Wei Yi has enjoyed real success with this opening, employing it to beat Arjun Erigaisi in the previous rapids. He also used this weapon yesterday to make a relatively comfortable draw in game 2 of the classical mini-match.
We have the same variation that Esipenko used to apply some light pressure against Wei Yi in yesterday's encounter.
Wei Yi is opting for the same setup as yesterday, hinting at castling to the left to avoid opposite side castling.
The pin is somewhat uncomfortable for Wei Yi, as Esipenko plans on bringing his knight to the center soon.
Threatening to shatter Wei Yi's pawn structure in front of his king.
Wei Yi takes concrete action to kill the threat.
Quickly grabbing the bishop pair before Wei Yi has a chance to retreat.
A very concrete idea. Wei Yi wants to win back the bishop pair to neutralize any long-term edge that Esipenko may try to claim.
Esipenko understandably wants to hang on to his bishop pair, but it's unclear what his plan is in the event that Wei Yi challenges the piece again. Because if it drops onto a different diagonal, then Wei Yi will be able to invade with his knight and hit the queen.
After a bit of a think, Wei Yi comes up with the goods. Now he'll get the dream square for his knight.
A huge moment!
Esipenko can bail out here by bringing his bishop to target the enemy queen, after which we will quickly shift to an endgame. But he also has the hyper-aggressive option of sacrificing his bishop by invading with his queen to launch an attack! If he does so, both players will soon be walking a tightrope!
Esipenko has bailed out in a different way. Now Wei Yi has absolutely no problems, though he should be precise and drop his queen back rather than play queen takes bishop himself, since that would lead to an open file on the right hand side.
Wei Yi spots the most precise reaction. If anyone stands better it's him, due to the mass of pawns in the center.
Objectively the position is close to balanced. But Esipenko has to remain very focused and precise here, otherwise Wei Yi could try to squeeze him in the endgame as he has the more imposing pawn structure.
Esipenko will want to play for the pawn break soon, after which there are definitely some chances for him to end up with the better long-term structure if Wei Yi isn't careful. In particular, Wei Yi's isolated pawn on the left edge of the board is a concern for the Chinese player.
Wei Yi recognizes that this pawn is his weakest link, and at the same time knows that Esipenko will be eyeing up a pawn break whenever possible. So this move kills two birds with one stone, with Wei Yi's goal being to push it forward one more square.
Esipenko shuts down the threat, though now his structure has become slightly weaker on the left flank.
Bringing the king towards the center.
Esipenko continues to maneuver along the weak dark squares. If Wei Yi wants to push his strong central pawns, he will likely aim to trade bishops if he can find a good moment for it.
Esipenko has overlooked a key detail, that Wei Yi can now give a nasty check that would force the bishop trade immediately!
Wei Yi lets Esipenko off the hook, although it's arguable how much better the bishop check truly was. Keeping the bishops on leaves more tension on the board, something that suits the side with the better position in practice.
Esipenko looks to be aiming to move his king to the left flank, in order to support a pawn push and in this way break the pressure against his position.
Wei Yi brings his rook to a more active square, supporting his strong pawn and setting up a possible offer of a bishop trade.
Esipenko finds the best move, understanding that he needs to try to break down this strong pawn structure before it becomes too dangerous.
He's chipping away at Wei Yi's pawn structure from both flanks, and this should allow him to guide the game towards a draw as we near the endgame.
Wei Yi fires back, striking at the now undefended pawn on the queenside.
Esipenko understandably wanted to defend the pawn, but now Wei Yi has a great opportunity to force a favorable bishop trade. Not easy to spot though!
Wei Yi returns the favor immediately, as we get to a position very similar to previously. Could the players be on their way to making a draw by repetition?
Esipenko makes the same mistake again!
Wei Yi has a second chance here to improve on things, by aiming for the immediate bishop trade! That would leave him with excellent winning chances in the resulting rook endgame.
Wei Yi might come to regret his missed chance at the very end of the game, as he bailed out with a draw by repetition from a position that the computer was showing gave him excellent winning chances.
But from a human standpoint, the strongest line contained a lot of risk, so Wei Yi's decision is very much understandable. Now he'll have a real chance to press for the full point in game 2, as he will have the White pieces and an opportunity to truly test Esipenko's repertoire!
Who will gain a candidates spot?!
Today, we will have the first two qualifiers for the 2026 Candidates tournament.
In this board, it's the Russian grandmaster Andrei Esipenko who takes on China's top-rated player: Wei Yi.
The Chinese player has been extremely impressive in the rapid tiebreaks, ousting Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals within just the first two games of the tiebreak day.
But Andrei Esipenko has shown that he is no slouch in this format. He's beaten Keymer, Grebnev, and Shankland in back-to-back tiebreaks in order to make it to this late stage of the tournament.
On paper, Wei Yi may be the slight favorite. But fast time controls are not just about chess skill, but about who can best hold their nerve in pressure cooker situations.
May the best man win!