Where does White's compensation come from $2 Mainly in the space advantage granted by the pawn structure and in the possibility of an attack on the kingside. If the attack works, then the pawn won't be missed. But So is one of the best defenders in the world (if not the best).
1. d2d4  1... g8f6  2. c2c4  2... e7e6  3. c1f4 Nihal repeats the same variation that gave him an important win in his match against Giri in the semifinals. 3... d7d5  4. c4d5  4... f6d5  5. f4g3  5... c7c5  6. e2e4  6... d5f6  7. b1d2  7... d8d4 So is prepared and plays this critical move. In my analysis of Sarin vs. Giri, I wondered why nobody had ever tried this. 8. g1f3  8... d4d8  9. e4e5 