Leinier falls to Aronian: Will there be another resurrection in Berlin?

February 13, 2022

In a game full of skirmishes, Leinier Domínguez succumbed to the pressure of Levon Aronian in the first semifinal game of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin and now is forced to rise again, as he has done before, from a tough defeat.

The Caribbean player commanded the whites in a duel that unfolded along the lines of the accepted Queen's Gambit, and which was quite atypical considering that neither of the two Grandmasters castled.

Aronian maintained a better position during much of the challenge, and although at move 30 he made a poor choice and Leinier found a good move with his queen that seemed to equalize the game, the duel fell on the side of the Armenian who plays for the United States.

"It was a difficult position to play for humans. It puts immense pressure, and I had the feeling that after a difficult tiebreak it would be my opportunity because maybe I would surprise Leinier," said Levon after the game.

The entry of the white queen on the eighth rank set the definitive course of the confrontation, when the Caribbean player was suffering from time pressure and the engines showed clear inferiority.

"I probably took too much time and made a mistake thinking that I really couldn't take d4 with my bishop after the Bc7-b6 maneuver," commented Leinier Domínguez. "Overall, a very difficult game," he told the media.

With his defeat, Leinier sees his stay in Berlin compromised, as he is forced to win this Sunday to force a tiebreak, a situation he has faced before in the Grand Prix.

The Icon of Güines pulled off an extraordinary comeback when he won the fifth and sixth games in his group, tied for first place and then disposed of So in the second tiebreak match.

With the white pieces, this Sunday he will stake everything against Aronian, who with a draw secures passage to the grand final. Given what has been seen in Berlin, anything with Leinier, based on the level shown, is possible.