The opening choice by Alireza has been extremely unconventional, and it doesn't appear to be troubling Magnus. He's got an attack on the cards and healthy development. Early edge for Magnus here!
One of the problems for Firouzja is that he's got to worry about a possible pawn break in the future, especially if Magnus can clear the diagonal for his bishop and queen.
Magnus just playing natural moves here, and Firouzja already with a very uncomfortable position without a clear plan available to him...!
It's maybe a bit too early to call it, but both knights on the edge of the board don't paint a pretty picture here.
Magnus has gone for something a little more solid than he perhaps needed to. The fact that he has the Black pieces may lean him towards minimizing risk, and that's something Firouzja can try and make use of to get back in this game.
One problem for Firouzja is that his bishop is just starved for activity, hitting a brick wall with Magnus' pawn chain ideally placed to combat it.
The ideas of a pawn break still in the air for Magnus, though he might decide they've lost their venom with some pieces traded off by now.
The focus turns towards the battle for the only open file of the position.
Firouzja still struggling to equalize here. But where it's even worse is the clock situation! It feels like there hasn't been a single game where Magnus hasn't had at least a 2-minute edge on the clock.
This just seems to play into Magnus' hands, as he wants to retreat the knight to pressure its counterpart!
This was something that Firouzja should have avoided. Now his knight is pinned and under serious pressure.
Perhaps this is what Firouzja missed?
This is the problem. After the forced rook trade (since Firouzja's knight was hanging on the edge) Magnus now dominates the only open file. Firouzja will have to fight hard to avoid losing this one.
This may not look so bad at first glance, but Firouzja's knight has no circuit to move to. It's not quite paralyzed, but almost. There's just no way of arranging his pieces well from here.
Firouzja knows he's in huge trouble, so he's looking to shake things up (while also covering knight jumps). But this just weakens his position further.
Magnus fails to find the crushing blow (invading with the queen), suggesting that he may be underestimating this idea, which remains the strongest move even now.
Firouzja has a glimmer of hope here. Magnus didn't take the chance to break in with his queen at the best moment, and now Firouzja is not so far from 'recycling' his knight!
Magnus knows that if the knight re-enters the game, the position may be closer to level than an edge for him. So he's looking to cut that out.
Going for a more passive route. The knight's quest continues!
Earlier it was clear that Firouzja's knights were both misplaced. Now we see the kind of acrobatics he has to do to try and get them back to life.
That's a nasty move. Magnus sets up another clamp-like configuration. His queen cuts one knight's advance, while his pawn cuts out the other's!
Magnus Carlsen blunders for the first time in the match! Can Firouzja spot the rook lift to punish it??!!
But he's down to just seconds again. He's got an advantage, but it would still be a miracle to not get flagged!
Magnus is shaking his head. He can't believe that the position is completely losing. But can Firouzja win with his extra queen in just 15 seconds?!!
The position is so easy for Firouzja to play, and that means that he's got serious chances to win, even with just 11 seconds!
Magnus blunders his rook!
That was...I don't know what that was. And I'm not sure that you the viewer, or even Magnus Carlsen, quite knows what happened there. Magnus was in complete control, and Alireza was down to 25 seconds when suddenly Magnus blundered. And from there, Firouzja found a way to convert his edge when all hope seemed lost. We could be in for a 3-set thriller in Riyadh!
Firouzja needs to strike back!
Magnus Carlsen did Magnus things in set 1, winning convincingly with two comfortable draws and inflicting two defeats for a 3-1 final scoreline to put his young opponent under huge pressure as we get ready for the second (and possibly final) set of the final!
With so much on the line, Alireza Firouzja will have to find a way to settle his nerves and find his form. The first game he'll have the White pieces, and a loss here would already make it incredibly difficult to get back in this shorter 4-game match format.
Let's see if he can dig deep and keep this final alive!