Today, the four musketeers started the duels to determine who would advance to the finals. Giri and Andreikin drew a quiet game, with no danger for either player.

Giri and Andreikin - Photo credit: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

 Semifinals Game 1 Game 2 TB Anish Giri 1/2     Dmitry Andreikin 1/2      

Richard Rapport, in the second semifinal, defeated Maxime-Vachier Lagrave. Rapport shows once again that he belongs to the elite and can beat everyone in the top ten. Tomorrow MVL will play in a must-win situation. Maxime will play with white, but his duty will be extremely complicated nevertheless.

Richard Rapport - Photo credit: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

 Semifinals Game 1 Game 2 TB Richard Rapport 1     Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0      

Game 2 of the semifinals start tomorrow, March the 10th, at 9 AM EST - 15:00 Belgrade (CET) - 14:00 UTC