up on the idea behind the previous move, since now Esipenko's kingside knight is supported by the queen's knight.
The first piece trade of the game, as Wei Yi is happy to reduce material in order to continue his development with ease.
Esipenko takes back with the knight
One benefit of this (besides not leaving his queen exposed as in the case of the queen recapture) is that now Esipenko's kingside is still covered by several minor pieces, making a potential attack from Wei Yi less likely to succeed.
Wei Yi brings out his final minor piece
He's now ready to castle short on the next move, though for now things are still flexible so it's not out of the question that Wei Yi might even look for long castling instead.
Esipenko wastes little time
He immediately targets the major claim to an advantage that Wei Yi has: the strong central pawn.
Wei Yi completes his minor piece development
He also defends the pawn, and at the same time also threatens to play pawn takes pawn next, if Esipenko isn't careful.
Esipenko keeps the tension
He avoids capturing the pawn, but does defend his own one by stepping the queen out. The reason that pawn takes pawn is rarely played by the Black side, is that it invites White's pieces onto more active squares.
The guessing game
Wei Yi doesn't yet want to 'show his hand', as he brings his queen out to give himself the option of castling to the left hand side. That might be a good way to raise the stakes and set up the kind of attacking position that Wei Yi thrives in.
Esipenko covers the key square
This is a very dangerous square, since at any moment Wei Yi could have given a check with his bishop. Plus, Esipenko is also flirting with a possible pawn push, especially in the event that Wei Yi castles to the left.
Modern chess!
A move that seems to be available in almost any opening at almost any time! It's an aggressive move, grabbing space and accelerating any potential kingside attacks. This makes it particularly challenging for Esipenko to castle on that flank.
Esipenko stays flexible himself, bringing his knight to an active central square. From here, the option of knight takes bishop is on the cards, but also of a quick switch towards the queenside to take part in a future attack.
Now that the rook's pawn has been pushed on the right hand side, it's hard to justify castling anywhere but to the left.
Esipenko setting up castling?!
He too has now cleared his first rank on the left, so it's not out of the question that he will aim to castle there next. He is the side that is most interested in making a draw today, so having both kings castled on the same part of the board should suit him well.
It's been a failed opening experiment for Wei Yi thus far. He's obtained no advantage whatsoever, while Esipenko has been able to be the side to make moves quicker and carve out a nearly half-hour lead on the clock at this early stage.
I really like this decision from Esipenko, as now he locks down the advantage of the bishop pair. This means that now Wei Yi cannot fight for an edge risk-free, as in simplified positions or even endgames the two bishops could be an enduring and decisive asset.
Wei Yi strengthens his center
This is the reason why the Chinese player allowed the trade. Now he supports his queen's pawn, while also opening up a file to assist in an attack. We've got a very sharp game on our hands!
Great move from Esipenko, who recognizes that Wei Yi was threatening potentially very dangeorous knight jumps and shuts them down on the spot.
Wei Yi launches the pawn storm
Even though Esipenko is not going to have his king on the right-hand flank, it's still worthwhile for Wei Yi to try to grab space and create some structural weaknesses in Esipenko's position.
Esipenko makes sure to immediately get out of the line of fire, that is to say, the kingside and center.
Wei Yi makes the pawn break
He pushes forward, immediately introducing tension into the position. Esipenko doesn't have to rush to react however, since there is no specific threat.
Esipenko improves his king position
Due to the lack of a concrete threat, Esipenko uses his turn to simply improve his king safety.
Wei Yi x-rays the pawn
He wants to make sense of his earlier pawn pushes, so Wei Yi brings the rook to put indirect pressure on Esipenko's most vulnerable pawn.
Esipenko continues to stabilize the position
So far, the Russian has had to make largely just natural moves in order to get a position that is - if anything - slightly better for him than for Wei Yi. The bishop is now dropped back to a very stable square, and soon Esipenko is ready to finish his development by bringing his dark-squared bishop into the game.
Wei Yi decides to trade the pawns immediately, in order to leave Esipenko with a very weak pawn along the semi-open file.
Esipenko takes back, and while his pawn may be vulnerable, the position overall is very good for him due to the strength of the bishop pair, plus his solid central control.
Wei Yi might be getting a bit defensive
He likely senses that he doesn't have any edge, and that his position isn't without risk. So he overprotects the center immediately.
Esipenko takes over the open file
It's the only one in the position, so it makes a lot of sense to take control of it as soon as possible.
Wei Yi's knight lacks forward jumps, so he's trying to maneuver it to a more active post. Besides, now the Chinese player's rook is hitting Esipenko's pawn.
Esipenko guards against the threat
He shuts down the pressure on his pawn, while grabbing a bit more control in the center.
Wei Yi pressures the queenside pawn
It's not a particularly convincing plan, but at least the constant pressure against Esipenko's pawn ties down his bishop and queen.
Esipenko uses the outpost
His last pawn push allows him to now be controlling this square, supporting an invasion of the rook and a targeting of Wei Yi's isolated pawn on the right hand flank.
Wei Yi pushes forward, escaping the rook's vision.
Esipenko wants the pawn!
He shifts his rook laterally, renewing the threat against the weak pawn.
Wei Yi looking for simplifications
He just wants to trade some material, and rob Esipenko of his bishop pair advantage. In exchange, Wei Yi is happy to damage his structure somewhat.
Esipenko takes back, and now will no longer have the two bishops, but he'll get a more active queen and the better piece activity.
Wei Yi recovers his piece.
Better structure and better pieces for Esipenko. This should be a draw with right defense from Wei Yi, but the pressure is certainly on the Chinese grandmaster.
A good move, immediately inviting a rook trade which would improve his structure. And if that doesn't happen, then Wei Yi can slide the rook over to the strong central post.
Esipenko understandably rejects the rook trade, as it would have improved Wei Yi's structure.
Wei Yi offers another rook trade, meanwhile stopping the threat against his central pawn.
Esipenko avoids a second rook trade in as many moves, and seizes the open file again.
Wei Yi looks to simplify
If he can just trade these pawns, then he'll be safe again, since his structure will no longer be problematic. But this move does allow Esipenko to push the pawn forward and create a passed pawn. A risky and sharp position for both sides!
The practical decision
Esipenko agrees to the trade, since this leaves him with some chances to continue pressing for the win, while keeping his risk down to an absolute minimum. The point is that he'll be winning a pawn on the next move!
Wei Yi is playing in very smart fashion here, exploiting a hidden tactic in the position. His point is that if Esipenko now plays queen takes pawn, then he has the brilliant bishop takes pawn sacrifice. The point is that if Esipenko were to take, his king would be open to a crushing attack.
Esipenko grabs the pawn, putting Wei Yi to the test. Will the Chinese player spot the equalizing tactic by taking the pawn?! Wei Yi might also see it but be worried that things will get out of control after Esipenko pushes his central pawn in return.
Incredible calculation from Wei Yi here. To take the pawn demanded spotting a very tricky-to-find perpetual check against the thorniest line available to Esipenko. But it seems that the Chinese player has calculated it all.
The most testing move
This is by far the strongest practical try, as it forces Wei Yi to find an extremely narrow path to equality. He must now bring his rook down, in order to save the rook and at the same time pin the enemy bishop so that his queen will not be lost.
This is the key point for Wei Yi, as he manages to guard against both threats in one move. His rook is no longer under attack, while Esipenko's pinned bishop means that he cannot bring it out to win the queen.
Will Esipenko move his king?
This is the most dangerous move for Wei Yi to face, which will force the Chinese player to find an only move in order to avoid defeat. The moment of truth, since if Wei Yi does not find this move, he is lost!
Esipenko asks Wei Yi the big question
Has he found the queen move that saves the game, by finding a beautiful and well-hidden perpetual check in the event that his bishop gets taken?
It's hard to overstate how incredible it is that Wei Yi has been able to thread the eye of the needle and find this tactic. It's not about finding it here and now, when everything else would have lost. The point is that he must have found it several moves ago. It's so inhuman to go in for this line, and it's a testament to Wei Yi's supernatural calculation ability.
The reason this move saves the day for Wei Yi is that now if Esipenko plays pawn takes bishop, then he will sacrifice the exchange in order to survive the game by giving perpetual checks to Esipenko's naked king. An incredible escape from a very very challenging position!
Draw imminent!
Esipenko recognizes that Wei Yi has managed to escape, and now we've got the perpetual check that Wei Yi saw from a distance.
Wei Yi sacrifices his rook in order to force the draw.
Esipenko has no choice but to take, since blocking with the bishop would just lead to rook takes bishop with the same result.
Wei Yi takes with check, and now there is no way for Esipenko's king to escape perpetual.
Just one match win away from a Candidates spot!
The Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi is the highest rated of the remaining participants at this year's World Cup, and after a clutch victory against Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals, he is likely to be feeling very confident about his chances of bagging one of the remaining seats up for grabs to the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
Standing in his way is the Russian grandmaster Andrei Esipenko. The 23-year old may be yet to break into the very top of the global ratings leaderboard, but he is someone who commands the respect of all elite grandmasters.
In fact, Andrei has shown over the years that there is no player that he is unable to beat on his day, with his most notable career win coming against none other than Magnus Carlsen in the 2021 Tata Steel Masters tournament.
Chess often follows a pattern where a player will break through at a very young age, establish a high rating, and then endure a few years of stagnation before the next climb. Andrei may very well be on the cusp of a fresh rating jump, and no doubt that Wei Yi will treat him with the same respect that he would treat an established 2750 grandmaster.
Just about 20 minutes to go until the semi-finals kick off. Can Wei Yi put the pressure on from the White side and grab an early match lead? Or will Esipenko be able to fully neutralize any opening surprises?!
Expect a lot of nerves and tension over the coming days, as we get ready to find out which three players will be the lucky ones to secure an entry at the prestigious 2026 Candidates tournament!