Aronian Beats Nepomniachtchi, 14-11
(I haven't abandoned the ship; it was just a busy week.) The Speed Chess Championship mushed along with two more matches this week, starting with the battle between Levon Aronian and Ian Nepomniachtchi on Wednesday. Nepo was a slight favorite, slight enough that Aronian's win in a well-contested match wasn't a big surprise.
Nepomniachtchi struck first, with a win in game two, but Aronian won the next two games and maintained the lead for a long time. After 14 games he was up 8-6, but Nepo finally showed some signs of life, winning the next two games. Aronian showed good nerves, however, winning the next game to close out the 3'+1" with a 9-8 lead, and then dominated the early going in the 1'+1" to extend his lead to four games. He was about to up five when he blundered and lost game 23, and after a loss in game 24 it looked like a miracle might happen.
It didn't. Aronian held with Black to win game 25, and did so as time expired, so that did it: a 14-11 victory that was well-deserved. (More on the match here, including video.)
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