Wijk aan Zee 2021

[Chris Rice]

FIDE press release: Tal Memorial 2013, 11-year-old Andrey Esipenko is standing next to the soon-to-be world champion Magnus Carlsen.
Almost 8 years later, Esipenko defeated Carlsen in Tata Steel Chess Masters and called it one of the best days in his life.

[JustinHorton]

We have not one, not two but three Giuoco Pianos today.

(Also one of those fianchetto Lopezes which always confuse me because isn't it just a 4 d3 d6 Berlin with White having a tempo more?)

[JustinHorton]

Danny Gormally thinks Harikrishna may already have blown his bread

[Mick Norris]

Would take Van Foreest into contention if he wins

[JustinHorton]

According to the Chessbomb computer Caruana has missed multiple opportunities to favourably play ...Nxg2

[JustinHorton]

Donchenko draws with Duda and Wojtaszek draws with MVL (the latter escaping from a very shonky position).

[JustinHorton]

Esipenko has had a nightmare today and been bludgeoned by Tari. Leko on Chess24 feels that he got carried away by his tournament position. Antón and Grandelius split the point.

[JustinHorton]

Time control!

Carlsen, who had a lot of pressure in the middlegame, let it slip and Giri drew easily enough.

Caruana is a pawn down to Firouzja in a major piece ending having gone astray in mutual time trouble in which he had "a serious advantage" (Leko).

Van Foreest is making heavy weather of beating Harikrishna despite being a piece up for next to nothing (OK, two pawns, but nothing threatening) out of the opening. He gave the piece back to try and consolidate, which the boys in the studio thought was a good idea but maybe wasn't.

[JustinHorton]

Caruana gets a draw with a very nice little tactic. Firouzja is Black against Giri tomorrow.

[Matthew Turner]

Caruana - Anton
Insanity

[JustinHorton]

Grandelius-Tari also worth your attention

[JustinHorton]

Carlsen gets away from the board in time to keep an eye on the second halves

[JustinHorton]

MVL draws with Duda in a game not worth linking to

[JustinHorton]

Grandelius-Tari also worth your attention

Nothing came of this in a way rather typical of the round so far

[JustinHorton]

....and then it all got a lot more interesting later on.

Firouzja seemed to misjudge his position and as a result Giri is a pawn up and has connected passed pawns on the queenside.

Antón has been pressing Caruana for thirty moves and still seems to have an edge.

Harikrishna has had a strange game in which he seemed to complicate a drawish position in a way that was only likely to benefit his opponent, but not for the first time this tournament Donchenko has gone astray and Harikrishna now seems to be winning.