Gelfand out-blitzed Esipenko at the Leon Masters
The 54-year-old Boris Gelfand out-blitzed 20-year-old Andrey Esipenko at the Leon Masters second semifinals to qualify to the finals against Vishy Anand and eventually be crowned the winner.
The Gelfand-Esipenko match at the Leon Masters semifinals was one to remember. The match was to be decided in two blitz games which ended 1-1 to be decided in Armageddon: 6 minutes for Esipenko with White, and 5 minutes for Gelfand with Black, and White was obliged to win.
Even though Esipenko got into a technically winning endgame, Gelfand defended brilliantly with a vibrant fighting spirit and great accuracy even in high speed to achieve the desirable draw and move to the finals against Vishy Anand.
After this impressive performance, the Israeli GM won the blitz tiebreak against Anand in an equally exciting match to become the 2022 Leon Masters Champion.
