MVL in a must-win situation!
MVL has opted to give up the center in the opening, instead going for a more passive setup and planning to take space at a later stage.
MVL has essentially decided to go for a non-theoretical, dynamic position in the hopes of gaining winning chances.
Erigaisi has maintained his space advantage out of the opening, and MVL has failed to create any chances for himself for now.
Erigaisi takes the opportunity to solidify his center, creating a grip against MVL's potential pawn break.
While Erigaisi has managed to keep the position well under control, the position still contains some dynamics. Erigaisi shouldn't be in any danger, but one wrong move can still turn the tides.
A strong move by MVL, forcing the position to blow open before Erigaisi is able to close down the center completely!
While Erigaisi still isn't in any clear danger, the position opening up allows MVL to play for an advantage.
MVL is all in against Erigaisi's king, trying to break down Erigaisi's king safety. If his attack fails, however, Erigaisi should be able to gain a winning advantage due to his pawn majority on the queenside.
While Erigaisi has gained significant material on the queenside, MVL has blown open Erigaisi's king and is closing in on an attack. Tactical threats are in the air, and MVL has successfully to give himself clear chances in this game!
While Erigaisi's king is exposed, he has managed to avoid the worst of it for now. MVL will have to keep pushing forward, as Erigaisi's material advantage will be enough to win the game as long as he avoids checkmate!
Erigaisi has successfully managed to get his king out of harm's way for now and seems to have things under control. His time is ticking down, however, now having only one minute left!
Erigaisi forces the trade of queens and now has a clearly winning position!
Erigaisi fails to find the way forward in the time scramble, allowing MVL to get back into the game!
This is the way! MVL will now get a queen, giving him chances to create more difficulties for Erigaisi with little time on the clock!
MVL shows incredible resourcefulness, managing to create dangers for Erigaisi when it seemed like Erigaisi had everything under control. Despite the fact that Erigaisi eventually managed to defend against MVL's threats, he spent an immense amount of time in doing so.
With only one minute left on the clock, Erigaisi failed to convert his advantage, allowing MVL to come back into the game by promoting his pawn into a queen. Despite still being objectively favored in the resulting position, Erigaisi simply did not have enough time to finish the game.
Looks like we're going to armageddon!