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All games ended peacefully in the penultimate round of the Tal Memorial, which takes place in the Museum of Russian Impressionism in Moscow.

As the Chess federation of Armenia reports, Levon Aronian and Li Chao both played creatively in the Queen’s Pawn’s Opening. Neither side castled, but the black king was more vulnerable, and White got a comfortable game. In the middle game Aronian sacrificed a pawn for the initiative, and transposed to a rook ending with a noticeable advantage. However, the Chinese grandmaster defended very precisely and survived.
According to the source, after 8 rounds Nepomniachtchi leads the table with 5.5 points.

Standings after 8 rounds:
Nepomniachtchi – 5.5
Giri – 5
Kramnik, Aronian, Anand – 4.5
Svidler, Li Chao – 4
Mamedyarov – 3.5
Tomashrvsky – 3
Gelfand – 1.5

Round 9 pairings:
Mamedyarov-Kramnik, Li Chao-Giri, Anand-Aronian, Gelfand-Nepomniachtchi, Tomashevsky-Svidler.