MARK RUBERY CHESS
The Armenian grandmaster, Levon Aronian, who visited this country last year, is one of the more profound players in world. He gave following frank interview to journalist Gohar Hayrapetyan (Miss Armenia 1998).
Q: Is chess art or sport?
LA: It’s sport, but in case you’re a person of art, you should look at this sport from that prism. It’s an individual thing.
Q: Is there the factor of Luck in chess? LA: Yes, definitely. When out of all the possible moves your rival plays the very one you waited for…
Q: When the game is over, the king and the pawn appear in the same box. Do you believe in equality in life?
LA: In terms of equality, I truly believe that each and every person in this life gets his/ her chance. There is Justice, too. A person simply needs to believe that in case of living a just and right life, if he can reach his mission in life, then he can live in the field of justice he has created with his own efforts.
Q: Chess is a mini model of life; the same fight, same planning, getting the enemy into a trap. Is a chess player a good player in life, too?
LA: Surely, there can be many parallels taken between the real life and chess. But there is one vital difference. In chess, when you lose in an important and interesting game, there’s something that dies inside you, but then you recover. You’re sure there will be many more games in the future where victories will follow the losses. And in reality, we are given a life only once, so we learn whether we’ve won or lost only in the end.
Q: If you had a time machine and could travel back to the past, who from the famous chess players would you like to play a game with?
LA:
I would like to play with Tigran Petrosian. He had a very interesting style. We are different in style, so I cannot even predict whether I would have won or not. I think it would have been an interesting game. As if ice and fire would meet.
Q: How would you describe your style in chess?
LA: I search for depth in the game, I go to the deepness. I see layers that are unseen. During the game I try to go beyond rules and borders and at the same time create those rules. If I try to formulate it, I want to find innovative steps that will later turn into rules. That’s my motivation, to show that my game is not simply abstractionism, but something harmonious, that is not widely spread yet.
Here is a complex win he had over the world champion…
Aronian,L (2793) - Carlsen,M (2832) [D45] 5th Norway Chess 2017 Stavanger NOR (4.2) 2017
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6 6.b3 Bb4 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Bd3 0–0 9.0–0 Qe7 10.Bc2 Rd8 11.a3 Bxa3 12.Rxa3 Qxa3 13.c5 b6 14.b4 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Rb8 17.Bxh7+!? (Beginning a long forcing and unclear line)… Kxh7 18.Ng5+ Kg8 19.Qh5 Nf6 20.Qxf7+ Kh8 21.Qc7 Bd7 22.Nf7+ Kh7 23.Nxd8 Rc8 24.Qxb6 Nd5 25.Qa7 Rxd8 26.e4 Qd3 27.exd5
Qxd2 28.Qc7 Qg5 29.dxc6 Bc8 30.h3 Qd5 31.Rd1 e5? (31…Rf8! 32 Qd6 Qb3 33 Qxf8 Qxd1+ 34 Kh2 Qxd4 would lead to a draw)
32.Rd3! (This rook lift is decisive)… exd4 33.Qe7 Bf5 34.Rg3 Bg6 35.Qh4+ 1–0
A chess tournament is not a horse race. Besides official results, it leaves something much more important: games - products of human intellect. – Mikhail Krasenkow