A very positional opening, inviting Esipenko to go into an early endgame with a very slight advantage. Looks like Nepo wants to be solid in the first game!
Esipenko opts to sacrifice a pawn in the opening with the intention of gaining compensation in the form of an attack. As a result of Esipenko's decision, Esipenko has a lead in tempo, but needs to make something happen to defend his decision!
Esipenko decides to remove one of the key defenders of Nepo's center, looking to open up files against Nepo's king, who remains exposed.
Esipenko manages to regain the pawn that was lost in the opening while maintaining his activity. Nepo is left with the weaker pawn structure, and Esipenko should have a clear advantage out of the opening!
While hopes of a checkmate have been left behind for Esipenko, he has managed to create a dominating position with his active pieces. Esipenko's advantage is now positional, and any endgame should heavily favor him.
While Nepo's pawn structure remains much worse, his position remains holdable as he will start to generate counterthreats with his queen and rooks. Esipenko maintains the advantage, but winning this is still no trivial task.
Nepo goes in the wrong direction with his king and is now under heavy threat! despite not having a lot of pieces left to create an attack, things are getting incredibly dangerous for Nepo on the kingside.
The most natural move in the position turns out to be a blunder! Despite Esipenko having an immensely dangerous attack, Nepo may be able to hold on while creating counterplay on the queenside!
As Nepo successfully manages to trade queens, his chances of a draw heavily increase. Nepo is still under pressure but has avoided getting checkmated, giving him possibilities of holding on!
With such little material left, Nepo seems to have been able to save the position. Esipenko maintains a practical advantage due to his rook activity and better structure, but there shouldn't be enough pieces left to push for a win.
Nepo fails to find the narrow line that forced a draw! suddenly, Esipenko's king steps up the board, possibly creating threats of checkmate that isn't easily defended!
Nepo's king is trapped in the corner, allowing Esipenko to push forward with his pawn! The threats of checkmate in addition to getting his pawns up the board create an undefendable situation for Nepo!
Esipenko got the advantage from the get-go, but Nepo miraculously managed to hold on to an objectively drawn endgame. A single move gave Esipenko opportunities to move forward, however, and Nepo suddenly found himself in a completely losing position!
Nepo is now on the verge of elimination, and he will need to win on demand with the white pieces in the next game.
Get ready for a thrilling rematch as Nepo seeks revenge against Esipenko in the decider match. While Esipenko shocked everyone by beating Nepo in the opening round, the prior World Championship contender seems to be back on track heading into this battle.
In his last game, Nepo came out swinging with a crushing win over Vladislav Artemiev, showing the kind of fast, confident play that makes him one of the most dangerous players in the world. It was a clear message that he’s back in form and ready to fight.
Esipenko has already proven he can take Nepo down, but this time the challenge will be even tougher. Can he repeat the upset, or will Nepo take his revenge and even the score? This is a match you won’t want to miss!