 Chess is art, his creativity paints a stunning canvas. If Chess is science, his original ideas and intuitive play question many a hypothesis. And if Chess is a sport, his fighting spirit and passion over the board brings in the adrenaline. He is the 2017 World Cup winner. He's a former Blitz champion, world champion. He's also won several elite events, including the Sinkfield Cup, Norway Chess, Cranker Chess, Waikanzé, Stahl Memorial to name a few. And he returns to Gibraltar as the 2018 winner. We are privileged to have with us the one and only Levon Aronian. Welcome back to Giblev. Thank you. How is it to be back here? It's great, you know, where the whole Europe people are shaking here. There is sun and there is daylight at six o'clock. It's wonderful. Great. Now the tournament's about to begin. We're going to start the Masters soon. What's the general feeling when you return to an event as the defending champion? General feeling is especially when it comes to Gibraltar tournament is you want to start on a good note because this is the first event of the year and you want to have a good tournament. And generally it's a fresh start. It's very exciting. So there is no better place to start the year, I think. That's really nice to hear. Now, Lev, there's been a shift in the chess calendar of the very elite players in the world. There was a time when this was a very decided calendar. You played amongst each other. There were these closed events that happened. But we see more and more elite players participating in open events like Gibraltar. What do you think is the reason for that? The reason is I think the elite players are tired of playing against each other. We want some excitement. Some action. Yeah, we want to face other players. We want to see what does it feel like to play some riskier openings to try to win more with black. So I guess that's why the elite players like to play in open tournaments. And we normally get accused to say, oh, they all play against each other. But that's not our design. We like to be open. And that's why I think tournaments like Gibraltar Chess, I Love Man, is something that we all look forward to. Right, now in these events when there is no set players list and you don't really know who you'll be playing against, what's the preparation like for such an event? You have to try to be fresh. Generally, just to play lots of Blitz is useful. I think that's what I'm going to do tomorrow. Generally, you have to prepare creative. You have to be more open to new ideas in the openings, I think, to be having a good tournament here. To be open to taking more risks. I guess. Right, now also give us some insight, a player like you, one of the elite players of the world, when you're deciding your calendar of the year, what are the factors that come into play to decide what tournaments you play in and what you don't play in? Well, most of the things are decided with the World Championship cycle, because you want to be part of it. That's like the most important. But if you're not a part of it, then you kind of choose to play somewhere where you really like to be, I guess, and also the tournaments that respect you. I guess that's what's the most important for chess players. How big a motivation is it for you to fight for the World Championship? Well, that's something I'm going to do till I can't play chess. Something that I live for. I mean, not really succeeding. So this sentiment is very active. It's something I want to dedicate myself to, till I succeed. So basically, that's what I do. Right. Now, just taking that thread a little forward. Lev, you've won so many tournaments, but the candidates remain that elusive event for you. With the experience that you've had, and you look back at it and you analyze, what is it that you think has not clicked so far? In some candidates, I was too prepared, and some of them wasn't prepared at all. So I think there are different factors. But you try to change things, and then to some people, it comes more natural, playing well in such event. To me, it doesn't come naturally. So I'm trying to change and fine tune the ways in order to play well in the candidate tournament. I think, as of today, I know what I need to do, but qualifying there is going to be a difficult task for this year. Right. Now, the popular belief and the popular opinion is that you and Fabiano are the toughest challengers for Magnus. What do you think is the reason that separates the two of you to the rest of your colleagues? I think the fact that I get this respect is because I won many, many tournaments, and some of them were ahead of Magnus, and some of them were I won against him. I guess that's what makes my fans positive. I personally believe that I can play well against Magnus, but it requires a lot of attention because he's one of these players that is always there. He's waiting for a mistake. He knows that the people are not going to play continuously well, because that's what his strength is. His average move is much stronger than anybody else's average move. So I guess the people think that I can be strong because I am willing to take risks and I'm willing to adapt and I'm willing to learn new things. Of course, when I count the opportunities that I've missed against Magnus, I could write a book about it. We look forward to it. But I would be a very depressive book, so I wouldn't do that. Hopefully with a happy ending. That's what I have for us all. But yeah, I think that's part of Magnus. He believes in the quality of the moves. He believes that even if you're in trouble, if you work hard, you'll be able to come on top and he benefits from it because he does play really well when he's worse. This entire rating race at the top, does this number game, what does this number game mean to you? Well, rating is representative of your current strength and it's the most objective way to measure somebody's strength. So it's an important number. And what is your opinion about the current work under the new Federation, especially in relation to this new Swiss grant tournament that's being planned for a spot at the candidates? Well, I'm very excited about the new FIDE because I think finally we have people who play chess themselves in the Federation and who understand the players more. And of course, one example is this Grand Swiss, which is a great idea in my opinion, just to give a chance to every player to qualify to the candidates tournament. The only thing that we're missing, I think, because of the FIDE contract about the wild card, I think the wild card doesn't belong to the World Championship cycle. We need to get rid of it and then we'll have a very, very good system. That's very interesting, especially coming from you who has had a wild card spot at the candidates. Yes, well, I've got a wild card, but I don't think I deserved it. I was just lucky because my country loves chess. It was between me and Kramnik at that moment. So, I mean, I cannot say I completely didn't deserve it, but generally we shouldn't have that favor in the game of chess. I'm sure your fans will strongly disagree with what you just said. Talking about your country, I love your term as a national treasure in Armenia. In fact, in 2017, when you got married, the then president, Mr. Sarguzian, I hope I'm pronouncing his name correctly, he was there, he was the godfather at your wedding. Tell us a bit about that, about chess in Armenia and the chess revolution that, in a big way, you're responsible for. Yeah, there is a lot of love towards chess. I think it comes from the times of when Tigran Petrosyan became world champion. Then we had Rafael Vahanian, who was a very good player. So it kind of, it's in the system of Armenian people to love the game and to play in the parks. Yeah, I did help it by winning the World Cup, I have to say. And then we had this tremendous success with the Olympics and the national team. I can say that our president, Sarguzian, our previous president loved chess. He played many times. He has been in the Lomgin of many, many times, remember, when they played. So many people, also in current Armenia, with the different government love chess. So I hope we'll be able to keep that level, because it's something that is kind of a dream when you walk on the street and you can be respected as a chess player. I was just going to ask, do you get recognized a lot on the streets in Yervan? Yes, almost every time I'm out. One time I had to visit a friend and I decided to bring my dog along. And I took a taxi. It was kind of a Monday. And I put him on my lap, you know, because otherwise he gets nervous. Anyway, so we're on the way the taxi driver doesn't recognize me. He asks me what you do. I say, well, I'm a chess player, but he doesn't. It doesn't connect, anyway. So then we're stuck in some sort of a traffic. At some point there was a little incident. And my dog gets nervous. So I opened the window. I put him out for him to breathe and look at the things. So we go slowly. They see the dog, the people passing cars. They see the dog. They love the dog. And then they see me and they recognize me. They start talking, asking about me. So one car, second car, third car. And then the taxi driver goes, oh my God, what a famous dog. They recognize the owner. So, so. That's fantastic. Yes. So you understood that my dog is very famous. Right, now you also mentioned about the big success that the Armenian team has had. The national team led by you has won Olympic medals, European Championship. The Armenian Eagles were also the protest league champions. What is, what do you think is the reason that, that the team is so successful at team events, despite often not being the favorites on paper? Generally, I think many Armenian players are underrated. So they, because as a, as a nation, we tend to get carried away at some point. We get some success and then we're like, yeah, well, the world is ours. So, and then our rating drops, but we're very good players as the team showed with Gabriel Surgisian, Vladimir Kopian, Sergei Mofsesian, Tigran Petrosyan, and the other players. We won three Olympics, the World Championships. So it shows for the strength of the players. Yeah, generally the Armenian players, and also players from Caucasus have this special style. We like to maneuver a lot. We don't like to agree to droves. We like to play long games. So there is this common something that unites players from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Right, this same spirit of fearlessness over the board. Now, Lev Karyakin once said, he related your style of play. He called you the messy of chess, talking about your style of play. Did he say he was messy or... Maybe he meant that you're really messy on the board, but we're going to go with Lionel Messi for right now. And Vishy said that you're a D4 player who plays in the style and treats it like E4. Gari said that the world is a better place when Lev is playing well, but he also said that Levon faces his losses with a smile, and he believes that to be the world's best player, you need to hate losing. Tiana called you the David Beckham of chess. Which of these is the most flattering or the most amusing for you? Well, being compared to probably the greatest living football player in history. Wait, David Beckham or Messi? Messi. That's very flattering. Yeah, I mean, generally, I get lots of compliments for my play, but the fact is I don't like losing. I don't like losing at all, but I try to pretend I'm okay with it. The thing that I believe in, that when you lose, you have to respect your opponent. You have to appreciate the fact that he played a good game. But generally, since I normally come back with wins after losses, it shows my attitude towards the losses themselves. I prefer wins. Absolutely, you are known for your wonderful sportsmanship. Now, when one studies your games, Levon gets a feeling of beauty in chess. What is it about the game that brings you pure joy? There are certain things that I really enjoy the most in the game of chess. I love maneuvering a lot. I love when you can transfer your pieces in a nice way. I love domination, especially the some brand of domination, which I think was branded by Boleslawski by some of the most beautiful domination in the game of chess is when you attack a minor piece and it cannot move when you attack the minor piece and you dominate the position so much that you win it. There are many, many beautiful things, but one thing I can say that I don't stop getting amused by the amount of beauty there is in the game of chess. I see it every day and it's something that inspires me all the time. Many forms of art are something that really affects me just in a positive way or literature and same way I can say about chess. So yeah, I can say I'm very romantic, although nowadays I think for most of the people it's a sign of being vulnerable, but I don't feel vulnerable. I'm there to fight, but also to appreciate beauty. You've also been in the top 10 for a very, very long time. For a player of your level, what are the biggest challenges involved with being one of the best players in the world? I think biggest challenges when you start losing is the way to come back. That's the biggest challenge because you need to change things. I always get inspired by people like Boris Gelfand Vladimir Kramnick, and because they always try to learn new things and Vasily Ivanchuk, my most favorite player. Mine too. I think I've learned that to have more fighting spirit because the younger guys, especially Magnus, who started this, I mean, he basically copied everything that Bobby Fisher did. He didn't really start it, but he copied Bobby and Karpov's approach, is to play chess without really thinking about the objective assessment of the position. That's very important. Just to play good moves without really thinking that I'm better, I'm worse or I want something. Playing chess without wanting is very important. Have you also studied a lot from chess books? I studied a lot from chess books when I was little. I think I've read at least 200 books till I turned, I would say, 17. I've read one after another. I actually love to read. I read at least one or two books a month. And is there one particular chess book that had a huge impact on you that you would highly recommend? Oh, yeah. One of my most favorite books was, actually, it's a modern book because people always say, oh, you know, this 2-53 or, I don't know, are they against 200 games and things like this? But they're all great. All of those books are great. But the most profound thing that the book that was influencing the way I think was Rosen's Chess Seven Deadly Sins, because it talks about the subjects that I knew were there, but I couldn't express it. And I always wanted to write something with Jonathan, something like an improved version from a different perspective, but we're both very busy. So maybe one day we'll do it. That's a great recommendation that's actually been spoken about a lot by the top players. Right now, Lev, if you could take three qualities from any of your colleagues, three different colleagues, you could include yourselves in this list and sort of create this Uber chess player, this Mutant X version of a chess player. What are these three qualities and from whom would you take them? Well, I would take Fabiano's Diligence. Okay. I would take Magnus' Attention to Detail, you know, Precision, the Swag, the Spagger, my Spagger. So that is the Mutant X chess player. Yes. It would be Diligence, Precision and Swagger. That's what you need. That's great. And now finally, what is your professional and personal goal for 2019? 2019, I would like to have a similar year like I had in 2017. So a good year with many wins. And personal, well, I'm so happy, generally in life, that is difficult to ask for more. That I just want my family to be healthy and the people close to me to enjoy what they're doing. So that's what I want. And on that wonderful note, we're gonna end this interview. Thank you so much. It's been an absolute pleasure chatting with you and we wish you all the best for the Gibraltar Masters. Thank you. Thank you, love.