Blitz Death Match 6 Goes to Jones!

In yet another thrilling Blitz Death Match we saw two very strong Grandmasters go head to head and entertain us all for three hours with their amazing rapid chess skills! The favorite on paper, and the highest rated (FIDE) competitor ever to participate in a Death Match came out on top!

Grandmaster Gawain Jones won the match by a final score of 17.5-13.5 over the young American star, GM Robert Hess. This was Hess's second Death Match, and, unfortunately for Hess, it was also his second time finishing as the runner up.

Hess started off strongly, grabbing a two game lead after the first time control (5 minutes with the 1 second increment) -- but things began to unravel for him quickly in the 3 + 1 control, and Jones maintained control over the match as they continued onto the final (Bullet) segment of the match. One great win for Hess came as black in their first game:

But here's a critical, and crushing win that came just in time for Mr. Jones to turn things around as they headed into the 3 + 1 time control:

And one of the "back breakers" for Hess came in the final time control here when Robert was unable to convert on a second straight advantage -- due to creative and stubborn defense from Gawain -- Hess already trailing by four games in the match:

We hope everyone enjoyed Chess.com/TV's coverage of the match, and we look forward to next month's match between GM Wesley So and GM Ray Robson!