MOSCOW, Sep 11 Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi beat US representative Levon Aronian in games of the eighth round of the fifth stage of the Grand Chess Tour, which takes place in St. Louis (USA). The game in which the Russian played black pieces ended after the 52nd move. In another game, the Frenchman Alireza Firouzja defeated the American Wesley So. Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja shared the first place in the standings, both players scored 4.5 points each. In the last round on Sunday, the Russian will meet with the American Hans Niemann. Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament in Madrid in early July and won the right to play against Carlsen again for the world crown in 2023. However, the Norwegian refused to play a match for the world title. Now Nepomniachtchi must face the Chinese Ding Liren, who came second in the Candidates Tournament.
