15th Blitz Death Match Player Announcement!

The winners of the 2nd Annual Blitz Death Match Qualifier have been contacted, and their participation in Chess.com's 15th Blitz Death Match on June 9th at 9AM Pacific time is now confirmed:

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GM Fabiano Caruana - world # 8 according to the FIDE Live Rating List - finished as the top rated, active blitz player on Chess.com during the month of April! With the main criteria being a minimum of 100 games to be played, in the given time control, during the qualifying period - Fabiano took the blitz honors. He is set to square off again GM Valeriy Aveskulov, who managed to do the same (finish as the top rated, active player) in the bullet section. 

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In what is sure to be one of our most highly anticipated match ups to date, we will for the first time witness a player in the top 10 of the world competing in the "Death Match Arena". Admittedly, one of the delaying factors in making the official announcement was simply confirming scheduling for both players, especially in Caruana's case, as he plans to fly to Moscow for the Tal Memorial less than 48 hours after the match!

GM Fabiano Caruana -- FIDE 2774, comes in as the clear match favorite. Fabiano has recently become one of Chess.com's most active players in Live Chess. His accomplishments are many, but here we will include only one of his nicer, more recent victories: his win over newly crowned U.S. Champion, GM Gata Kamsky, at the recent Zug Grand Prix:

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GM Valeriy Aveskulov -- FIDE 2519 is no stranger to elite chess events himself! Valeriy, perhaps better known to Chess.com fans as LuckyTiger, recently added "author" to his professional resume - authoring Attack with Black, and receiving many outstanding reviews for his work.

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Though Valeriy will be the underdog on paper, he is certainly more experienced with Chess.com's playing interface, and he will look to make a big move in the final bullet time control phase.

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Here's a great, resourceful win from the career of GM Aveskulov, over the author of this very news report! You can check out many of his great blitz and bullet victories on our site by clicking here:

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Mark your calendars, and don't miss all the live match on www.Chess.com/TV - Sunday, June 9th at 9AM Pacific, 12 Noon Eastern. International Master Danny Rensch, along with a Special Guest Commentator, will cover all the action for you!