NT Reporter | Arpora
China’s GM Wei Yi produced another composed performance with the black pieces, holding Javokhir Sindarov to a draw in the opening game of the FIDE World Cup final on Monday. Wei once again chose the Petrov Defence, steering Sindarov into taking the early risks.
The approach nearly paid off. Wei reached a slightly favourable bishop-and-pawn endgame, but Sindarov defended accurately, and the players agreed to a draw after 50 moves.
In the third-place match, GM Andrey Esipenko defeated Nodirbek Yakubboev in a tense encounter. Yakubboev employed the Sicilian Defence but soon found himself in trouble in the middlegame. Although Esipenko’s inaccuracies allowed him to equalise, Yakubboev drifted into severe time pressure, with just three minutes left and more than ten moves needed to reach the time control.
Esipenko, determined after his semifinal tiebreak blunder, maintained control and forced resignation after 38 moves.
