Youngsters Shine: Keymer Wins Division II, Sarana Takes Division III

Day seven of the 2024 Champions Chess Tour Chessable Masters saw the conclusions of Divisions II and III. Although both matches went to the second set, the younger players won in each division.

GM Vincent Keymer defeated GM Levon Aronian in Division II and GM Alexey Sarana overcame GM Alexander Grischuk in Division III. Keymer wins $15,000, 50 tour points, and a ticket to Division I of the next event; Sarana makes $7,500, 30 tour points, and qualifies at least into Division II of the next event.

GM Alireza Firouzja will play GM Magnus Carlsen in the Grand Final of Division I on Wednesday, February 7, starting at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CET / 9:30 p.m. IST. 

• Division II: 'Now It's Time To Play My Best Chess,' Says Keymer
• Division III: Grischuk Calls The Shots In First Match, Loses Second

Division II: 'Now It's Time To Play My Best Chess,' Says Keymer

Despite Aronian's more illustrious reputation as an elite player, Keymer enjoys a 3-2 plus score in their rapid chess encounters. The German number-one won their previous match in this event with an undefeated 2.5-0.5.

The Armenian-American grandmaster got off to a strong start, landing the first blow in game two and then winning the armageddon to take the match into a second set—where he ultimately lost.

Grand Final Set 1: Keymer 2-3 Aronian

The match started in Aronian's favor as he won game two. There, he demonstrated the power of "pigs on the seventh" and, later, instructively liquidated into a winning pawn endgame.

But Keymer struck back with a crushing victory in game three. While it was being played, Howell remarked: "He's crushing Levon in this game and it's rare to see such a one-sided position, Robert! It looks like something that Vincent might get in a simultaneous display!"

It looks like something that Vincent might get in a simultaneous display!

—David Howell

Hess added after the game: "It was as one-sided as it gets."

The first set came down to the armageddon game, which Aronian won with the black pieces. The highlight was 21...Rxf3!, a temporary exchange sacrifice that led to mass liquidation. Keymer ultimately overextended in an equal endgame, knowing that there's no difference between a draw and a loss for White in armageddon.

Because Keymer finished first in the Winner's Bracket, he had a second life in this match. "I thought, now it's time to show my best chess, otherwise I will lose," he said of this critical moment—after he scored two resounding victories.

Match Reset: Keymer 2-0 Aronian 

When a great player wins a chess game, they often make it look much easier than it really is. Such was the nature of Keymer's two wins. As our Game of the Day, GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the second and final victory below, where Keymer squeezed one of the world's greatest-ever players from the black side of an Italian. 

As perhaps a form of poetic justice for the armageddon game Keymer lost, this game also features an exchange sacrifice on the f3-square. What a way to end it!

Keymer earns a ticket to Division I of the next event, which comes with a minimum payout of $7,500 and the chance to earn more. Since "Wesley [GM Wesley So] kicked me out of the race" in this year's first Play-in, Keymer will be playing in Division I for the first time.

"I'm very happy to finally now get my Division I," the young grandmaster said. "Of course I will do my very best and we will see what happens."

You can find the full, final brackets for Division II here.  

Division III: Grischuk Calls The Shots In First Match, Loses Second

Like in the Division II match, the younger player Sarana had a plus score (of 7-2) against his more seasoned opponent. Identically as well, Grischuk won the first match—but with an even more pronounced score.

Grand Final Set 1: Grischuk 3-1 Sarana

Considering Sarana won their Winners Final match 3-0 earlier in this tournament, the way this match started must have been a major confidence boost for Grischuk. 

He came out swinging, winning the very first game. Despite being low on time (as he would be in every game), with 20 seconds against three minutes, he found a checkmate:

 In game two, Sarana found a nice checkmate in the rook endgame to even the score, but this would be his only victory in the first set.

After winning game three, Grischuk won the first set by finding 15...f4! to win a piece—curiously, after both players missed it the first time.

After missing the tactic once, Grischuk finds 15...f4! the second time to win a piece! If he scores the point, he's going to win the first set.https://t.co/O2pbYRgwZm#ChessChamps #ChessableMasters pic.twitter.com/aSzkdkHgZ3

— chess24.com (@chess24com) February 6, 2024

Like a mirror-image of the Division II match, the younger player—who went undefeated in the Winners Bracket and therefore earned a second life—took over in the reset and won both games.

Match Reset: Grischuk 0-2 Sarana

We don't see an example of pure zugzwang too often, and it is for this reason that we'll focus on Sarana's first win in the reset. 57...Kg7! was an excellent find by Serbia's number-one, leaving White with no good moves. 

It's another strong showing for the 24-year-old grandmaster. In 2023, he became the first player to win both the European Individual and Team Chess Championships—and won the European Rapid Championship that same year. He is surely a shark in the waters of rapid chess and has added another tournament win to his list of accomplishments.

We will see how he does in Division II of the next event—that is, unless he makes it to Division I through the Placement stage. 

You can find the full, final brackets for Division III here. 

The 2024 Chessable Masters is the first of four events on the 2024 Champions Chess Tour and determines one of the players who'll make it to the in-person CCT Finals. The event starts on January 31 at 11 a.m. ET/17:00 CET and features a $300,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage:

• • Firouzja To Play Carlsen In Grand Final
  • Carlsen Reaches Grand Final, Defeats Dark Horse Lazavik
  • Carlsen Reaches Winners Final Vs. Lazavik
  • Fedoseev, Martinez, Lazavik Prevail Against Top-20 Players
  • Lazavik Beats Nakamura 2-0; Dubov Plays Brilliancy
  • Martinez Wins Play-in On His Birthday
  • Faster And Fitter: Champions Chess Tour 2024 Returns With Chessable Masters