Levon Aronian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Levon Aronian
Լևոն Արոնյան |
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Aronian in 2019
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Levon Grigori Aronian
6 October 1982 Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
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Chess career
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Levon Grigori Aronian, born on October 6, 1982, is a famous Armenian-American chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn. Levon was a chess prodigy, meaning he was super talented at chess from a young age. He became a grandmaster in 2000 when he was just 17 years old.
He has won many important chess titles. He was a world champion in both rapid and blitz chess. Rapid chess means you have less time to think, and blitz chess means you have even less time! In March 2014, he was ranked No. 2 in the world. He had a rating of 2830, which made him the fourth highest-rated player in chess history.
Aronian won the FIDE World Cup twice, in 2005 and 2017. He also led the Armenian national team to win gold medals at the Chess Olympiads in 2006, 2008, and 2012. He also won the World Team Chess Championship in 2011. Levon was also a world champion in Chess960 (a type of chess where the starting position of pieces is shuffled) in 2006 and 2007.
He has been the top chess player from Armenia for many years. People in Armenia see him as a hero and a celebrity. He was named Armenia's best sportsman in 2005. In 2016, CNN even called him the "David Beckham of chess." In 2021, Aronian decided to play for the United States instead of Armenia. This change happened because he felt there was less support for chess in Armenia.
Early Life and Learning Chess
Levon Aronian was born in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 6, 1982. At that time, Armenia was part of the Soviet Union. His mother, Seda Avagyan, was a mining engineer. His father, Grigory Leontievich Aronov, was a physicist.
Levon learned to play chess from his older sister, Lilit, when he was nine years old. He quickly showed how good he was at the game. In 1994, he won the World Youth Chess Championship for players under 12. He beat many future chess stars in that tournament. Since 2011, his main coach has been Ashot Nadanian. Levon also has a diploma from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture.
Chess Career Highlights
Starting Out: 2001–2005
In 2001, Aronian did very well at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open tournament. Soon after, he won the Young Masters tournament in Lausanne. In 2002, he won the Armenian Chess Championship. That same year, he became the World Junior Champion.
Aronian played in his first FIDE World Chess Championship in 2004. He won his first game against a young Magnus Carlsen, who later became a world champion. In 2005, Levon became one of the top ten chess players in the world. He won the World Cup in Russia by beating Ruslan Ponomariov.
Becoming a Top Player: 2006–2010
In March 2006, Aronian won the famous Linares chess tournament. He finished ahead of the world champion at the time, Veselin Topalov. In November 2006, he shared first place at the Mikhail Tal Memorial competition.
Armenia won its first ever Chess Olympiad gold medal in 2006, with Aronian on the team. In January 2007, he shared first place at the Corus chess tournament. He also beat World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in a rapid chess match.
Aronian won the Corus chess tournament again in January 2008, sharing the win with Magnus Carlsen. He also won the Melody Amber tournament, which includes blindfold and rapid chess games. In June 2008, he won the Karen Asrian Memorial Rapid chess tournament in Yerevan. The Armenian team, with Aronian, won their second gold medal at the 38th Chess Olympiad in 2008.
In 2009, Aronian won the World Rapid Chess Championship. By September 2009, his FIDE rating was almost as high as the World Champion, Viswanathan Anand. In 2010, he won the World Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow.
Continued Success: 2011–2014
In January 2011, Aronian tied for third place at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. In November 2011, he tied for first place with Magnus Carlsen at the Tal Memorial. In January 2012, Aronian won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament by himself. He played against many top players, including Magnus Carlsen.
In December 2012, he won the SportAccord World Mind Games in Beijing. This was a blindfold tournament, where players don't see the board. In 2013, Aronian finished second at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. He also won the Alekhine Memorial tournament. In March 2014, Aronian reached his highest rating ever, 2830. This made him the fourth highest-rated player in chess history.
Recent Years: 2015–Present
In 2015, Aronian won the 3rd Sinquefield Cup in the United States. This win helped him get back into the world's Top 10 players. In October 2015, he played in the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Berlin. He also helped his team, Siberia Novosibirsk, win the European Chess Club Cup.
In April 2017, Levon Aronian won the Grenke Chess Classic in Germany. He finished well ahead of players like Magnus Carlsen. In June 2017, Aronian won the fifth Norway Chess Tournament. In August 2017, he won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament.
In September 2017, Aronian won the World Cup again. This win helped him qualify for the Candidates Tournament to challenge for the World Chess Championship. In January 2018, Aronian won the Gibraltar Chess Festival. In August 2018, he tied for first place with Carlsen and Caruana at the Sinquefield Cup.
In August 2019, Aronian won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament for the second time. He also won the Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament in Bucharest. In 2020, he participated in the Chess 9LX 2020 Champions Showdown and the Norway Chess tournament, finishing third in both.
In February 2021, Aronian announced he would play for the United States. He said this was because of a lack of support for chess in Armenia. In July 2021, he won the Goldmoney Asian Rapid chess tournament. In November 2021, he won the blitz part of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament.
In 2022, Aronian played in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022. He also participated in the American Cup, finishing second. In May 2022, he tied for first in the Superbet Chess Classic. He also became the number one ranked Blitz player in the world. In July 2022, he won the FTX Road to Miami online event.
In February 2023, he won the WR Chess Masters in Düsseldorf. In June-July 2023, he was part of the team Triveni Continental Kings, which won the first Global Chess League in Dubai. In March 2024, Levon won The American Cup again.
Playing for Teams
Aronian has played for Armenia in many Chess Olympiads. These are big team competitions. He helped his team win bronze in 2004 and gold medals in 2006, 2008, and 2012. In the 2010 Chess Olympiad, he won a silver medal for his individual play. In 2012, he won a gold medal for his play on the top board.
Aronian was also part of the Armenian team that won the gold medal at the World Team Chess Championship in 2011. He won a silver medal for his individual performance there. In 2013, he won another gold medal for his play on the top board at the World Team Chess Championship. In 2024, Aronian played for the USA in the Chess Olympiad and won a Silver medal for his performance.
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Chess Rating
Aronian reached a rating of 2801 in November 2010. This was a big deal because he was only the sixth player in history to pass the 2800 rating mark. Only a few other legendary players like Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen had done it before him. His highest rating was 2830 in March 2014. This is the fourth highest rating ever achieved by a chess player.
Chess960
Chess960 is a fun type of chess where the starting position of the pieces is different in each game. In 2003, Aronian won a Chess960 tournament. This allowed him to play against the Chess960 World Champion, Peter Svidler, but he lost that match.
He won the same tournament again in 2005. This time, he got a rematch with Svidler in 2006 and won, becoming the Chess960 World Champion! In 2007, he successfully defended his title by beating Viswanathan Anand. He lost the title in 2009 to Hikaru Nakamura. In 2019, Aronian played in another Chess960 event, but he lost to Hikaru Nakamura.
How Levon Aronian Plays Chess
Chess experts have described Levon Aronian's playing style. Viswanathan Anand called him a "very gifted tactician." This means he is very good at finding clever moves and tricks in chess. He is always looking for new ways to solve problems on the board.
Boris Gelfand said Aronian is "the most striking player around." He noted Levon's high creativity in both the opening and middle parts of the game. Alexei Shirov said Aronian has an "ultra-aggressive style." He achieves this because he has a special feeling for sharp (complicated and risky) positions. Sergey Karjakin even compared Aronian's style to the famous football player Lionel Messi.
When Aronian plays with the white pieces, he often starts with the move 1. d4. Even though he starts this way, he plays these positions like someone who prefers 1. e4, which is a more open and attacking style. He is also an expert in a specific chess opening called the Marshall Attack.
Chess School
In 2012, Levon Aronian and another grandmaster, Gabriel Sargissian, started a chess school in Yerevan. This school helps talented young chess players, aged 10 to 18, to improve their skills.
Personal Life
Levon's mother, Seda Aronova, wrote a book about her son in 2013. It shares her memories of his childhood and his chess achievements.
Levon is a big fan of jazz music. His favorite musician is John Coltrane. He also enjoys classical composers like Bach and Mahler.
Levon started dating Woman International Master Arianne Caoili in 2008. They got married on September 30, 2017, in Yerevan. They had first met at a chess championship in 1996. Sadly, Arianne passed away on March 30, 2020. After her passing, Aronian married Anita Ayvazyan in 2022. They had a daughter in 2022, and they named her Zabelle.
Images for kids
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Aronian playing Magnus Carlsen at Linares 2007
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Levon Aronian vs Vladimir Kramnik at the Candidates Tournament 2018
