
A truism for chess players is that attacking is easier than defending. Instead of ‘easier’, one could also say ‘more energy-saving’. That was Ian Nepomniachtchi’s experience yesterday, after he entered a position which led to him needing to defend for a predictably long time. He was a pawn down against Wesley So, one of the strongest technical players in the circuit.
Excellent playing conditions in Bucharest | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Fabiano Caruana had a great position in his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave — until he decided to make a piece sacrifice that looked promising but ultimately failed due to MVL's careful defence.
MVL scored his first win on Sunday | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Leinier Dominguez had just successfully worked his way out of all difficulties in the game against Levon Aronian (bad position, time trouble) when he made a serious positional mistake. Aronian exchanged queens and was then completely in his element in the ensuing endgame. The man from Yerevan had an extra pawn.
Leinier Dominguez resigns his game against Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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