Abdusattorov sticks to what is fast becoming a main weapon of his from the White side, even if it has not brought him much success in St.Louis.
Firouzja goes for the symmetrical variation, matching Abdusattorov's pawn move.
Abdusattorov seeks out an early fianchetto of the bishop.
And Firouzja continues to mirror him!
The symmetry will soon be broken, but not by Firouzja it seems! It's a very logical and respected way of handling the English Opening, as it doesn't hand over any real ground and in these somewhat closed positions (versus, say, the Open Sicilian) the risk that by mirroring your opponent you get into any real trouble is very low.
Abdusattorov develops his knight, for now remaining very flexible in terms of how he's going to set up the pawns in the central files.
Firouzja is the first to change tack, choosing not to match his opponent's move and instead stabilizing his pawn chain while breathing life into his light-squared bishop.
Abdusattorov is the first to bring his king to safety.
Firouzja now develops his knight, which does have the slight drawback of cutting off the vision of his dark-squared bishop. That's something Abdusattorov may well seek to exploit with his next move.
Abdusattorov goes for the pawn break at the right moment, cracking open lines and improving his piece activity.
Firouzja ignores the possible pawn capture in the center, in order to avoid allowing Abdusattorov's knight to the center, with pressure against his queenside.
The drawback to this move is that it forces clarifications in the center. It's inherently far less ambitious than to push the pawn forward, which would have allowed Abdusattorov to grab some space. Perhaps he's just looking to keep things quiet and not risk much, given his poor showing so far?
Firouzja takes back.
This line has been played a few times, and in some cases the players have gone for a quick draw. Could it happen here? Abdusattorov is very much a fighter, so it seems unlikely...
Abdusattorov challenges the invader knight.
This is Firouzja's peace offering. He drops the knight back, giving Abdusattorov the option of repeating moves.
Abdusattorov has to drop the bishop back, as losing the bishop pair in such an open position is a bad idea.
It's the moment of truth. Either Abdusattorov finds a fresh way of continuing the game, or he returns with his bishop and we could get a very fast draw!
You have to respect the Uzbek grandmaster's spirit. It's been a disheartening tournament for him, but he is a principled and fighting player. The White pieces offers a slight edge, and that's something that Abdusattorov wants to make full use of.
Firouzja completes his own minor piece development.
This time around it's Abdusattorov who uses his own knight to harass the active piece of Firouzja's.
Firouzja drops the bishop back to strike at one of Abdusattorov's pawns, though it does come with the drawback of leaving his own queenside pawn undefended.
He correctly grabs the pawn, with the complications working out in his favor due to the pressure against Firouzja's rook. Both of Abdusattorov's bishops are working together, so there's no way for Alireza to save this piece.
Firouzja seems to be okay with giving up the rook (even if the computers highlight that it's not the most precise). His thinking is that Abdusattorov will have problems in the long run with his king safety if he gives up his light-squared bishop, since all of his pawns around his king are on dark squares (thus leaving the opposite color vulnerable).
Perhaps the lack of a win so far in Sinquefield has left him second-guessing himself, but he decides to play things a little safer and not trade off his bishop for the rook. This costs him most of his advantage however, and Firouzja looks to be getting away with his gamble.
Firouzja drops his knight back, at the same time targeting Abdusattorov's strong dark-squared bishop.
Abdusattorov steps it out of the way, blocking the threatened exchange. He could still have taken the rook in the corner, but it was never likely to happen as he already declined taking it under better conditions one move prior.
Firouzja goes for the queen trade, setting up bringing his left-hand rook to the square previously occupied by this piece. In this way, Firouzja will kill once and for all the possibility of his rook being captured.
Abdusattorov challenges the invader.
Firouzja drops the bishop back, out of sight of Abdusattorov's knight.
A high stakes clash
It's been a rough ride for the Uzbek grandmaster in St.Louis, as he's been completely luckless in the last event for qualification before the 2025 tour closes out with the GCT Finals in late September.
With only two rounds to go, Nodirbek has yet to score a victory. That in itself is not unusual, as many grandmasters have tournaments where all or most of their games involve splitting the point. The problem is, that that has not been the case here. Abdusattorov has lost four games in seven rounds, a performance that has cost him over 20 rating points and led to his exit from the world's top 10 in the live rankings.
Meanwhile, his opponent Alireza Firouzja will not be overly pleased with his own performance. He arrived into the tournament as one of the favorites, and in pretty good form over the past few months. But at the Sinquefield Cup he's struggled to show his best. He's just below a 50% score, on 3 points out of 7. It's not just about being unable to compete for 1st place. His score also puts him at heavy risk of failing to make the top four in the tour standings, an unpleasant prospect given the hefty prize money up for grabs in São Paolo in the GCT Finals.
Given this dynamic, both players are likely to be highly motivated to score a full point. For Nodirbek, it's about regaining confidence, and closing out the tournament on a high. For Alireza, it's about winning both of his remaining games to keep his chances of qualification as high as possible.
Two calculation-heavy players who both love a good fight. Let's hope it lives up to expectation!