Candidate Matches 2011 favorite, Armenia’s Levon Aronian was eliminated by Alexander Grischuk of Russia in the rapid chess game, which finished 1,5: 2,5.

The Armenian leveled the score after losing the first rapid tie-break game, but after a draw he lost the decisive 4th game.

In the semifinal Grischuk will play against Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), who was on the verge of elimination but eventually knocked out Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) in the second blitz mini-match.

Another semifinal pairing will be Gata Kamsky (U.S.) and Boris Gelfand (Israel), who defeated Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan).