This is a very long forced line, and one that Wei Yi should understand the nuances of. It's very hard for Arjun to show anything here, but let's see if he's got some creative idea up his sleeve.
A double attack, but in reality Arjun cannot take the pawn in the center due to the greek gift sacrifice which would win his queen.
Threatening checkmating patterns along the weak dark squares of Wei Yi.
Arjun plays it anyway, since Wei Yi is not in time to capture the light-squared bishop owing to the threat of the queen coming in.
The computer's top choice by far, suggesting that for now Arjun is still firmly in his opening preparation.
Defending the central pawn.
The extra space along both queen and kingside makes Wei Yi's position slightly uncomfortable. Nothing crazy from a human perspective, but it's basically risk-free for Arjun while that is not the case for Wei Yi.
Grabbing even more space. Arjun's doubled pawns are not an issue, since Wei Yi has no way of targeting them. In fact, they lead to a semi-open file that might be helpful for Arjun at the right moment, to apply pressure with his rook.
Wei Yi steps his king up to cover the weak dark squares. A solid choice.
Returning the passive bishop into play.
One idea that Arjun may have is to lift his rook up, to try to pressure Wei Yi's weakest pawn.
Shutting down any pressure along the file.
Wei Yi will now have to drop his bishop back in order to defend the pawn with his rook.
It doesn't look like Arjun has obtained any edge at all here, with no way of making further progress in sight. So far, things are going according to plan for Wei Yi. Very likely to end in a draw.
Arjun drops his bishop back, indicating that he's considering pushing his pawn forward to grab even more space.
Wei Yi figures that sooner or later he'll be able to drop his light-squared bishop back, so he's taking control of the central file first.
Arjun has to be a little careful
He has the worst structure after all, and now Wei Yi has some real chances to start applying piece pressure to that weak isolated pawn on the left hand side.
Wei Yi has an opportunity to push the pawn forward, cementing the weakness for Arjun on the left hand side.
Arjun is being forced into passive defense here, but the pawns on the right hand side are also not so easy to defend. It could be the case that he has overextended!
So uncomfortable for Arjun, since he can't push the pawn to deal with the threat. That would allow Wei Yi to bring his light-squared bishop into play!
Wei Yi has an immediate opportunity to bring the bishop onto an active diagonal.
Wei Yi goes for it, and while he's not winning or close to it, the position does remain super tricky for Arjun to handle.
Wei Yi can now force the trade of bishops. This would be very helpful for the Chinese grandmaster, as then his rook can enter the central file and Arjun will be left with only one (very passive) bishop.
For the second game running, Wei Yi lets his opponent escape from a very dangerous position! Now Arjun is immediately out of trouble, as he gets to snatch the important central pawn.
Arjun now has a passed pawn in the center, and there's no longer a powerful bind keeping his dark-squared bishop locked in permanently.
Covering against any possible checks along the second rank.
Wei Yi is trying to break down the pawn chain, so that he can think about bringing his rook or king to more active squares.
Arjun still has to weather the storm here, with Wei Yi's king stepping up to pressure the weak pawn soon.
Very hard to hang onto the pawn here for Arjun, but the good news is that even if this one drops, he should have enough resources to hold the balance.
The only move to hold the balance, as Arjun finds the best moment to create counterplay and maintain dynamic equality.
More difficult decisions to make!
Arjun still with just one move to play in order to keep equality. High chance of a blunder coming up soon!
This check was a huge mistake, as it invites the bishop to a very active square and just helps Wei Yi's cause. Now Arjun is immediately losing!
A chance here for Arjun, as Wei Yi has moved his bishop forward. Now he has to correct that mistake and return the bishop and find the right plan instead. So it's clear Wei Yi is not sure of the right way to continue! He could lose his advantage quickly here...
Wei Yi spoils his winning advantage. Instead, he needed to block the advance of the pawn with his king. His move is super logical though, and it's still a very narrow path for Arjun to find the drawish line from here.
Arjun immediately returns the favor, failing to find the super tricky line that offered drawing chances (involving bringing his rook up to the center)
Wei Yi can already go for a very direct path, sacrificing a queenside pawn in order to create a passed pawn on the queenside.
Wei Yi finds it! Now the passed pawn is just crushing.
Now Arjun's rook is paralyzed, just to stop Wei Yi from queening it.
Wei Yi is playing like an absolute machine here. The rook is now coming to the left hand side, which will kill the game by winning Arjun's rook.
Hopeless
This endgame with two extra pawns is very much over, and Wei Yi will for sure know the winning technique. Arjun Erigaisi's hopes of a Candidates spot are quashed in tragic fashion.
Worst comes to worst, Wei Yi can bring his king to the right hand side to assist the pawn. And then force the win of Arjun's bishop.
Arjun is playing on out of inertia, as he is understandably shell-shocked exiting the tournament in heartbreaking fashion.
A tragic elimination for India's remaining grandmaster in the tournament, Arjun Erigaisi.
After saving the first rapid game from the Black side, and with a super solid Petroff Defense on the board in game 2, it seemed like this game was more than likely heading for a draw.
But Arjun, always an ambitious and fighting player, tried to generate some winning chances from a position that offered little.
Wei Yi, for his part, kept playing very solid and strong moves. And little by little, it appeared that Arjun's aggression had led to a weakening of his own pawn structure.
This was the invitation that Wei Yi needed, and soon he took over the initiative. Arjun fought well, but ultimately Wei Yi crashed through in the time scramble, as Arjun failed to find the extremely narrow path to a defense.
A huge and well-deserved victory for Wei Yi, who is now just inches away from a coveted spot in the 2026 Candidates tournament.
Commiserations to Arjun Erigaisi, as he exits the tournament in heartbreaking fashion. Kudos on the phenomenal chess that he played, and no doubt that we will see this world-class player at manyCandidates tournaments in the future.
Arjun with a great chance to eliminate Wei Yi!
The Indian grandmaster had a very close call against Wei Yi in the first game of the day, but now it's he who can hope to apply a lot of pressure right out of the opening.
He has consistently shown that he has a real knack to trouble opponents with his strong opening repertoire when he has the White pieces.
If he can obtain an advantage out of the opening, he's in with a golden opportunity to kill the match here and now.
A ticket to the semi-finals up for grabs!