Could this be an early sign that Wei Yi is happy to equalize? Whenever we've seen the Four Knights system in the tournament, it seems that the White side has always been happy to go for forcing and drawish lines, often with early simplifications.
This is the Spanish Variation of the Four Knights, and interestingly it's a very forcing line that is considered not to offer any particular edge. It's an especially surprising choice to see Wei Yi essay this one, since it was Sindarov himself who played it in the semifinals against his compatriot Nodirbek Yakkuboev!
Sindarov has to watch out here that he doesn't leave the pawn standing for too long, since otherwise Wei Yi would give a check along the open file and force the win of a piece.
This seems like Wei Yi's way of saying that he's not especially eager to fight today! It's hard to believe that with his doubled pawns, he's going to be able to pose any real threats to Sindarov in a queenless middlegame.
It's kind of crazy to speak about tiebreaks as early as move 10 of game 2, but given Wei Yi's choice to initiate a mass series of trades, you get the feeling that the Chinese grandmaster wants to bring this one to the rapid & blitz play-offs tomorrow.
Sindarov decides to recapture with the bishop, ensuring he still leaves himself with castling rights.
This move is a strong indication that Sindarov is happy to make Wei Yi's task of drawing the game as easy as possible.
The reason!
This is why I said in the previous note that Sindarov is happy to 'play ball'. Now it's possible for Wei Yi to swap off his doubled pawns, so the structure is about to get completely symmetrical.
With both sides castled and many pieces traded off, it's almost inconceivable to imagine that the result of this one is going to be anything but a draw.
Wei Yi steps his rook to the open file, striking at the enemy bishop.
Sindarov invites opposite-colored bishops
Such endgames are notoriously drawn. With his last move, Sindarov seems to be inviting this, by self-pinning.
Wei Yi 'takes the bait'
The Chinese grandmaster immediately recognizes what's on offer, and is happy to do so. The point is that the pin now appears to be quite unpleasant, but Sindarov can break it by placing his light-squared bishop on the file.
Opposite colored bishops, coming up
Whether Wei Yi takes the light-squared bishop, or the dark-squared, Sindarov will be able to capture the other colored bishop and lead to a dead drawn endgame immediately.
Sindarov captures this bishop, since taking the other one would not only leave him with bishops of the same color but it would also leave him with an isolated pawn in the center.
Wei Yi drops the bishop back in order to trade off the heavy pieces.
Sindarov continues to oblige, as we prepare to trade the rooks.
The second set of rooks are about to come off the board.
The players are just blitzing their way to move 30, when it becomes possible to offer a draw. Prior to this, the rules forbid it.
There's not too much to say here, as the players are just going through the motions on their way to what has already been a certain draw for some time now.
The players look to be starting to repeat moves, as we reach the final stages of the game.
There is very little that can be said about today's game, other than that Wei Yi is likely very much exhausted in what is a nearly one month long tournament.
Given this, it makes sense to avoid the grueling exhaustion of a classical game, especially when the most likely result is ultimately a draw. And so, Wei Yi goes for the pragmatic and very understandable decision of playing a forcing line that takes any drama out of the game as early as possible.
Sindarov, of course, was never going to object to this. He's a very strong rapid & blitz player, so he'll certainly feel that this arena offers him better chances of success than the Black side of today's classical game.
See you again tomorrow, to find out who will become the 2025 FIDE World Cup champion!
Who will take gold?!
This might just be the last day of action in the 2025 FIDE World Cup!
The favorites to win, if this is indeed the last day, would be Esipenko (as he won his first game against Yakkuboev) and Wei Yi (as the player who has the advantage of the White pieces today).
Of course, any result is possible. For those fans who enjoy the action-packed day of rapid & blitz tiebreaks, they may be hoping to see another solid draw in this board today (and even a win from Yakkuboev vs Esipenko!). That eventuality would lead to both sets of players duking it out tomorrow -- not a bad way of closing out the tournament if you're a neutral spectator :)
As for this game, so tough to call it. Wei Yi might just be unambitious and opt for a solid position and a bet on his chances in the tiebreak format. One thing that is almost certain, is that we can expect Sindarov to be extra solid today. It generally doesn't pay to be reckless from the Black side against a player of Wei Yi's caliber!