4/26/2023 – Former sole leader Arjun Erigaisi faltered on the second day of blitz at the Satty Zhuldyz Rapid and Blitz tournament in Kazakhstan. The only two-time FIDE World Cup winner in history, Levon Aronian, took his chance and won the event with a round to spare. Arjun finished second with 21½/33 points and Haik Martirosyan finished third with 21/33. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
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Martirosyan beats Aronian and tops the blitz
The next best thing to winning the tournament is considered to be beating the champion of the tournament. Arjun could not do it, Martirosyan could. In fact, Armenia’s number two player was the only player to remain undefeated against Aronian in both the rapid and the blitz events. Aronian managed to beat the remaining ten players at least once.
Avoiding mistakes in the opening and even learning from mistakes is a valuable tool to improve your chess. Ruslan Ponomariov, former FIDE World Champion, demonstrates basic patterns that will help you navigate through the game more easily.
Runner-up: Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
Third place overall and winner of the blitz: Haik Martirosyan | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
The key game for Arjun — who had won the rapid section — in his attempt to win the tournament was the first game of the day againstMartirosyan. The game ended in a draw.
It was a must-win game for Arjun in round 12 if he wanted to set the tone for the day | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
Aronian won the tournament with a round to spare. Thus, a final-round against Martirosyan had no impact on his overall result. Martirosyan, remarkably, has never lost against Aronian in rated games.
Haik Martirosyan secured his place on the podium by beating Levon Aronian in the final round of blitz | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
The participants of the Satty Zhuldyz Rapid and Blitz Tournament 2023 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
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An epic pawn race - Jakhongir Vakhidov vs Hou Yifan
Haik Martirosyan vs Vincent Keymer
A stunning queen blunder - Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Vincent Keymer
The revenge of the strongest woman player in the world? - Hou Yifan vs Arjun Erigaisi
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Two consecutive blunders - Levon Aronian vs Haik Martirosyan
Shahid AhmedShahid Ahmed is the senior coordinator and editor of ChessBase India. He enjoys covering chess tournaments and also likes to play in chess events from time to time.
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
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