Both of today’s games were drawn, and both games had tension and (brief) opportunities for one of the players.
First: Magnus Carlsen was content with a draw against Nijat Abasov, as that meant qualification for the final. He got it, but his slightly slack play in the opening would have left him with an unpleasant position in case of 13.e5. Missing that brief chance, Abasov lost his edge and eventually had to defend, though Carlsen almost went too far with 55…Kc3. After 56.d6 he had to find a couple of only-moves (to be fair, he had probably found them *before* playing 55…Kc3), and then the game quickly petered out to a draw.
Second: Fabiano Caruana again had the upper hand against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa; again, the resilient youngster drew. Caruana’s best chance was 15…Nxd4! 16.Bxb7 Rb8 17.Bxa6 e5!!, which he understandably missed. White would have been in serious trouble there, and losing outright in many lines. After 15…g5 he was still better, and Pragg had to defend well for another 30 moves or so to ensure the draw. It wasn’t easy, but he did it, and tomorrow (today for most of you) they’ll play rapid games (and then blitz games, if necessary) to see who advances to the finals.
The winner will take on Carlsen, and the loser will play Abasov for third place. That will have financial significance, but unless Carlsen changes his mind about the Candidates it will be irrelevant in that context: all three of the other semi-finalists have de facto qualified.
Today’s games are here, with my annotations.