We've quickly reached a symmetric position where Niemann should have a small practical edge due to superior bishop placements. Niemann will be looking to gain an initiative along the kingside.
Due to Niemann's pawn storm on the kingside, Giri decides to slow down his attack by moving his pawn into a defensive posture. While Niemann will gain a clear space advantage on the kingside, his approach is not risk-free due to his king potentially getting exposed later down the line.
Niemann maintains the initiative, but Giri's position remains solid for now.
Niemann decides to give up his fantastic bishop for Giri's knight, preparing to open up the position. This is not without its' downsides however, as his bishop was an important piece for his attack.
Niemann attempts to push forward, but he has missed a tactical shot!
Giri immediately finds the best move, attacking Niemann's queen to threaten checkmate! Niemann loses one of his most important pawns for his attack, and he is now in massive trouble!
The importance of Giri's win of a pawn cannot be understated, as Niemann's attack completely lost its potency as a result. Giri has taken the opportunity to coordinate his pieces, and he is now the one who is pressing against Niemann's kingside.
Giri continues coordinating his pieces towards Niemann's weak pawn, and it's now only a matter of time before his position crumbles.
Niemann needs to hope for a blunder to keep his position intact, but this is already close to over.
Niemann's pawn is currently immune due to Niemann's threats against Giri's king. Giri needs to reroute his pieces to provide support for his king, giving Niemann at least a little breathing room.
For now, Giri is struggling to make any progress in the position. While Niemann isn't close to generating game-winning threats, Giri still needs to find a concrete way to reorganize his pieces.
Giri has decided to sacrifice his rook for Niemann's knight, giving Niemann at least some material compensation. Despite Niemann's position looking vulnerable, he has managed to maintain enough pressure against Giri's king to keep things difficult.
Niemann had a golden opportunity to save the game but missed the key move! Giri will now be able to make progress with his passed pawn, finally creating some threats in the position!
A massive tactical blunder ended up being the decider of this game. While Niemann managed to get a very comfortable position with the white pieces, Niemann missed a key capture that lost him a pawn and ruined his attack. Despite Niemann's great efforts to keep the game afloat, he never managed to come back from his initial blunder, and Giri eventually broke through with brilliant tactical play.
A devastating loss for Niemann, who starts on the back foot in the elimination match!