Frequent evaluation swings in tense-filled encounters made for an exciting sixth round at the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin. In the end, the one player who secured a spot in the semifinals on Thursday was Hikaru Nakamura. Naka and Levon Aronian, who qualified after round 5, will face the winners of Friday’s playoffs. In the rapid and blitz tiebreakers, Richard Rapport will face Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and Wesley So will play Leinier Dominguez. | Photos: World Chess
Levon Aronian became the first player to secure a spot in the semifinals of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin. The US grandmaster qualified to the knockout stage with one round to spare after getting an unsurmountable 1½-point lead in pool C. Suspense remains in the other three pools, though, with seven players going into Thursday’s sixth round still with chances of getting one of the three remaining spots. | Photos: World Chess
GM Levon Aronian won a tense tactical game with the black pieces against GM Vincent Keymer to reach 4/5 and qualify with a round to spare from Group C to the semifinals of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix first leg in Berlin. Though GM Hikaru Nakamura won a well-fought game against GM Alexander Grischuk to maintain.