Ok so after 3 matches, Alekseenko is tied for last place with 1 point (2D 1L)
His opponent Wang Hao is tied for 1st with 2 points (1W 2D)
Alekseenko got a wild card entry and he's by far the lowest rated player in the field
But I think he's being undervalued and Wang overvalued
Wang beat his countryman Ding Liren in the first round but Ding's really been off his game here. I think the quarantine really affected him and he couldn't prepare with his seconds
Wang hasn't really impressed since, drawing against Giri despite having a good position and lucky to draw against Grischuk with a bad position
It's also worth noting that Ding had Wang dead to rights in their match but blundered away a winning position
Alekseenko lost to top rated Caruana but that's expected. I thought he played pretty well last round against Nepomniatchi with a bold exchange sacrifice and just barely missed out on a winning sequence
Overall, I think he's not intimidated and playing in his home country of course helps
Wang will go for the win here since he's white and Alekseenko is the wild card that everyone is expected to go for points against
So we should see a sharp game and Alekseenko has shown good counterattacking abilities as black. He has relatively recent wins as black against Karjakin and Harikrishna, two 2750+ players. I think these odds are worth a shot
His opponent Wang Hao is tied for 1st with 2 points (1W 2D)
Alekseenko got a wild card entry and he's by far the lowest rated player in the field
But I think he's being undervalued and Wang overvalued
Wang beat his countryman Ding Liren in the first round but Ding's really been off his game here. I think the quarantine really affected him and he couldn't prepare with his seconds
Wang hasn't really impressed since, drawing against Giri despite having a good position and lucky to draw against Grischuk with a bad position
It's also worth noting that Ding had Wang dead to rights in their match but blundered away a winning position
Alekseenko lost to top rated Caruana but that's expected. I thought he played pretty well last round against Nepomniatchi with a bold exchange sacrifice and just barely missed out on a winning sequence
Overall, I think he's not intimidated and playing in his home country of course helps
Wang will go for the win here since he's white and Alekseenko is the wild card that everyone is expected to go for points against
So we should see a sharp game and Alekseenko has shown good counterattacking abilities as black. He has relatively recent wins as black against Karjakin and Harikrishna, two 2750+ players. I think these odds are worth a shot