2nd FIDE Grand Prix 2022 - Final - Game 2

Richard Rapport of Hungary is the winner of the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2022.


GM Richard Rapport - Photo Credit FIDE/World chess

After the uneventful draw played yesterday, today the game was going the same way. the players seemed very careful - as it should be! - and by move 28, Rapport could have closed the game with repetition on this position:



After a couple of repetitions, Richard went for Qe5, and there the game changed!
In a few moves, Rapport had a mate net on the board!



Andreikin tried his best to go for a perpetual check, but Rapport had calculated everything, and the Russian had to give up.


Rapport and Andreikin were deeply focused during the decisive moments of the game. Photo FIDE World chess

 

With this important achievement, Richard Rapport is very well placed to obtain one of the two seats for the Candidates tournament.
With the 7 points Rapport got in the first leg, he's now on top of the list, with 20 points. Richard won't play in the third leg, but it will be hard for everyone else to collect 20 points in two tournaments.
Here is the situation (from Wikipedia):

These are the players who could catch Rapport on top of the list after the third leg in Berlin, starting March the 21st.