2020 Candidates - Round 1

The 2020 Candidates Tournament got off to a surprisingly aggressive start with 2 wins in the 4 games played. Liren Ding lost to Hao Wang, while Nepomniachtchi beat Giri in a long (but technically winning) Queen v Rook ending. The other 2 games were drawn, although Grischuk was better in his game before time trouble issues kicked in.
The Ding v Wang game contained an instructive point about the power of pawns against rooks in the ending. The key moment occurred at move  41, when Wang offered the exchange in return for a set of passed pawns. Although Ding declined the offer immediately he took it next move, and then resigned a few moves later.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Wang,Hao (2762) [A22]
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (1.2), 17.03.2020