 David Howell took down Levon Aronian with the black pieces in a critical encounter of the final round at Gibraltar Masters. David joins us in our studio. David, a huge win against Levon today. Congratulations. Thank you. I'm very happy right now. Now David, let's talk about what happened. On move 12, Lev gave the sacrifice with Bishop E4. Did he ever have enough compensation? I mean the way the game turned out, I don't think so. I mean, I've played Lev a few times and he's bluffed me a couple of times. So I knew there were some dangerous piece sacrifices in the slime. I prepared it a while ago, but no, I mean I was confident in my calculations. I was just double checking everything, but he said afterwards in the game he missed a key detail that I could block with my Bishop on E5 and after this it was all plain sailing, I think. So you knew the position was quite rich and there were a lot of possibilities. So you weren't completely surprised by this decision? No. Actually, I was more worried about different sacrifices. I think you can play C4 move early. I'll play ideas like Bishop takes G6 at some point. So I was more worried about the fact that I'd forgotten all my preparation even though I looked at this line a couple of months ago. Now the engines, the commentary room, everyone was screaming that it was completely winning for Black after he played Bishop E4. But of course it's very different over the board. Did you feel any danger in your position? Yeah, of course. I mean, when you're playing against one of the greatest attacking players of this generation when he's sitting there across the board kind of looking super confident, it's very nerve-wracking. But I mean, I think I was a bit lucky today. You know, I didn't sleep very well last night so I woke up and I didn't have the energy to get nervous. So I just thought I'd try and calculate and survive and I managed to do that. Why didn't you sleep well last night? Actually, I was up all night doing my Sunday Times column on the Battle of the Sexes. Okay, not preparing for the game? No, I found out at 10.20 this morning that I was playing Black against Lev and not a nice surprise. Now, someone told you at breakfast today morning that this is how things will go. Would you have believed them? No, I mean, if you told me five, six days ago that this would happen, I mean, I was a nervous wreck. I'd blundered one of the worst blunders of my life and I was on two out of four. And yeah, I got lucky in the next game as well. So yeah, I'm very happy with how it turned out. Very surprised but happy. The second half of the event, you were on fire and you mentioned in our previous interview that it's because you stopped preparing. Now, that's a little hard to believe. Tell us what changed. I mean, I would check what my opponent plays for maybe 10, 20 minutes, but then that was it. I don't know. I tend to get very stressed out if I work too much during tournaments. I still believe that most hard work should be done away from tournaments. So I thought, okay, I needed that energy and I mean, I played a couple of seven hour games and that energy came in useful and it helped today. Actually, I felt very fresh despite sleeping only three hours last night. So yeah, sometimes preparing is, you know, it's a double edged sword. Interesting. So champions are made between tournaments, not during. Exactly. For the kids out there. Now during your game, did you notice Hikaru was looking over a lot with a look of absolute disbelief on his face? Yes. It's very hard not to notice Hikaru. He's very expressive. He's very expressive. I mean, I've sat across the board from him a number of times and he does that even in the most dull position. So I tried not to take, not to read too much into it, but at the same time, it made me double check on my variations just to make sure I wasn't blundering because, you know, Hikaru's face if I blundered, that would not be a pretty sight. Interesting. Now this has so far been your best performance at Jib. A good way to start the year? It's not my best performance actually. One year I got 8 out of 10 and I came second on my own. So this year maybe 2nd, 3rd, but okay. Yeah, good way to start the year. I'd had a really bad couple of months actually. I was not feeling confident. It took me, I think I didn't win a classical game for 10, 15 games and that's good to be back. You're also going to be going back with a sizable amount of prize fund. Yeah, I was saying... Anything specific in your plan to do with it? No, pay off the mortgage. I don't know. I'm very boring these days. Although I am going to a wedding in India at the end of March. I might see you there. So that will help finance the trip. Yes, you will. Now you've been here several times. David, tell us the highlights of Jib chess for you and what is it that makes this event special? Sure. I mean, it's the people. That's a good start. I mean, the people are lovely and friendly and they support chess so much. I mean, if people love chess, then they're good in my books. So there's a real family spirit here. I mean, I've seen the same faces many times and I don't know, it's just like a family gathering. I always seem to play better when I'm happy and that seems to happen quite a lot in Jib and I also like being by the sea and it's a beautiful place, of course. So many things. But yeah, I think they've got the priorities right here in Jib as well. You know, show chess for what it can be and it supports women chess, which is a very good thing. So I don't know. It's still struggle to find a downside to coming here to Jib. That's why I come back over here. You finished at seven and a half but probably still a bit short to make it to the tie breaks if they happen. Bittersweet or happy with your performance? I'm happy. I'm happy. Yeah, I don't get too greedy these days. I mean, I'll let those guys play a tie break if they want to. I'll go and chill now on the beach or something. No, seven and a half is alright. It's not too bad. Very well done. Congratulations once again. Thank you, Tanya. Thank you for joining us.