FIDE World Cup Semifinals Head to Tiebreaks After Tense Draws

Just like in the first game, Wei Yi once again found himself under time pressure against Esipenko, this time with black pieces. But the Chinese, who is known for his calm demeanour under pressure, pulled himself out of the hole with some precise moves to make the time control.

With very little to play for in terms of a result, Esipenko offered a draw soon after. Though Wei did not take the offer immediately and tried to make inroads with his queen, it was quite clear that no other result was possible, and he decided to sign the peace pact after 37 moves.

In the other semifinal, the second game between Nordirbek and Sindarov went the same way as the first, as both players were happy to play solid and safe chess till the mandatory 30 move threshold before agreeing to a draw.

Earlier on Friday, Wei Yi, who had defeated India's Arjun Erigaisi in the previous round, and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Yakubboev could not breach the defences of their respective opponents with white pieces.

While Nodirbek signed the truce pact with compatriot Sindarov immediately after the mandatory 30 moves, Wei Yi and GM Andrey Esipenko had their chances but could not convert and ended up splitting the point after 33 moves.

But to Esipenko's credit, the Russian-born Grandmaster equalled the position quite well, and it looked like the Chinese was coming under some time pressure. However, Wei managed to set up a three-pronged attack with a rook, bishop and queen, only for Esipenko to respond with a perfect defensive move to take the game towards a pawn endgame, when the two players agreed to draw.

Results:

GM Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) drew with GM Wei Yi (CHN) (1:1 aggregate)

GM Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) drew with GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB) (1:1 aggregate).

- IANS