Vidit Gujrathi’s bishop shot forward like a bullet fired from a sniper rifle, assassinating Hikaru Nakamura’s harmless-looking pawn resting on the h3 square.
It was only the 11th move of the game in the second round of the Candidates, but in Nakamura’s mind, alarm bells started going off. He now faced a choice. He could wrest back the h3 square with the pawn that sat in front of his king. But that was what Vidit wanted him to do, which is why he’d so boldly offered him the bishop. Or, the world No. 3 could ignore the bishop sacrifice. Nakamura chose the latter, electing to send his knight to the c4 square. It was a decision that eventually led to the 29-year-old from India defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites.
