CCT Finals R8: Aronian beats Carlsen

by Shahid Ahmed - 04/10/2021

Magnus Carlsen suffered his second consecutive match loss in the penultimate round of Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals. The loss against Aronian is overall Carlsen's third winless match loss of the event. It is quite obvious that the world champion would prefer to save his energy now, considering his world championship defense is a little over a month away, however he would definitely like to finish the event on a high note. So, Radjabov, Giri and Nakamura are the other victors of the round. Nakamura scored his sixth tie-break win of the event. Round 9 will start today at 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Radjabov climbs to second position

If only the scores of the Final is counted, one will see that Radjabov has won the tournament, but unfortunately the scoring system accounts the points of the previous events of this tour. Thus, the FIDE World Cup 2019 winner has currently moved up to the second place and that is where he is likely to finish unless So wins the last round and Radjabov does not.

Carlsen suffered his second consecutive match loss | Photo: Amruta Mokal

So - Duda: 3.5-2.5

All four Rapid games ended in draws, however in the final moments of the fourth game where Duda repeated moves, he could have continued further.

So - Duda, Game 4

Position after 31...Bxd4

White could have continued 32.Rcb1 Qe8 33.Qg4 e5 34.Ne6 and it is only White who can score a full point.

Duda lost the first Blitz tie-break but it was not completely lost.

So - Duda, Blitz 1

Position after 20.f6

20...Nd4 21.Rf2 Be5 could have been an interesting continuation for Black as it was far from over. The game continued 20...Be5 21.Qd2 gxf6 and things quickly turned into White's favor.

So was completely winning the second Blitz tie-break, however he repeated moves as a draw was enough to win the match.

Aronian - Carlsen: 3-1

Aronian won the first game with ease as Carlsen made very simple mistakes.

Aronian - Carlsen, Game 1

Position after 30...Rf8

30...Rf8 gives White the complete advantage 31.f4 e4 32.f5 Qe5 33.f6 and now 33...Qxc3 made it difficult for Black to make a comeback. White won the game in the next few moves.

After a draw in the third game, Aronian had a good opportunity to gain material and push for a win in the third game. Unfortunately for him, he did not seize it and the game ended in a draw. Aronian won the fourth game comfortably to win the match 3-1 and score 3 points.

Radjabov - Mamedyarov: 2.5-1.5

Radjabov won the fourth game after the first three games ended in draws. He scored three points and moved to the second position in the standings.

Giri - Vachier-Lagrave: 2.5-1.5

Giri won the first game and drew the next three to win the match, although he was winning the fourth game too bue he did not capitalize on his chances.

Nakamura - Artemiev: 3.5-2.5

Nakamura won the second game after the first one ended in a draw.

Artemiev - Nakamura, Game 2

Position after 31.b4

Black has a complete control on the position. Find out the correct way for Black to make progress after 31.b4.

Artemiev won the must-win fourth game, however Nakamura made things difficult for him in the end.

Artemiev - Nakamura, Game 4

Position after 24...Bxh2+

25.Kxh2 Qh4+ 26.Kg1 Rg6 27.Ne5 Rh6 28.f3 allowed Black to get back in the game. Find out how Black could have saved after 28.f3. The game went on 28...Qg3 and White managed to win the game to force tie-breaks.

Artemiev lost the first Blitz tie-break on time in a seemingly equal position. It decided the fate of the match as the second Blitz tie-break ended in a draw. Nakamura won the match and scored 2 points, Artemiev got 1 point.