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Levon Aronian vs. Wesley So

Date: March 11, 2026
Round: Grand Final — Match 14 — Game 2 (Classical)
White: Levon Aronian (2729)
Black: Wesley So (2753)
Result: 1/2-1/2
SF 18

Game Notation (PGN)

[Event "2026 The American Cup Open"]
[Site "Saint Louis, US"]
[Date "2026.03.11"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Board "1"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
[WhiteFideId "13300474"]
[BlackFideId "5202213"]
[WhiteElo "2729"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteClock "0:52:03"]
[BlackClock "0:43:07"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[EndDate "2026.03.11"]
[EndTime "19:09:34"]

1. e4 {[%clk 1:30:54]}  e5 {[%clk 1:30:43]} 2. Nf3 {[%clk 1:31:18]}  Nc6 {[%clk 1:31:10]} 3. Bc4 {[%clk 1:31:42]}  Bc5 {[%clk 1:31:35]}
4. Nc3 {[%clk 1:32:01]}  Nf6 {[%clk 1:32:00]} 5. O-O {[%clk 1:32:25]}  O-O {[%clk 1:29:52]} 6. d3 {[%clk 1:32:49]}  h6 {[%clk 1:30:17]}
7. h3 {[%clk 1:29:16]}  a6 {[%clk 1:30:30]} 8. Be3 {[%clk 1:29:29]}  d6 {[%clk 1:30:18]} 9. Bxc5 {[%clk 1:29:51]}  dxc5 {[%clk 1:30:44]}
10. a4 {[%clk 1:30:14]}  b6 {[%clk 1:28:57]} 11. Nd5 {[%clk 1:29:33]}  Be6 {[%clk 1:28:48]} 12. Ne3 {[%clk 1:29:57]}  Re8 {[%clk 1:29:13]}
13. Bxe6 {[%clk 1:28:11]}  Rxe6 {[%clk 1:29:28]} 14. g3 {[%clk 1:25:58]}  g6 {[%clk 1:24:32]} 15. b3 {[%clk 1:23:31]}  Qd7 {[%clk 1:20:52]}
16. Kh2 {[%clk 1:21:01]}  Rd8 {[%clk 1:19:55]} 17. Qc1 {[%clk 1:14:21]}  Kh7 {[%clk 1:17:13]} 18. Nc4 {[%clk 1:04:04]}  Qe7 {[%clk 1:06:26]}
19. Qe3 {[%clk 1:01:37]}  Nd4 {[%clk 1:03:15]} 20. Rac1 {[%clk 1:02:05]}  Nh5 {[%clk 0:58:59]} 21. Ncd2 {[%clk 1:01:15]}  b5 {[%clk 0:56:38]}
22. Nxd4 {[%clk 0:52:22]}  cxd4 {[%clk 0:56:47]} 23. Qe2 {[%clk 0:51:36]}  Rc6 {[%clk 0:51:19]} 24. axb5 {[%clk 0:51:51]}  axb5 {[%clk 0:51:44]}
25. Nf3 {[%clk 0:52:16]}  Ra8 {[%clk 0:50:32]} 26. Ra1 {[%clk 0:52:22]}  Rca6 {[%clk 0:50:55]} 27. Rxa6 {[%clk 0:52:42]}  Rxa6 {[%clk 0:51:22]}
28. Rc1 {[%clk 0:52:50]}  Ra2 {[%clk 0:42:23]} 29. Qd1 {[%clk 0:53:08]}  Qc5 {[%clk 0:42:35]} 30. Ne1 {[%clk 0:51:09]}  Qc3 {[%clk 0:42:32]}
31. Nf3 {[%clk 0:51:34]}  Qc5 {[%clk 0:42:59]} 32. Ne1 {[%clk 0:51:37]}  Qc3 {[%clk 0:43:24]} 33. Nf3 {[%clk 0:52:03]}  Qc5 {[%clk 0:43:07]} 1/2-1/2