Written and annotated by GM Alejandro Ramirez.
Caruana decided to use yet another Bb5+ Sicilian in this tournament, and the game quickly turned into a Spanish type of position. The usual strategical concepts of the closed Spanish were seen and featured pressure on both sides of the board and the slight space advantage in the center being relatively important. But, like in the Spanish, Black’s position was simply too solid. Caruana was unable to create any danger for his opponent and when all of the major pieces were swapped, the draw was agreed.