Chessable Masters: Le and So in the final

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/7/2021 – Le Quang Liem and Wesley So made it into the finals of the Chessable Masters after eliminating Levon Aronian and Vladislav Artemiev respectively. Le’s match went to Armageddon, while So drew the second set after having won the first 4-game mini-match. Expert analyses by GM Karsten Müller. | Photo: Champions Chess Tour

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

Le wins on time

Vietnamese number one Le Quang Liem is a quickplay specialist. The 30-year-old grandmaster from Ho Chi Minh City won the World Blitz Championship eight years ago, outscoring the likes of Alexander Grischuk, Ruslan Ponomariov and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

This is Le’s third appearance at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour — he was knocked out by Hikaru Nakamura at the New in Chess Classic, but could not make it into the second phase at the Skilling Open. The Vietnamese ace has eliminated Alireza Firouzja and Levon Aronian consecutively to reach the finals of the Chessable Masters, the eighth tournament in the online series.

After beating Aronian twice with white in the first set, Le was the first to score a win on Friday. The Armenian is a resilient opponent, though, and won twice on demand to take the match to tiebreaks. Le could have saved a draw in game 3 with a study-like defence.

 
Le vs. Aronian - Game 3

Not all endgames are drawn, but they give astounding resources for the defensive side. Here, after 67.Rh8 it was impossible for White to stop the h-file passer. But Le had 67.Kb6, getting an equal position after 67...Kf6 68.Rb5 h3 69.b3. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller analysed the position in full (his annotations are included in the replayer below).

In the blitz playoff, a wild rollercoaster game was followed by a well-played 63-move draw. Aronian chose to play with black in the sudden-death decider, which meant he started with one minute less on the clock (he also got draw odds). The Armenian’s sub-optimal time management was crucial, as he lost the match after running out of time in an equal position.

 
Loading...
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.

Select an entry from the list to switch between games

So reaches fourth final

This year’s tour has seen Wesley So reaching the final in 4 out of 8 events! This is the first time he is facing an opponent other than Magnus Carlsen, though. After winning the first set, So was on the back foot right from the get go in the second mini-match. Vladislav Artemiev won with white after converting from an endgame a (doubled) pawn to the good.

 
Artemiev vs. So - Game 1

So could have defended this tricky position with 47...fxe6, as GM Müller points out in his annotations below, while 47...f5 was duly punished by the Russian star.

The Filipino-born grandmaster bounced right back and drew the remaining games to make it into the final.

 
Loading...
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.

Chessable Masters 2021

Links


Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.