Yakubboev keeps things flexible
It's no surprise to see him going for a system involving an early fianchetto of the kingside bishop. Such an approach typically leads to many pieces kept on the board, and a complex battle. For Yakubboev, it's crucial to avoid early simplifications.
Esipenko keeps things solid
He's not going to get too creative, given that a draw is all he's looking for today. Instead, it's simple principled development, as he prepares to castle next.
Yakubboev sets about the task of undermining Esipenko's central pawn.
A timid push of the pawn, but Yakubboev wants to avoid the heavily theoretical terrain of the Catalan, which is what would have arisen had he pushed his queen's pawn up two squares instead.
The drawback to Yakubboev's previous move is that he has less pawn control in the center, so Esipenko accepts the 'invitation' to grab the bigger piece of the central pie for himself.
Yakubboev jumps forward with his knight, occupying the central square before Esipenko has a chance to develop his own queenside knight and seize control over it.
A generally useful move
Esipenko is very happy to remain patient here. He understands that the fact he's picked up more space in the center means that Yakubboev does not have any real claim to be standing better. So he takes control of a useful square, before continuing on with his piece development.
Yakubboev looking for pressure
It makes sense to try to apply some piece pressure against both the center and queenside. But there's a big question after this move: what exactly does Yakubboev intend to do if Esipenko now targets his knight?!
The problem is that if the knight retreats, then what is the point of having jumped it forward in the first place? While defending it with the pawn seems very risky, as it will leave a lot of weak squares in Yakubboev's camp.
Esipenko immediately targets the knight
Yakubboev now has a difficult decision to make. If he drops the knight back, it's an admission that his approach was mistaken. In this sense, we can almost certainly guess that we'll see him pushing the pawn up in support, even at the cost of weakening his position.
It may be a bit risky to open up the dark-squared diagonal leading to his king, but Yakubboev will know that he has to be willing to take some risks if he wants to complicate the position enough to generate winning chances.
Esipenko doubles down
Very natural play from the Russian, who targets the knight for a second time. That said, it's more a developing move than it is a concrete threat, since even if it were Esipenko's turn he almost certainly wouldn't try to win a pawn in the center. That would leave his queen exposed and also cost him his strong dark-squared bishop.
Yakubboev chops pawns in the center, as he looks to soften up Esipenko's structure before bringing his queenside knight to apply even more pressure.
The right reaction
Esipenko avoids the mistake of taking back with his knight, since that would have left him with poor central control. Now, he's also opened up the diagonal for his bishop. Though one concern is that his central pawn is about to come under fire.
This is really surprising from Yakubboev. In a position where he could simply have developed his knight and put Esipenko to a tricky decision, he instead gives up his extremely powerful bishop in order to grab a pawn. Esipenko is going to be very happy to see this, as he will know that he will have much more than compensation for the slight material deficit!
Esipenko doesn't hesitate, immediately securing the bishop pair. Now, the light squares around Yakubboev's position (including the kingside) are going to be chronically weak and difficult to defend.
Yakubboev takes back.
Yakubboev is in serious trouble now, as Esipenko quickly finds and plays by far the strongest move in the position. The point is that the rook is poisoned, since capturing it would lead to a tactical sequence where Yakubboev's queen would ultimately be lost for just a rook and bishop.
Yakubboev drops back
Anything else, and once his queen is kicked away then Esipenko would have been able to take the knight and recover his missing material by playing queen takes pawn at the end of the sequence. Yakubboev knows he's going to have to suffer here, so he makes sure that he at least suffers while being a pawn to the good.
Esipenko targets the queen
He brings his bishop to the powerful diagonal, as he looks to quickly complete his development. His position is objectively excellent, but at least Yakubboev has the kind of messy situation on the board that gives him an outside chance at winning the game should Esipenko go wrong at a later juncture.
Yakubboev looks to set up a fast attack
Given one more move, he would jump his knight forward and threaten checkmate. Esipenko has to watch out, since for now there are no pieces guarding his kingside.
Esipenko completes his minor piece development
Better was to push the pawn in front of his queen, opening up more lines for Esipenko's pieces, in particular his dark-squared bishop. But the Russian grandmaster chooses the most natural and safe choice instead, confident in the long-term nature of his two bishop advantage.
Yakubboev shuts down the diagonal
Pushing the pawn forward makes sense, since now at least Esipenko's powerful light-squared bishop is blunted. Perhaps it's time for Andrei to think about pushing his pawn forward on the queenside, in order to chip away at the central structure.
The position is already beginning to collapse here for Yakubboev. There's no easy way to deal with the pressure against the pawn, since once this one drops it is going to be very hard for him to continue defending the other light-squared pawn.
Best
Yakubboev focuses on finishing his development as soon as possible, with the point being that if Esipenko now takes the pawn, then he can push his pawn forward in return. That should allow him to win back his material right away.
Esipenko piles on the pressure
Yakubboev's center is on the verge of collapse. The only way he can hang onto the pawns is by pushing them both forward in succession, but this is going to turn Esipenko's knight and light-squared bishop into monsters!
Yakubboev pushes his pawn
He gains time against the enemy bishop, and is almost certainly planning to follow up by pushing his other central pawn. But this is going to leave his light squares in truly terrible shape...
Esipenko drops the bishop back quickly, stepping away from the sights of the enemy pawn.
Yakubboev decides to trade pawns instead, in order to at least leave Esipenko with a fractured structure on the queenside.
Esipenko ready to jump into the outpost
Given one more move, his plan will likely be to plant his knight on the very strong advanced outpost. Once the piece lands there, it's going to be a real thorn in Yakubboev's side, especially since the Uzbek lacks a light-squared bishop with which to challenge it.
Yakubboev completes his minor piece development
He would love to snatch the pawn that is under fire, as then Esipenko would lose his outpost in the process.
Of course, Andrei was never going to allow Yakubboev to take the pawn. Now, his powerful knight stops Yakubboev from being able to bring his rook over to target the pawn any further.
Yakubboev sets up attacking ideas
By pushing the edge pawn, he's looking to bring his knight forward at the right moment and threaten checkmate. It's not much of a threat, but the position offers him very little to choose from.
Esipenko brings his rook into play
What a horrible position for Yakubboev to have to handle, as there is no obvious direction for him to take the game into. Meanwhile, Esipenko has all sorts of threats. He can look to trade dark-squared bishops next, or even snatch the pawn on the left hand side.
Already, the Russian grandmaster will be thinking of forcing paths to kill the game off. Yakubboev's position is simply far too weak, and his pieces are all disorganized. The strongest idea appears to be to trade dark-squared bishops, when Esipenko will then be able to invade with his queen through the dark squares near Yakubboev's king.
Now the bishops are going to come off by force, when Esipenko's queen will become extremely powerful due to the weakness of all the squares in the center and around Yakubboev's king.
Esipenko prepares to attack
He takes back with the queen, gaining time as Yakubboev's king is immediately in check.
Yakubboev steps his king away from the check and onto a dark square, since the alternative would leave him in the sights of Esipenko's powerful light-squared bishop.
This one may be over very soon!
A heartbreaking position for Yakubboev, whose dreams of a seat at the 2026 Candidates tournament already appear to have faded away. Esipenko is ready to give a check with his queen next, after which he should soon be able to force material gains.
Desperation
Yakubboev wants to carve out a square for his king to turn to, in the event that Esipenko gives the check with his queen along his second rank. But the problem is that this move just further weakens his pawn structure, while handing the turn over to Esipenko.
Esipenko has known he is winning for a long time, but this move decides matters on the spot. The point is that if Yakubboev plays rook takes knight, then Esipenko will do likewise. But his capture will come with check, and checkmate soon to follow!
Yakubboev sees nothing better than to trade
But now, this one is definitely over. The rook is going to come down with check, and there will be no way for Yakubboev's king to survive the onslaught.
The Russian grandmaster will be feeling very relieved, as he knows that the game is now in its final stages. Even a draw from here would be enough for Candidates qualification, but Esipenko's advantage is so great that I don't think he would have accepted a draw for some time now!
Yakubboev scrambles to try to find some refuge with his king.
The 23-year old has impressed throughout the tournament, and many will consider him as being one of the most deserving players to secure a spot in the 2026 Candidates tournament.
However, some were not so sure if he would be able to recover psychologically, after a brutal last-second blunder against Wei Yi forced him to fight for the final candidates spot against up-and-coming Uzbek grandmaster, Nodirbek Yakkuboev.
But Andrei showed that he has nerves of steel, picking himself up without any rest day in between, and turning over a convincing performance from the White side in yesterday's first classical game.
That win left him with one foot in the door of the upcoming Candidates tournament, an event that pits many of the greatest players in the world against each other, as they fight for the chance to challenge Gukesh Dommaraju in the next World Championship match!
Commiserations to Nodirbek Yakubboev, who misses out on the grand prize by the narrowest of margins.
And, once again, congratulations to Andrei Esipenko on an incredible showing at the 2025 FIDE World Cup, and best of luck to him at the Candidates tournament!
Esipenko with one foot in the Candidates!
The Russian grandmaster scored a huge win from the White side yesterday, leaving himself in the privileged position of needing only to avoid defeat today in order to qualify to the 2026 Candidates tournament!
That is certainly what will be on both player's mind today, with a bronze medal serving as little more than a nice-to-have bonus.
Yakkuboev, of course, is far from out. He has the benefit of the White pieces, and the fact that he absolutely must win means that we are almost certain to have an exciting battle on our hands today.
Can the Uzbek talent dig deep and find a way to break Esipenko's defenses?!