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  9... f6d5 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). 10. a2a3 White could develop the bishop on d3 immediately, without worrying about the knight jump to b4. Honestly, it won't make that much of a difference, as a3 will come in handy sooner or later. 10... f8e7  11. f1d3  11... c8d7 Castling before White would be dangerous because of the possibility of an attack with h2-h4. So plays a useful move and waits for White to castle. 12. d1e2  12... a7a6 I really like this move. The main idea is to play Bb5 at some point, even if it's giving the pawn back. With that, Black avoids a mating attack because, without the d3-bishop, it doesn't exist. Perhaps White, recovering the pawn, will achieve equality, but let's remember that So needed only two more draws to decide the match. For him, the most important thing was to play solid chess. 13. e1g1  13... e8g8 