Yu Yangyi chooses the queen’s pawn to start Round 10.
Arjun answers with a natural knight move, a flexible choice.
With a steady pawn advance, Yu Yangyi increases his influence in the middle of the board.
Arjun’s bishop move marks the transition into the Nimzo-Indian Defense. This setup is known for its balance between solidity and active counterplay against White’s central control.
Yangyi advances his pawn, opening a diagonal for his bishop.
Arjun completes kingside castling, a natural development in the Nimzo-Indian Defense. His king is secure, and he can now focus on central and queenside play.
Yu Yangyi positions his light-squared bishop on an active square, enhancing his central influence and harmonizing his pieces for potential middlegame plans.
Arjun advances his central pawn, creating a solid central structure.
Yangyi trades a pawn in the center, slightly opening the position and clarifying the central structure.
Arjun takes back the central pawn with his own, maintaining a balanced structure and keeping control of key central squares.
With his knight developed, Yangyi readies himself to castle kingside, keeping his pieces harmoniously placed for the middlegame.
Arjun places his rook on the half-open e-file, increasing pressure in the center while also giving his bishop a useful retreat square.
Yangyi castles kingside, tucking his king safely behind a wall of pawns.
Arjun retreats his bishop, preserving the valuable bishop pair.
Yangyi pushes his pawn, signaling plans to gain space on the queenside.
Arjun advances his flank pawn, limiting Yangyi's queenside expansion and asserting space on that side of the board.
We’re in unexplored territory now! This position hasn’t been seen before at top level. The position is fresh and uncharted, with Yangyi aiming for a fianchetto. It will be interesting to see how his preparation guides the next phase of the game.
Arjun advances his pawn, keeping his options open. He could fianchetto his bishop on the queenside, challenge White’s light-squared bishop, or prepare a pawn break.
Yangyi makes a rare rook maneuver, introducing something new to the position. It will be interesting to see how his plans develop from here.
Arjun’s pawn push both restrains White’s light-squared bishop and retains flexibility for kingside fianchetto.
Yangyi moves his rook to the half-open c-file, improving activity and preparing to exert pressure on Arjun 's queenside.
Arjun develops his light-squared bishop with a queenside fianchetto, strengthening his long diagonal and adding flexibility to his setup.
With this waiting move, Yangyi stays flexible, giving himself time to react to Arjun’s plan. Sometimes the best move is simply to wait and watch.
Arjun positions his knight in the center, signaling a potential exchange of minor pieces and influencing key central squares.
Yangyi exchanges his knight for Arjun’s centralized knight, altering the central balance.
Arjun recaptures the knight with his pawn, changing the central pawn structure.
Yangyi moves his bishop out of attack, taking control of a freshly opened diagonal.
A hasty knight move from Arjun opens the door for Yangyi to expand in the center. Can he find the precise move to make the most of this opportunity?
Yangyi advances his central pawn, gaining space and taking the initiative. The position now favors Yangyi’s active plans.
With this move, Arjun blocks the central pawn while preparing to bring his bishop into a more active central role.
Yangyi shifts his rook to the d-file. This game is evolving as a slow positional struggle, with both sides maneuvering and probing for small improvements.
With this central repositioning, Arjun’s bishop eyes Yangyi's unprotected knight.
Yangyi advances his knight, evading the immediate threat and subtly preparing the d-pawn advance.
Yangyi misses the best chance to advance his pawn and instead moves his bishop. While he still retains a slight advantage, the edge has diminished.
Arjun moves his rook to the d-file, increasing pressure on Yangyi’s central pawn.
Yangyi advances his pawn, fully supported by his pieces.
Arjun advances his pawn one square, putting immediate pressure on Yangyi’s knight.
Yangyi’s d-pawn is the center of attention. Will it serve as a powerful advantage or turn into a vulnerable weakness? Time will tell!
With the d-pawn contained, Arjun brings his queen into play. The piece is now better positioned to exert pressure and create threats.
Yangyi's slight edge has slipped, and the eval bar returns to equal. The battle is wide open, and momentum could swing either way.
With this central knight move, Arjun adds complexity to the game. The tension rises as both sides must navigate carefully.
The position has become very complex. Arjun holds the bishop pair, but the key battleground is the d-file, where pawn structure will dictate the middlegame plans for both sides.
Arjun advances his pawn, aiming to trade his d-pawn for Yangyi’s.
Both players exchange their d-pawns, stabilizing the center and simplifying the position. The game remains balanced.
Yangyi shifts his rook to the c-file. With two open files, the c-file and d-file, both sides will contest these files with their major pieces.
The rooks are gone, leading to an equal-material endgame. Yangyi retains a minor positional advantage: the knight is more active and versatile compared to the somewhat restricted bishop.
Arjun offers a queen exchange, but taking it would be unfavorable for Yangyi!
At the 40th move, Arjun miscalculates under time pressure. Yangyi's active queen and knight now dominate the board, putting Arjun in a defensive posture and increasing Yangyi’s practical chances.
Yangyi misses the chance to capitalize on his advantage, and the position has once again returned to equality.
Arjun moves his queen, maintaining defense and keeping the position under control.
Despite equality, the structure holds latent tension. Breakthroughs with pawn advances are possible on both the queenside and kingside, and the timing of these pushes will be critical.
Arjun moves his king toward the center, aiming for activity in the endgame and showing no fear of potential checks.
On board 3, Yu Yangyi vs. Arjun Erigaisi gave us a 54-move draw, but the game was far from dull!
The battle began in the Nimzo-Indian Defense, where Yangyi surprised with a fresh idea straight out of preparation. The game quickly turned into a rich positional fight, both players maneuvering and probing for control of the center.
Yangyi looked to have his chance when Arjun slipped in the middlegame, but the Chinese GM couldn’t push it far enough. Arjun regrouped and found his balance, steering the position back to equal terms. Later, on move 40, Arjun stumbled again but Yangyi once more failed to punish.
The game eventually simplified into a queen and minor-piece endgame, where both sides pressed but neither could crack through. In the end, a fair draw.
With just one round to go, everything is still wide open at the Grand Swiss. Tomorrow’s Round 11 promises fireworks, don’t go anywhere!
🎙️ Welcome to Round 10 at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025! The tournament is reaching boiling point as players fight for the coveted two Candidates spots, and today on board 3 we’ve got a thrilling matchup:
🔸Yu Yangyi 🇨🇳 vs. Arjun Erigaisi 🇮🇳
The standings couldn’t be tighter. Four players lead with 6.5 points, while a big chasing pack sits right behind on 6 points - including Yangyi and Erigaisi. It’s all about finishing strong now, and every single half-point carries enormous weight.
Both players come into this round with momentum, having scored victories in Round 9. Yangyi brings his trademark precision and depth of preparation, while Erigaisi, India’s creative spark, is looking sharp and hungry to break into the very top.
What will happen today? Will Yangyi’s experience guide him through, or will Arjun’s energy and ambition tip the scales? Stay tuned, we’ll be bringing you live, move-by-move commentary of this crucial clash!