Moscow Grand Prix, Round 2, Day 2
In round 1 there were eight matches, of which two went to tiebreaks. Now, in round 2, three of the four matches are going to tiebreaks. Go figure. The only player moving straight to round 3 is Radoslaw Wojtaszek, who defeated Peter Svidler. Svidler played enterprisingly, going for a Modern Benoni and sacrificing an exchange, but starting with 27...Bd4+ got his pieces in a tangle. As a result, White had the time and freedom to break through on the queenside, and the game was soon decided.
Daniil Dubov and Hikaru Nakamura drew quickly in a Catalan, while the other two games were very long. Wesley So enjoyed a near-useless extra pawn against Alexander Grischuk, and although he tried to run Grischuk out of time before trying the e5-e6 break, he was never close to winning. Ian Nepomniachtchi likewise enjoyed an extra pawn in his game with Wei Yi - this time in a queen ending - and he was likewise unable to generate serious winning chances with the extra material.
Tiebreaks tomorrow; for now, here are today's games, with my comments.
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