Aimchess US Rapid: Carlsen and Artemiev reach the final

Carlsen wins convincingly

In the first set of the match between Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian on Thursday all four games ended in a draw. On Friday, they fought tenaciously. Carlsen won games 1 and 4.

Endgame expert Karsten Müller was most interested in game 3, however. In the rook ending a pawn down, Aronian proved to be a great defender.

Facing the World Champions

During his career, Vlastimil Hort, who himself belongs to the same generation as Bobby Fischer, met no less than eight world champions over the board. In the early 60s he crossed swords with Mihail Tal, and at the end of the eighties he was sitting over the board from Garry Kasparov. Between the two there were meetings with chess legends Botvinnik, Petrosian, Smyslov, Spassky, Fischer and Karpov.

Carlsen wins again and is through to the final of the #AimchessUSRapid knocking out Aronian! #Chesschamps https://t.co/MzaR8IzzgF pic.twitter.com/HxUoEOzoir
— Champions Chess Tour (@ChampChessTour) September 3, 2021

Artemiev and Firouzja go to tiebreaks

In the Armageddon decider of the other semifinal, Alireza Firouzja had the black pieces and a single oversight cost him the game. A draw would have been enough for him, though according to the rules he entered this game with 4 against 5 minutes on his clock, a crucial factor in these encounters — especially when there is no increment.

It's over for Firouzja, and Artemiev has reached the #AimchessUSrapid final where he will be facing Carlsen! #ChessChamps https://t.co/unKFhXQ6sZ pic.twitter.com/i5YmPMfKuU
— Champions Chess Tour (@ChampChessTour) September 3, 2021

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 and 2

These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.