The first of the two-game finals match for the FIDE Grand Prix Series opening leg in Berlin between Levon Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura ended in a fighting draw Monday.
The second finals game is being played as we write this. If that, too, is drawn, then a final sudden death (Armageddon) game will be played with white getting 5 minutes and black 4 minutes plus draw odds.
Nakamura started the first game rather cautiously, opting for an Anti-Marshall setup ina closed Ruy Lopez. Aronian immediately started counterplay after equalizing, but Nakamura also played precisely to reach a dynamic position in which both sides had mating chances.
Nakamura,H (2736)-Aronian,L (2772) [C88]
Berlin (2.1) 2022
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Nd8 12.Nh2 Ne6 13.Ng4 Kh8 14.Nxf6 Bxf6 15.Qg4 Rae8 16.a4 b4 17.Ne2 Qd8 18.c3 bxc3 19.bxc3 g6 20.Bd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Nc5 22.Bh6 Nxd3 23.Bxf8 Nxe1 24.Rxe1 Rxf8 25.Qc4 Qa8 26.Rb1 Rb8 27.Rb4 Kg7 28.Ng3 h5 29.Ne4 Bd8 30.a5 Qa7 31.g3 f5 32.Nd2 Rxb4 33.cxb4 e4 34.Nb3 Bf6 35.Kg2 h4 36.gxh4 Kf7 37.h5 gxh5 38.b5 e3 39.f4 Qb8 40.Kf1 axb5 41.Qc6 e2+ 42.Kxe2 Qa7 43.a6 Qg1 44.Qxc7+ Kg6 45.Nd2 Qh2+ 46.Kd1 Qxf4 47.a7 Bg5 48.Qa5 b4 49.Qa2 b3 50.Qa5 Qe3 51.a8Q Qg1+ 52.Ke2 Qe3+ 53.Kd1 Qg1+ 54.Ke2 Qe3+ ½-½
******
PUZZLERS
WHITE TO MOVE, MATE IN TWO.
The key to our last problem is 1.c3!, and Black’s futile options are: 1…Qg8/xb5/h2+ 2.K(x)h2#; 1…Bg8 2.Qxd3#; 1…c4 2.Qh5#; 1…Bxf2+ 2.Kxf2#; 1…d2 2.Qf1#.
