Aronian Beats Erigaisi In Armageddon To Clinch Tata Steel India Blitz

After a nail-biting finish that went all the way to armageddon, GM Levon Aronian won the Tata Steel Chess India blitz tournament on Sunday. The playoff was necessary after he had finished in a tie with GM Arjun Erigaisi, who impressed once again after winning the rapid tournament on Friday.

How to watch?
You can find the games of the Tata Steel Chess India blitz tournament here.

The blitz tournament was played over two days, with nine rounds on Saturday and another nine on Sunday. It was once again Erigaisi who was in the sole lead halfway through the tournament, having scored an undefeated plus-four.

At the closing ceremony, tournament ambassador GM Vishy Anand said that Erigaisi’s win over GM Sam Shankland had made a strong impression on him:

Erigaisi Shankland Tata Steel India Blitz 2021 — Erigaisi vs. Shankland. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess India.

One of the main goals of the tournament was to give the young Indian talents a chance to play against top grandmasters. The youngsters did quite well and went toe to toe, as you can see from the final standings.

One of the exponents of the new generation is GM Nihal Sarin, who “won” the second half of the blitz, scoring a wild 6.5/9 on Sunday that included just one draw. One of his victims was Erigaisi, in the 10th round:

Nihal Sarin Tata Steel India Blitz 2021 — Nihal Sarin. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess India.

Nihal was doing so well that he was in fact leading the tournament with 11/17, with one round to go. A blunder in the opening in his final game with GM Parham Maghsoodloo ended his dream:

Maghsoodloo Nihal Tata Steel Chess India — Maghsoodloo and Nihal shortly before their fateful game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess India.

This way, Aronian and Erigaisi had the chance to overtake Nihal and both did, which led to the following final standings.

Tata Steel India Blitz 2021 | Final Standings

#	Fed	Name	Rtg	Perf	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	Pts
1		Erigaisi	2616	2712		½1	½0	½0	10	½1	½½	1½	11	11	11.5
2		Aronian	2767	2697	½0		0½	½½	½1	½1	11	10	1½	11	11.5
3		Maghsoodloo	2601	2693	½1	1½		01	10	01	00	11	10	11	11
4		Nihal	2667	2686	½1	½½	10		01	½0	01	11	01	11	11
5		Gukesh	2376	2679	01	½0	01	10		11	00	½1	11	½½	10
6		Le	2774	2577	½0	½0	10	½1	00		10	0½	1½	11	8.5
7		Sadhwani	2517	2585	½½	00	11	10	11	01		00	00	01	8
8		Shankland	2660	2571	0½	01	00	00	½0	1½	11		11	½0	8
9		Vidit	2739	2501	00	0½	01	10	00	0½	11	00		1½	6.5
10		Harika	2422	2418	00	00	00	00	½½	00	10	½1	0½		4

A two-game playoff followed, with Erigaisi having great chances in both games, but which both ended in draws. Here’s the second game, where there was a clear win earlier on for White (“Levon has had the luck of the devil today!” – Anand) but even in the opposite-colored bishop endgame at the very end:

Erigaisi Aronian Tata Steel Chess India — Erigaisi and Aronian in their second playoff game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess India.

Erigaisi won the toss and chose to play black in the armageddon, meaning he got four minutes on the clock (vs. five for Aronian) with draw odds. At the closing ceremony, Aronian was humble and stated he had been lucky: “I think today I played one good game. It was the armageddon.”

And indeed, Aronian’s reaction to Erigaisi’s interesting knight sacrifice (“This is how Arjun plays for a draw!” – Anand) was excellent.