‘Lucky’ Levon takes quarter-final lead against Tour leader
Levon Aronian said he “got lucky” on Tuesday as he took down Tour leader Wesley So in the first set of the New In Chess Classic quarter-finals. The 38-year-old goes into the second day 1-0 up after a thrilling see-saw match against the in-form American. So got off to the worst possible start with a mouse-slip that lost him the game 1. Aronian turned up the heat to triumph in the second and leave So on the ropes. Anything less than a win in game 3 would end it for So. But he delivered. In a chaotic encounter, the Fischer Random World Champion managed to come back from the brink with a win. But it was a short-lived stay of execution as Aronian immediately hit back again to win the fourth and take the set 3-1. Aronian said after he “got lucky”. Carlsen-Radjabov, meanwhile, was a much more cagey affair that started with a draw and continued in that vein. The Azeri did have a chance in game 2 when he built up a dominating position against the World Champ. But Carlsen used all his famed defensive skills to somehow save the draw. The set ended 2-2 and Carlsen-Radjabov head into tomorrow’s set all-square. Carlsen said afterwards: “I will try my best to win tomorrow but he [Radjabov] is very, very solid and hard to beat.” The champ noted that it was the first time in a Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event that he has played four draws in a day. US speed demon Hikaru Nakamura ground down Vietmanese star Liem Quang Le in game 1 to start with a win. After that, the American shut out his opponent with three draws to win the set 2.5-1.5. And in the last quarter, Azeri number 1 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov overpowered the youngster Alireza Firouzja in game 1 and closed out the set win with three draws. Mamedyarov, Nakamura and Aronian take 1-0 leads into the second day of the quarter-finals tomorrow. Carlsen and Radjabov are on a knife-edge. Play resumes at 19:00 with commentary live on chess24.com. For further information, please contact: Leon Watson, PR for Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+44 7786 078 770