Lev enters World Cup final

Lev Aronian defeated fellow-GM and Frenchman Etinne Bacrot in the second game of their mini-match in a long grind and thus entered the finals of the World Chess Cup now in progress here.

Others to advance to the next stage were the Israeli GM Boris Gelfand and the Russian GM Alexey Dreev. On yet an other day which produced just two decisive games out of the total eight, five matches will proceed to the tie-breaks.

Aronian gained a small edge with white pieces in a queenless middlegame which arose from a popular variation of the Slav Defence.

By the 16th move, he had gained a pawn in a rooks and opposite coloured bishops endgame. Bacrot managed to exchange all the rooks and entered a level looking bishops ending, and just when the spectators and commentators where doubting Aronian8217;s chances of a victory, the game suddenly ended on the 50th move, when Aronian clearly demonstrated the advantage of the extra pawn to win the game. Thus, aronian moves into the finals of the World Cup, where he will meet the winner of the match between Ponomariov and Grischuk.