Airthings Masters: Radjabov beats Aronian to clinch title
The triumph was worth $60,000 for Teimour Radjabov who became the first player to book his spot in the season finale of the $1.5 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
Published : Jan 04, 2021 15:52 IST
Before shedding tears of joy, Teimour Radjabov maintained his calm and outsmarted Levon Aronian to win the $200,000 Airthings Masters online rapid chess final with a game to spare on Sunday.
Having lost the first set on Saturday, a desperate Aronian blew away a great chance to win the opening game. He lost the second before a draw in the third game settled the title.
The triumph was worth $60,000 for Radjabov who became the first player to book his spot in the season finale of the $1.5 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour in San Francisco in December. Aronian gained $40,000.
For the third place, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat Daniil Dubov 2.5-1.5 in the second set after the first ended 2-2.
Vachier, who claimed $25,000, rallied from 0-2 down to draw the first set. On Sunday, he took the opening game of the second set. The drawn second game ended the sequence of decisive battles in the contest.
Dubov hit back in the third game to draw level. But Vachier was not to be denied. He nailed Dubov for his fourth victory in six games.