An opening commonly used by Firouzja, looking to take immediate control over the light squares in the center. This opening often makes for complex games, and it's already clear that Firouzja will try to fight for a win.
Blitz in the opening!
The players play out their opening moves at blazing speed. This variation, known as the Fried Liver Attack, is an uncommon choice at the top level due to it being considered objectively inferior to the main lines.
The opening is incredibly tricky, however, with tactical shots being thrown left and right. We will have to wait and see what Firouzja has prepared in this line that he considers to give him winning chances.
Firouzja's last move is an uncommon one in this variation, as retreating the bishop is much more common when played at the top level. Yakubboev now slows down, indicating that he's either not incredibly confident in these lines or that he's considering which approach he wants to take.
Yakubboev may capture Firouzja's bishop despite the fact that his rook in the corner is hanging. While Firouzja will gain a material advantage from such an approach, Yakubboev will gain sufficient compensation in the form of the bishop pair in addition to a lead in development.
Yakubboev has gained a very clear initiative as a result of Firouzja's choice to go for his rook, and Firouzja's long-term strategy is quite simple: Weather the storm while keeping his material edge to reach a favorable endgame.
It will now be up to Yakubboev to maintain the pressure in the position, as failing to do so may have dire consequences in the later stages of the game.
The position we're witnessing is one of the main reasons the White player rarely decides to play this line. Yakubboev's pieces have landed in the heart of Firouzja's position, continuously harassing his queen while setting up threats against Firouzja's kingside.
The position is objectively equal, but this is by no means straightforward to play for either side. Firouzja thrives in tactical chaos, however, and likely has looked at this position beforehand.
Firouzja is forced to move for the 7th time in this game, giving Yakubboev a tempo advantage and a clear initiative. The material situation is still in Firouzja's favor, though, and Yakubboev lacks a clear breakthrough with his attack.
Firouzja has definitely succeeded in creating a dynamic game, as this crazy position offers chances to both sides. The evaluation remains equal, but all three results are possible in this game!
Yakubboev decides to give a kick to Firouzja's knight, but Firouzja has a sudden opportunity to gain a small edge! A tactical shot allows him to put his knight in the heart of Yakubboev's position with the intention to momentarily make his other knight undefended, susceptible to a fork.
This move is by no means obvious, however, as Firouzja also has to consider the consequences of Yakubboev simply not accepting the offer. The game remains immensely complicated, with narrow paths to maintain objective equality.
Firouzja plays the critical move, discoordinating Yakubboev's pieces momentarily to snag the pawn while at the same time trading pieces. Trading away Yakubboev's active pieces assists in alleviating the pressure against his kingside, and Firouzja remains materially superior.
While there is still no crisis for Yakubboev, Firouzja is on his way to stabilizing the position. Should he be able to do so without allowing Yakubboev to set up counter-threats, he will be able to get a clear advantage in the later stages of the game.
While Yakubboev's knight could be defended with the queen, this would completely destabilize his grip in the center by allowing Firouzja to capture a pawn. Therefore, Yakubboev instead opts to give the knight back to maintain coordination.
This position is absurd enough to force Firouzja to move his queen no less than 10 times in 22 moves!! Despite this extremely uncommon strategy, Firouzja has managed to keep his position stable while maintaining his material edge.
Firouzja moves his queen for the 11th time in 23 moves, and Yakubboev's situation on the board is starting to become desperate. While his initiative and powerful pieces remain, he is at very real risk of losing control over the position if he allows Firouzja time to develop his pieces.
There are tactical threats looming against Firouzja's king, allowing Yakubboev to go for a counterattack by sacrificing his knight. The result of such a decision is not at all clear, which makes such an option incredibly risky.
It's getting more and more likely that Firouzja will be able to stabilize his position despite his blatant disregard of opening principles!
Yakubboev finds one of the ways to maintain his initiative! Although Firouzja's pawn can capture the bishop, doing so would lead to a losing position because Yakubboev's knight and queen create unstoppable checkmate threats.
The game still isn't over, but Yakubboev has taken the first step to maintain control!
Only one move can save Firouzja from having a losing position, and the way to maintain balance is a very difficult find. Firouzja is now the one in danger of letting the game slip away!
Moving his pawn up was the only way to keep the game balanced, despite the ongoing danger. The game remains immensely complex, and both players' clocks are getting low!
Once again, Firouzja finds the only move to keep his position intact. He momentarily defends Yakubboev from checkmate by moving his rook straight into the line of fire of Yakubboev's knight, momentarily disrupting his mating net to be able to gain some activity of his own.
Firouzja barely holds on for now, but the situation remains incredibly complex.
Yakubboev attempts to get his rook into the game, but this is a huge mistake! The way to punish it is an insanely difficult find, however, and Firouzja has to find an insane maneuver with his pawns to take advantage of it!
What Yakubboev has missed is that Firouzja can sacrifice a pawn to get his queen into the game, gaining the extra defender necessary to avoid checkmate. If Firouzja finds this insane maneuver, he deserves to win this game!
Not the very best move, but good enough to maintain an advantage! Firouzja prepares to get his bishop into play, suddenly creating his own threats against Yakubboev's king!
Firouzja has found an astonishing defense, but the game is far from over.
Firouzja finally gets his bishop into the game, now creating threats against Yakubboev's king. Surprisingly, the king lacks a safe home despite having only two attackers ready to be deployed, and Yakubboev is in dire straits.
There are still precise moves that need to be played, but Firouzja will win this game if he finds the critical moves needed to break Yakubboev's threats against his king.
Firouzja's resilience in this game has been nothing short of remarkable. Once again he finds the correct move to start an attack of his own!
While this move gives away a pawn for free, this also opens up a file for his rook with tempo. Once Firouzja's rook enters the position, his attack is suddenly much more dangeorus than Yakubboev's!!
This critical move seals the deal. There are now too many threats for Yakubboev to handle, forcing the loss of material.
Alireza plays a game for the history books as he finds the precise defense needed to win an incredible game. Yakubboev resigns after realizing the loss of material is now unavoidable, suddenly having the weaker king after pressing for an attack for the entire game.
Firouzja went for the throat in the opening, choosing a very tactical line that left him with extra material but a complete lack of activity. Despite being forced to move his queen a ridiculous amount of times in the opening, Firouzja managed to keep his position intact. A strong attempt at creating counterplay seemingly was enough for Yakubboev to at least gain a draw, but a single mistake was immediately punished by the Frenchman.
Firouzja managed to balance the thin line of defending immediate threats while creating counterplay of his own, and a few precise moves later, Yakubboev's position fell completely apart. A masterpiece by the young prodigy, who is now moving his way back up the ranks in the tournament.
Can Firouzja fight back? 🤔
As one of the tournament favorites prior to the tournament start, Firouzja has had a slightly disappointing tournament so far. The young prodigy suffered a significant loss against tournament leader Maghsoodloo, now sitting a full point behind him after the halfway mark.
Firouzja needs to start winning games right here and now if he wants to be in contention for first place. Having the white pieces against lower-rated Yakubboev will give him good chances to play for a win, and we're expecting Firouzja to put him to the test today.