“Levon is a modest guy and friendly. It is difficult to have amassed that many victories and still remain an average person. Even though he’s a champion, he’s very easy to get along with.” This is how Levon Aronyan is described by Gabriel Sargsyan, a member of the victorious Armenian chess squad.

It all started for Levon like it does for all chess players; he had his first coach Grandmaster Melikset Khachatryan. Levon really appreciates the man who taught Levon to play blitz chess at an early age. The most important talent that Levon learnt from his first coach was to think fast. However, as Levon points out, “Here and there I lose when I think too fast, it can be a hindrance.”

It was Arshak Petrosyan who initiated Levon into a period of revelation regarding the world of chess. “He helped me to learn what is mine in the game and what isn’t,” Levon says. In addition to the coaches, the other and most important factor that assisted Levon in his budding chess career was his sister. “I was in Belarus with my sister, at some chess competitions, but it was my sister who was playing. She noticed that I was getting bored and decided to teach me to play chess. That’s how I got interested in the game.” All the while Levon’s father, a physicist by profession, and his mother, an engineer, both desired that Levon chose his own career path. If they held out any hopes of their own for Levon, they soon went up in smoke, because time marched forward and people changed. “When you play a lot and get better every time, your attitude towards the game changes. Over time I started to think not only about my moves, but the moves of my opponents.”

Before every game Levon gets excited, especially when it’s a team match. “I also get excited when I’ve suffered a defeat before the match. After every defeat I wonder if I will be able to play chess again” In order not to lose you must really practice a lot. It’s the rule of the sport, but here Levon can be a bit lazy. “Without practice you won’t be successful but I practice more when I have free time on my hands. I don’t practice much at home but I do practice 4-5 hours a day before each tournament,” says the Olympiad champ. Gabriel also observes that, “He’s not really lazy but he doesn’t train a lot. Instead, he is constantly reading or listening to music. He always finds something interesting to pass the time.” Levon says that listening to music is a must. “Before every game I have to listen to some music; classical, jazz, whatever,” relates Levon Aronyan. Interestingly enough, Levon used to play the piano as a young boy; and now? Levon laughs and says, “No, I gave it up and preferred chess.”

According to Levon, he was a pretty ‘relaxed kid’ in his younger years. His only passion was reading and remains so today. “Whatever books I found in the house I read, but without understanding.”

Perhaps training for Levon really isn’t that important since he approaches chess like an art form even though “Whoever appreciates the sport aspect will emerge victorious”. Aronyan also places great importance on memory in chess which, in his estimation, is compensation for chess theory. “But I don’t have a great memory and I make do in another way.” That other way, perhaps, is having confidence in your own personal abilities which is the product of years of work. “At first I thought that a tie game wasn’t all that bad but when you start winning you begin to interact with everything around in a much more confident fashion.” Victories instill Levon with confidence and the same happened this time around, after the 38th Olympiad in Dresden. “This victory gave me a renewed sense of confidence and a fresh new way of looking at the team; our guys are really strong players.” And the other guys on the team really expect more from Levon because they are aware of his unsurpassed mental prowess. “This time he played confidently but his potential is much greater. He can really rack up higher point totals,” says Vladimir Hakopyan, another member of the winning Armenian Dresden squad. His teammates are really proud of Levon. “It is quite gratifying to be playing on the same team as him,” states Artashes Minasyan, another Dresden Olympiad champ

Levon, as he himself point out, was never at a loss for friends. His friends are always at his side, encouraging him on. This is what gave him the strength in 2001 to relocate to Germany from Yerevan and to tackle a bevy of problems that confronted him all at once. “It was difficult in the beginning. I didn’t know if I was going to play chess or not, if I would achieve anything, or not. I couldn’t see what path my life would be taking. When I started playing with Gabriel I realized that I could indeed achieve something. I believed in myself and life became much easier afterwards. Then too, Germany isn’t my homeland. I really miss Yerevan quite a bit. I have so many good friends in Yerevan and every time I have to leave I have to deal with a lot of internal misgivings.” As to the reason why the family relocated to Germany, Levon prefers not to remember and states only that, “It happens that some people don’t treat you fairly and you are forced to change your whole attitude to things.”

Living in Germany Levon has come to realize who he is and where his roots lie. Thus he places great importance on the value of the family. However, he still isn’t prepared to start one of his own since it demands a great deal of time and dedication. Appreciating the warmth and comfort that a family offers, it is time that Levon is most dependent on. “For me, everything depends on the time that I have. I can’t afford the luxury of wasting a moment of it.” His girlfriend, Arian Kvoylin, isn’t opposed to relationships without obligation. Arian really recognizes the worth of Levon and describes him in two words; “intelligent and captivating”.

Levon Aronyan is satisfied with his life and the situation in which he finds himself today. He is even satisfied with the income he receives from playing chess that allows him to have everything he needs. After all, let’s not forget that Levon is man of modest wants. The champion places great importance on possessing a positive frame of mind that allows one to go through life and do things with pleasure. Levon’s spirits are raised whenever he receives good news and even, as he confesses himself, “There are times when even I don’t understand why my spirits are uplifted so.”