Ian Nepomniachtchi outplayed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first game of the match that will determine the holder of a spot in the Candidates tournament 2020. To level the score, the French grandmaster has to win the second classical game with White. The first game of the second semifinal, Wei Yi vs David Navara, ended in a draw.

Ian Nepomniachtchi came well-prepared for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's Grünfeld and surprised his opponent with a rare move 8.Be3. “It's nothing serious but it worked out pretty well. He chose an interesting way but strategically it's very dangerous," commented Ian after the game. Maxime spent 20 minutes and decided to grab the bishop on e3, letting his opponent get a very strong center. Initially, the French grandmaster was going for a long defense, but remained true to himself and preferred to complicate matters with 14…b5. According to Ian, a tense battle would have continued had Maxime played 19…c5, sacrificing another pawn to open the position. It turned out that Vachier-Lagrave was tempted by a forced line starting with 21…Be5 but missed a very strong 24.Ne4 at the end of the variation.

If Maxime fails to level the score tomorrow, he is out of the tournament and Nepomniachtchi will have the qualification for the Candidates in his own hands. The Russian will also need to win the final to overtake Vachier-Lagrave in overall Grand Prix standings.

A funny accident happened in the encounter Wei Yi – David Navara. The Chinese grandmaster came to the game, thinking he was playing with Black – a real nightmare for any chess player! Playing without preparation, he spent a lot of time in the opening but came out with some original ideas. David Navara managed to equalize the position and even got some chances in the rook endgame. However, Wei Yi was defending precisely and achieved a draw after the opponents mutually eliminated all the pieces except kings. 

The second games of the semifinals start on December 18 at 3 pm (GMT+2):

Vachier-Lagrave – Nepomniachtchi
Navara – Wei Yi

Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com

FIDE Press officer for the event: Anastasiya Karlovich

Official Photographer: Niki Riga

World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com

Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox.

Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include:
 
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