Wei Yi has fought back from bad situations and deficits all tournament long, but he finally came across an opponent he could not overcome. After a struggle yesterday to win the first mini-match of the finals, Levon Aronian dominated today, defeating Wei Yi 2.5-0.5 in the second mini-match, winning the finals and therefore the FTX Road to Miami.
In game 1, Aronian was pressing throughout on the black side of a Saemisch Nimzo-Indian, and although the game was still salvageable until Wei’s final move, the defense grew more and more difficult. Given the short time control they’re using, it was nearly impossible, and he finally made the fatal error that cost him the game.
With a win in game 2 Aronian could end the match. He came close, but his opponent hung on by a thread to force a third game. With the white pieces, Wei went for the berzerk 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g4?!, and while he avoided an immediate disaster his hyper-aggressive play put him in a situation where a mistake could be fatal. That’s precisely what happened, and while I’m not sure if he resigned after Aronian’s 26th move or lost on time, his position was bad enough that the loss was highly likely in any case, if not yet a certainty.
Congratulations to Levon Aronian, and I hope this serves as a confidence boost for him heading into the Olympics; that event starts at the end of the month. That’s his next event, but before that Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi headline an impressive field in the Grand Chess Tour Zagreb Rapid & Blitz.
In the meantime, here are today’s games, with my comments (to Aronian’s wins).