All to play for on Sunday in the semi-finals at the FIDE World Cup

Russian GM Andrey Esipenko (Elo 2693) and Chinese GM Wei Yi (Elo2754) sign a peace pact in the second classical game at the FIDE World Cup in Arpora on Saturday.

PANAJI

Sunday would be the Judgement Day for at least two of the semi-finalists looking to secure their spots for Candidates 2026 with the reverse fixtures of the classical segment also ending in respective draws at the FIDE World Cup in Arpora.

Great friends off the board, and who entered the Chess World Cup preparing under the same coach, Roman Vidonyak, in Germany; it was imperative that Uzbek GMs – Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev would have their semi-final match-up keenly contested. Playing white, on Saturday, Uzbek number 2 Sindarov engaged in a Four Knights Game with compatriot Yakubboev. While Sindarov was a little more ambitious in his approach, his 23-year-old opponent found solid replies with black and limited options at his disposal. By the 21st move, a perfect symmetry in pawn structure and material was realized with a lone bishop each, both manning the lighter squares. The outcome was now obvious, and the mandatory moves were played out and after Sindarov’s 31st move, the players decided to battle it out another day.

Meanwhile, Russian Grandmaster Andrey Esipenko had a progressive slight initiative with white against Chinese number 1 GM Wei Yi in their Petrov’s Defence engagement, but could not make any headway. Esipenko while not trying to push too hard, did try to apply pressure towards the last few moves as Wei Yi had the clock tick against his favour. Inimitable to his style though, the seasoned Chinese made accurate moves unnerved by the fact he was low on time. Eventually, the peace pact was signed after the seventh-seeded Wei Yi made his 37th move. Esipenko and Wei Yi have a stellar tiebreak record, but the odds might favour the 26-year-old Chinese GM on the decisive day, as he is a proven shorter time control player.