6 months ago
2
As Wei Yi stormed retired of the playing hallway arsenic acheronian began to autumn connected Resort Rio connected Friday, determination were a mates of children waiting for his autographs. He stopped, obliged them, and adjacent bent down to airs for a photograph with the boy. The girl, aft clicking the photo, said, beaming, “Congratulations.”
One is not definite if she really saw however the seventh effect from China managed to get half-a-point from Andrey Esipenko successful the archetypal crippled of the semifinals astatine the World Cup, but she was surely close to congratulate him.
It was immoderate superb portion of defending, nether clip pressure, that answered the questions posed by his Russian rival.
The different semifinal, featuring the 2 young Uzbeks, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Jovakhir Sindarov, was besides drawn.
So nary of the 4 players tin spend a decision successful the 2nd classical crippled connected Saturday: that volition mean losing the semifinal match, though 1 could inactive stay successful contention for a spot successful the Candidates (a triumph successful the playoff for the 3rd spot would do).
Of course, triumph successful the semifinals is the easier way. And Esipenko looked the likeliest to instrumentality what could person been a important lead, and that excessively with achromatic pieces.
The Russian faced French Defence and succeeded successful giving immoderate headache to his Chinese rival. But connected the 28th move, Wei equalised with a good bishop move, and continued to find much close ones.
Wei past recovered the cleanable quadrate for his queen connected the 31st move, to settee the contented much oregon less. A mates of moves later, the 2 men agreed to divided the point.
There wasn’t arsenic overmuch play successful the different game, successful which Yakubboev and Sindarov signed bid aft 30 moves from a Semi-Slav Defence that reached a rook-and-knight ending.
The results (semifinals, crippled one): Wei Yi (Chn) drew with Andrey Esipenko (Rus); Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb) drew with Jovakhir Sindarov (Uzb).
