Wesley So and Andrew Tang the winners of Day 4 of the Armageddon Series
Day 4 of the World Chess Armageddon is over with Wesley So and Andrew Tang promoting to the next phase while Renato Terry and Jose Martinez have one last chance to get back in the game, facing Leinier Dominguez and Sam Shankland respectively, tonight at 19:00 CET.
First match was Welsey So against Renato Terry. The Peruvian GM didn’t have a great day and So dominated the match with a 2-0 score. “He put up a great fight. He is a magnificent speed player but also very strong.” So said Fiona Steil-Antoni at his after-game interview.
So then delved into his journey, explaining its twists and turns: surviving a lost position against Sam, Andrew’s retaliation against Leinier. The American GM also explained why his being a favourite hasn’t be taken for granted.
Second match was Andrew Tang against Jose Martinez. The match got to a very intense Armageddon, where both players had seconds and were trying to flag each other. When Tang promoted a queen, Martinez thought that his pawn had made 2 moves instead of one, so he stopped the clock and called the arbiter. After consulting the footage, it was clear that there are no illegal moves, so Martinez immediately lost the game and the match.
“That Armageddon match got my heart rate pretty high for once. After game 2 I needed to recover, but my king was in the middle of the board the whole game, and it was very stressful!” Andrew Tang told Simon Williams and Jovanka Houska, who were both extremely stressed as well, just by watching the game!
Tonight at 19:00 CET, the “losers” have a second chance. Renato Terry and Jose Martinez will face Leinier Dominguez and Sam Shankland respectively for a chance to win €50,000 and two spots in the Grand Finale.
