With the white pieces, Robson chooses the traditional Italian Game. The opening promises a balanced blend of strategy and tactics.
Aronian develops his bishop, steering the game into the well-known Giuoco Piano variation.
By advancing his pawn, Robson keeps the center closed, steering the game toward a maneuvering, positional battle.
Aronian develops his knight to an ideal square, enhancing his influence over central squares.
Robson castles on the kingside, ensuring his king’s safety.
Aronian completes his castling on the kingside as well, aligning both kings on the same wing.
Robson develops his rook, keeping his development flexible and his plans versatile for the middlegame.
Aronian advances his knight, putting Robson’s f-pawn under direct pressure.
Robson slides his rook up one square, defending the f-pawn and keeping his position solid.
Aronian moves his king, unpinning the f-pawn and preparing to push it forward!
Robson advances his pawn, attacking Aronian’s knight and compelling it to move back.
Instead of retreating, Aronian boldly pushes his f-pawn, leaving his knight hanging!
Robson wisely develops his bishop rather than grabbing the knight. Capturing could have created tactical vulnerabilities, so he prioritizes safe piece play.
By retreating his knight, Aronian simultaneously safeguards his queen and knight.
Robson develops his knight, bringing another piece into the fight.
Aronian pushes his pawn, opening the diagonal for his light-squared bishop.
Robson places his knight in the heart of the board, targeting Aronian’s pinned knight.
Aronian develops his bishop, quietly targeting Robson’s central knight.
Robson captures Aronian’s knight with his own, simultaneously creating a discovered attack with his bishop.
Aronian faces a choice: recapture the knight or the bishop? Aronian recaptures the bishop, one of two equally sound options.
Robson captures a pawn with his knight, unveiling a powerful discovered attack on Aronian’s queen!
Faced with a discovered attack, Aronian plays a beautiful intermezzo, sacrificing his rook. The bold tactic complicates the position!
Robson captures Aronian’s queen with his bishop!
Aronian takes Robson’s rook with his bishop, simultaneously attacking the queen.
Robson responds by taking Aronian’s bishop with his queen.
Aronian captures Robson’s pawn with his rook, attacking the queen and setting up deadly discovered check ideas against the king!
Robson gives back the queen, avoiding tactical complications and keeping the endgame under control.
Eleven trades in a row! A remarkable sequence of eleven consecutive captures has simplified the position dramatically.
Robson moves his knight out of attack range from Aronian’s king.
Endgame already? With quick and precise moves from both sides, the game has transitioned into an endgame with equal material.
Robson slides his rook to the f-file, the only open file on the board.
Aronian challenges Robson’s knight, setting up a potential knight trade.
Robson moves his king, creating a discovered check on Aronian’s king!
Aronian moves his king out of check, heading toward the center. The endgame is balanced, but the pawn structure is imbalanced: Robson has a kingside majority, Aronian on the queenside.
Robson is down on the clock with 32 minutes, whereas Aronian has 1 hour 32 minutes. Aronian has blitzed through the entire game!
Both Robson and Aronian appear set to repeat moves, steering the game toward a draw.
The first game to finish in Round 7 ended in a draw, keeping both players on their steady courses. For Levon Aronian, this marks his sixth draw in seven games, a demonstration of his solid, risk-free approach to maintain a strong position on the leaderboard.
The opening was the Giuoco Piano, and Aronian practically blitzed through the entire game, not using any time on the clock. The middlegame offered some tension, but a series of 11 consecutive trades simplified the position dramatically. From there, the game transitioned quickly into a rook endgame, and both players agreed to a draw with no clear chances for either side.
Now, let us turn our attention to the other live games as Round 7 continues to unfold!
Welcome back to our live coverage, we hope you’re enjoying the action so far!
The championship battle is heating up as we enter the second half of the event. After six intense rounds, we have three leaders: Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Hans Niemann, all tied at 4 out of 6. Just half a point behind, Levon Aronian is in close pursuit, looking to close the gap at the top.
Today, we’re following Levon Aronian’s clash with Ray Robson, a key matchup for both players. Aronian has been solid with a string of draws and will surely be hungry for a win to rejoin the leaders. Robson, sitting at 2.5 points, will also be eager to climb back into contention after several balanced games of his own.
Will Aronian’s experience shine through, or will Robson rise to the occasion and upset the chase pack?