Levon Aronian Defeats World Champion Magnus Carlsen with Black Pieces

Armenian chess leader Levon Aronian defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway with black pieces in the 5th round of the rapid chess tournament of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) in St. Louis, winning in 35 moves.

In the 4th round, Aronian had drawn against Chinese player Ding Liren while playing with white pieces. With 9 points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw), Aronian stands alone at the top of the leaderboard.

In the first round, Aronian had defeated French player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, in the second round he won against Russian Sergey Karjakin, and in the third round, he triumphed over Azerbaijani Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

In the 6th round, Aronian's opponent will be U.S. representative Leinier Dominguez. After the 9 rounds of rapid chess, 18 rounds of blitz play will take place. The tournament will conclude on August 15.