Chessable Masters: Liren leads 2-1 over Nakamura

Ding Liren pushed Hikaru Nakamura to the brink of defeat but could not land the knockout punch in the third game of their first set of quarterfinal matches.

Nakamura faces a must-win situation to take the first set into the blitz games. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Ding Liren pushed Hikaru Nakamura to the brink of defeat but could not land the knockout punch in the third game of their first set of quarterfinal matches, of the $150,000 Chessable Masters on Friday.

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After battling to draw the first game and then winning the second with black pieces, Liren looked upbeat. In the third, the Chinese No. 1 took a firm grip but faltered under time-pressure and forced a draw. Trailing 1-2, Nakamura now faces a must-win situation to take the first set into the blitz games. In the other quarterfinal, involving Anish Giri and Alexander Grischuk, all four rapid games were drawn. This set now goes to a pair of blitz games.

Quarterfinal results: After Game Three: Ding Liren (Chn) leads Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2-1; After Game Four: Anish Giri (Ned) drew with with Alexander Grischuk (Rus) 2-2