One of Hikaru's main lines, looking to gain pressure along Erigaisi's queenside in the long term using his light-squared bishop.
A very strange maneuver is played by Hikaru, spending three(!!) moves to grab a pawn with his knight. Despite this long maneuver, he should not be in much danger, as his structure remains solid. That being said, this opening shouldn't pose any objective problems for Erigaisi.
Erigaisi spends his time forcing the exchange of Hikaru's strongest piece, but doing this has allowed Hikaru to take complete control over the center. While Hikaru's pressure against the queenside has vanished, he now has a clear space advantage.
Erigaisi's decision to get rid of Hikaru's bishop has backfired, as Hikaru has managed to gain a very harmonious position where he maintains his space advantage. Despite material being completely equal, Hikaru's extra space gives him a dangerous initiative.
Hikaru's piece placements has caused Erigaisi to get a very difficult position, as his pieces are uncoordinated due to the lack of space.
Hikaru seizes the moment to break the position open while Erigaisi remains uncoordinated! Hikaru's pieces are progressing up the board, and Erigaisi has no counterplay in sight.
Hikaru has played this middlegame flawlessly, using his initiative to gain a material advantage in form of the exchange.
Hikaru will get massive chances to win this game, but it's not over quite yet!
Erigaisi has gained a couple of pawns for the exchange, meaning that he still has some chances to save this position. With Hikaru's massive activity, however, this will be no easy task.
Erigaisi has given up one of his pawns in order to gain some activity for his pieces, meaning that Hikaru is now clear material up. The question now is whether Hikaru's advantage will be enough to break through, or if Erigaisi can create a fortress.
While attacking a pawn seems like a natural move, this will allow Erigaisi's passive knight to finally get into play!
Erigaisi has defended brilliantly so far, and Hikaru is no closer to breaking through. It's now very likely that this will be decided in a time scramble, meaning any result is possible!
The clock is now even more important than the position itself, and Erigaisi is now half a minute behind on time. Having both the more difficult decision and less time, holding this will be a tall order for Erigaisi!
Hikaru has a completely winning position and is way up on time. Barring a huge blunder, this is all over!
Hikaru takes the lead!
Hikaru manages to get an advantage in the middlegame for the first time in the match and manages to convert it into game-winning pressure! Despite Erigaisi holding on to an endgame where the result wasn't entirely clear, avoiding a losing position cost Erigaisi a significant amount of time. Hikaru used the clock as a weapon, eventually leading Erigaisi falling apart in the time scramble that ensued.