Firouzja, Lei lead at the Grand Swiss

Firouzja played on board one against Russian GM Evgeniy Najer. Seeded only 38^th, Najer gradually moved up, despite letting winning positions slip to draws in rounds four and six. In the Petrov Defence, Firouzja gained the initiative and transitioned to a better endgame with a free runner on the a-file. However, Black positioned his rook behind the passer and was holding his ground. Alireza made his last attempt and sent his king to the queenside at the cost of the g-pawn. The game saw a dramatic finale on move 50 when Najer prematurely gave up his f-pawn and had to resign a few moves later. By moving his king forward instead Black could have been right on time to create a sufficient counterplay and reach a draw.

Former Indian champion Krishnan Sasikiran drew as White against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In a topical line of the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian, both sides castled on opposite flanks and entered uncharted territory on move 19. After the game, both players said they couldn’t find a way to improve their position so a draw was a logical conclusion. Both are now on five points out of seven games.

Andrey Esipenko, a promising 19-year-old Russian Grandmaster who was knocked out by Magnus Carlsen in the fifth round of the 2021 World Cup, was up against the experienced local Alexei Shirov. In a highly complicated position that arose from the Morphy Defence of the Ruy Lopez, Esipenko got the upper hand but Shirov managed to engineer some counterplay. The critical moment of the game came on move 33: White could have posed much more serious problems with 33.e4-e5. Esipenko grabbed a pawn instead but that gave Shirov a respite that he used to consolidate his position, managing to hold his opponent to a draw.

The highest-ranked player in the Grand Swiss, American Fabiano Caruana was on board four, playing as White against compatriot Samuel Sevian. The opponents tested a sharp line of the Nimzo-Indian in which Black was up to the challenge. Moreover, despite being three pawns up at some point, Fabiano was under pressure and had to find the right answers. Eventually White managed to trade most of the pieces and steer the game into an equal endgame leading to a draw.

The last game to finish on the top ten boards of the open event was between David Navara and one of the young Russian stars Alexei Sarana. The Sicilian was played and both sides went to a seemingly even endgame with a rook and a knight each. White seemed to have a slight advantage and declined Black’s draw offer. After the knights were exchanged, White still had the upper hand, but Black continued to resist. After nearly six and a half hours of play, the two sides agreed to a draw.