Chessable Masters: Nepomniachtchi-Giri tied after three games of deciding set

Anish Giri hit back in the second game after losing the first to Ian Nepomniachtchi as their semifinal clash stood locked at one-set all and 1.5-1.5 in the decider in the $150,000 Chessable Masters on Thursday.

If the first game was a reward for Nepomniachtchi’s flamboyance and planned offensive, the second game saw the young Russian blunder a rook for a knight in an equal position and lose.

The third game was fought on an even keel and ended with honours even.

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After four rapid games, if the players are locked 2-2, two blitz games will follow. If the tie persists, then an Armageddon game will decide the winner. The player with white pieces gets five minutes on his clock, against four to his rival. In case of a draw, the player with black pieces is awarded the match.

On Wednesday, the best game was clearly the first one where Nepomniachtchi came out firing with white pieces. He launched a fierce kingside attack and rolled his rook-pawn to open up black’s castled king. With Nepomniachtchi’s queen, bishop and a rook occupying strategic squares, Giri could have still defended the position but missed an escape route in severe time-pressure and lost in 33 moves.