first game at a classical time control. Carlsen opted for the Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation to which Esipenko chose the aggressive 8.g4 line inspired by the Keres Attack. This was Carlsen's first loss to a teenager (at standard time controls) since 2011, and his first loss to a sub-2700 rated player since 2015. Esipenko finished the tournament in third place, with 8/13 (+4–1=8) for a performance rating of 2815. In round four of the Chess World Cup 2021, Esipenko defeated GM Daniil Dubov in their blitz tiebreaker, after drawing the classical games and the rapid tiebreaks. He was then knocked out in round five of the tournament by Magnus Carlsen after blitz tiebreaks. Esipenko also participated in the 74th edition of the Russian Chess Championship, held from 9 October 2021 to 20 October 2021. He finished fith place on tiebreaks, with a score of 5.5/11. In 2022, Esipenko participated in the 2022 Airthings Masters. In the preliminary stage, he finished 4th with 24 points, thus qualifying for the quarterfinals where he beat Eric Hansen 3-1. He then proceeded to the semifinals, where Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated him by a score of 2.5-0.5. Through February and March 2022, Esipenko played in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022. In the first leg, he placed second in Pool A with a 3.5/6 result. In the third leg, he finished last in Pool A with a result of 1.5/6, finishing 16th in the standings with four points. Notes References External links 2002 births Living people Chess grandmasters Russian chess players People from Novocherkassk Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine