GM Levon Aronian and GM Wei Yi certified for the two-day closing of the FTX Highway to Miami match. Wei wanted simply three video games to knock out GM Richard Rapport, whereas Aronian defeated GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 3-1.
The ultimate will encompass two matches, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, and if wanted, a tiebreak additionally on Sunday. By securing the highest two locations, Aronian and Wei have additionally certified for the following “main” within the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami, which begins August 15.
Aronian-Duda 3-1
This match between two FIDE World Cup winners began with a draw. The second recreation noticed an fascinating endgame the place Duda first missed a win after which gave away the draw:
After an thrilling third recreation led to a draw, Duda needed to take dangers in a must-win recreation. Within the second Queen’s Gambit Accepted of the match, a gap that’s seeing a little bit of a revival recently, Duda was doing effectively, however his 12.f4 was considerably untimely. A queen sacrifice would have been a pleasant follow-up, however the Polish GM performed otherwise and was quickly misplaced:
Wei-Rapport 2.5-0.5
Additionally within the different match, the 2022 FIDE Candidate was eradicated. Enjoying from Hangzhou Metropolis, Wei wanted simply three video games to knock out Rapport.
Within the second recreation, the Hungarian GM tried to catch Wei in an extended, theoretical variation of the Moscow variation of the Sicilian, however Wei, who had performed the identical line earlier than, really wasn’t caught off guard in any respect and ended up with an additional piece:
Additionally within the subsequent recreation, Rapport’s first new transfer wasn’t a very good one. Right here, it value him a bit straight away. “I feel he was not in his finest type,” Wei stated.
Wei stated he was shocked to succeed in this closing. “I do not assume I performed superb within the preliminaries!”
All Video games Semifinals
The 2022 Champions Chess Tour’s fifth occasion, the FXT Highway To Miami, takes place July 10-17, 2022 on chess24. The preliminary section is a 16-player speedy (15|10) round-robin. The highest eight gamers advance to the knockout section that consists of two days of four-game speedy matches, which advance to blitz (5|3) and armageddon (White has 5 minutes; Black, 4 with no increment) tiebreaks provided that a knockout match is tied after the second day. The prize fund is $150,000.
Earlier protection
