Nihal decides to meet Firouzja's dynamic opening choice with a positional response. He aims to take direct control over the center immediately, ideally ending up with two pawns in the middle of the board.
This opening is not the most popular at the top level, mainly due to the fact that Nihal's knight lacks its most natural development square. This gives Firouzja options to gain counterplay against Nihal's direct plan, usually by breaking in the center immediately or forcing his opponent to give up direct control over the light squares.
Dynamics ensue
Nihal has obtained strong control over the dark squares of the center, but this has come at the cost of ceding control over the light squares. Nihal also currently has a space advantage, but Firouzja will be able to contest his grip by going for a pawn break at an opportune moment.
Firouzja's counterplay gives him compensation for Nihal's grip, making the position balanced but dynamic.
The tension in the center has quickly been released as Firouzja successfully breaks down Nihal's grip over the dark squares.
Firouzja's decision to change the pawn structure is a committal one, as the far-advanced pawn may become a target for Nihal's queenside expansion: Despite the fact that Firouzja now is the one with a temporary space advantage, his slow development, in addition to Firouzja's piece placements, will allow Nihal to gain this space right back, potentially gaining an initiative on that side of the board.
Nihal will have to play some precise moves to prevent Firouzja from gaining the advantage but should be able to get an objective edge and a clear initiative if he finds the correct way forward.
As expected, Nihal has grabbed the space on the queenside right back and now prepares to once again grab control over the dark squares in the center. While Firouzja's bishop is strongly placed in a fianchetto, putting on pressure against Nihal's pawns, Nihal keeps all potential weak points under control for now.
If given the opportunity, Firouzja will attempt to break down Nihal's central structure for the second time in the game; however, at this moment, Nihal's structure remains strong. The position remains dynamic, but Nihal's opening choice has given him a small advantage.
Firouzja has surprisingly played this exact position before! In an earlier encounter against a grandmaster opponent, Firouzja played this move and ended up at an objective disadvantage. though he did manage to win the game in the end.
Though Firouzja's last move directly prevents Nihal from expanding in the center, this provocative choice allows Nihal to increase his initiative. Firouzja's knight remains unstable in the middle of the board and may become a target for Nihal's pieces quickly.
The position remains unbalanced and dynamic, however, and anything may still happen in this game!
Nihal's last move sidesteps the game Firouzja has played before, and he instead puts immediate pressure on Firouzja's exposed knight. This is the strongest move in the position, applying tactical threats against Firouzja underdeveloped position!
Firouzja now has to be careful to avoid ending up in danger, as several of his pieces remain undeveloped while Nihal is continuing his advancement.
Firouzja voluntarily retreats his queen, expecting Nihal to move his knight forward with tempo. If Firouzja can stabilize his position, he will be able to get back to an objectively equal game, but for now it's Nihal who's on the offensive.
After thinking for more than 30 minutes, Nihal eventually decides on moving his knight forward. This is a very aggressive choice, looking to sacrifice the knight if allowed!
Firouzja needs to be immensely careful here, as he may find himself on the wrong end of a deadly attack. Nihal is preparing to blow open the position, and the ensuing variations will be immensely complicated!
Nihal is looking to abuse the fact that Firouzja's position lacks coordination at the current moment, putting immediate pressure against Firouzja kingside. This is very committal, as Nihal will now be prepared to sacrifice material in order to launch his attack, and the ensuing position would not allow him to win it back immediately.
Expect Firouzja to spend quite some time here, as miscalculating may now have massive consequences. The players are only on move 15, but they are quickly running low on time already!
Firouzja decides to open up an attack against Nihal's knight, but this makes room for Nihal to enter the dark squares! Firouzja's position is getting more and more difficult as Nihal's attack is starting to take form.
Nihal's response is as immediate as it is committal: He directly sacrifices his knight to gain additional control over the dark squares!
This is the best move in the position, and Firouzja's king is now in immense danger. Nihal is all in on an attack, but he will be left with a strong advantage if he plays it precisely from here!
The right idea, but the wrong order! Nihal's objective advantage fades as he immediately harasses Firouzja's queen, forcing it to move backwards. Not applying the check with his knight first allows Firouzja a king move that wouldn't otherwise have available, giving him a relatively safer position.
The danger is far from over, however, as Nihal's aggression still gives him enough compensation for his sacrificed piece.
Firouzja retreats his queen to a safe square, but the pressure around his king remains. Nihal will now be looking for any way to blow open the position.
Firouzja retreats the knight that was under tactical threat, maintaining his material advantage for now. His lack of control over the dark squares in front of his king remains a huge issue, though, and Nihal maintains his massive initiative.
Despite the fact that Nihal has a minor piece less, he has significant compensation due to Firouzja lacking any form of activity. Nihal is on the verge of breaking through with a very promising attack!
Nihal marches up the board with his pawns, now creating a direct threat to trap Firouzja's queen. Firouzja only has one move to keep the game balanced, as allowing Nihal to push forward would be detrimental to his position.
Firouzja keeps his queen alive, avoiding it getting trapped against Nihal's pawns. While he is still far away from untangling his position, Nihal also lacks a clear way to break through.
As long as Firouzja manages to hold on, he may suddenly start playing for an advantage! The time keeps ticking for both players, however, and anything can still happen from here.
The game heats up as both players have less than 10 minutes left on their clocks. Nihal has managed to find a way to break open the queenside now, and Firouzja's defensive task is getting all the more difficult.
We're very likely to see mass trades of pieces soon, as Nihal has given up the plan of trapping Firouzja's bishop.
Both players now have less than five minutes left to reach the time control, and the position is no less complex! Anything can still happen in this game, as we're now going to see a set of forced exchanges.
The dust starts to settle as Nihal manages to regain his lost material. We're now approaching the endgame, and both players seem to have come out of the complications unscathed.
Despite losing the minor piece he won earlier, Firouzja untangling may give him some chances to fight for an advantage. Nihal will be left with a more passive position, having to defend his weaknesses against Firouzja's active rook.
The position is only getting trickier as Nihal's passed pawnsstart marching up the board. We're closely approaching the time control, but the position is now chaotic.
All three results are still possible!
This move is a huge error, allowing Firouzja to get ahold of one of his passed pawns! With his most important pawn falling, the position is at very real risk of falling apart, giving Firouzja a massive advantage!
As the players are closing in on the time control, it's suddenly Firouzja who is able to play for a win!
While both players successfully reach the time control after playing blitz chess for the last 18 moves, Nihal is left with an abysmal position as a result of his prior blunder. Firouzja now has both a material advantage and very dangerous threats against Nihal's king, forcing him into a passive defense.
Nihal has simply fallen apart, and he will need a miracle to save the draw at this point. What a turnaround by Firouzja!!
Nihal suffers from a weaker king, less activity, a pawn less, and more weaknesses in the position. In short, this endgame offers Nihal very little other than hoping that Firouzja fails to make any progress.
Firouzja is in no haste to make incremental improvements in the position, eventually looking to march his pawns up the board and create threats of promotion. While having the bishop pair is usually considered superior to a knight and bishop, Nihal's bishops simply lack any active plans.
Nihal fights for his life
All of Nihal's pieces remain stuck on defensive duties, giving Firouzja plenty of room to continue his slow maneuvering. There's no clear way for Nihal to get out of Firouzja's bind, though no immediate breakthrough is available for Firouzja either.
If Firouzja lets up the pressure, there may be a world in which Nihal can barely save this game. For now, though, Firouzja is showing no signs of letting this chance slip away.
Having neutralized any hopes for Nihal of gaining activity, Firouzja finally starts marching his king down the board. His next step is to move his pawns down, looking to generate even more pressure against Nihal's king.
Nihal's pieces remain completely paralyzed, as any attempt to find new homes for them would result in him losing material.
There weren't many viable alternatives here, but Nihal's last moves allow Firouzja to break through by force.
If Firouzja finds the way to win the pawn on the queenside, it's only a matter of time before Nihal's position falls completely apart.
Firouzja allows Nihal to slip out of the bind, giving him a very real chance to save the game! Nihal finally is able to gain activity for his pieces, making Firouzja's advancement much more difficult.
The players now find themselves in the second time scramble of the game, and Nihal fails to find the correct plan to slow down Firouzja. While this is far from over still, allowing Firouzja to trade away his knight for Nihal's bishop ends up being a massive misstep.
Nihal attempts to get into an endgame with opposite color bishops where Firouzja has two extra pawns. This ending would be holdable for Nihal due to the nature of these types of endings, and Firouzja preferably wants to avoid objectively drawing endgames.
Nihal's fighting spirit has been spectacular so far, still putting Firouzja to the test. While Firouzja maintains winning chances in this game, this is by no means straight forward anymore!
Firouzja has managed to maintain his extra pawn while also keeping the rooks on the board, greatly increasing his winning chances as opposed to a pure opposite color bishops' ending. While this is still within the realms of a draw for Nihal, escaping with a half-point still is a tall order.
The situation isn't helped by the fact that both players are now on their last minutes of this game, making the defensive task more difficult. This is going to be tense until the very last moment!
Nihal's king remains cut off from the defense against Firouzja's pawns, and this is now a hopeless situation for the young Indian to handle.
A marathon of a game looks to finally end in Firouzja's favor!
A nail-biter of a game finally comes to a close as Firouzja creates an unstoppable threat of promoting one of his pawns, forcing Nihal to resign. While the young Indian managed to gain some chances to salvage the position in an immensely difficult endgame, Firouzja managed to keep his cool and force his way to a full point after almost seven hours of play.
Nihal gained a clear opening advantage after finding a spectacular knight sacrifice. This decision led to an immensely complicated middlegame, one that caused both players to spend most of their time on move 22. The time management ended up being the deciding factor, as Firouzja managed to escape Nihal's dangerous attack and win a pawn in the process. The ensuing endgame eventually went in his favor, securing Firouzja a spot among the top contenders for winning the tournament!
After losing against Maghsoodloo in round three, chances to win the tournament overall seemed grim for Firouzja, but he has now managed to fight his way back all the way to board one. Now he faces young Nihal Sarin, one of the two surprise leaders after eight rounds of play.
Nihal accepted his opponent's decision to go for a pragmatic draw yesterday, and the young speed demon is thus well-rested heading into one of his most difficult matches of the tournament. As the tournament nears its conclusion, Nihal's ability to separate himself from the field in the final stretch will be crucial. If Nihal manages to make the most out of this game, his winning chances overall skyrocket, but facing one of the top youngsters will give him quite the challenge.
Can Nihal increase his lead, or will Firouzja fight for the crown? Let's find out!