Candidates – Levon Aronian (2809 – World #3)

Levon Aronian (2809 – World #3)

Look no further than Carlsen for a pre-tournament assessment of the threat the Armenian poses: “My main rival is Levon Aronian.” Why? Quite simply because, among players today, Levon has a record of accomplishment most comparable to that of the Norwegian, including a variety of super-tournament victories and the third-highest rating ever achieved (behind those of Carlsen and Kasparov). For his part, Aronian is currently sequestered in Jermuk, making the utmost effort to prove Carlsen right when they meet in London.

Aronian showed early promise when he won the World Under-12 Championship in 1994, finishing ahead of a slew of future standouts, including his fellow candidate, Alexander Grischuk. He subsequently secured victory at both the Armenian National Championship and World Junior Championship in 2002, and his star has only risen from there.

In retrospect, Levon’s debut at the 2004 FIDE Knockout World Championship (picture above) seemed almost prophetic. In the first round, he sat across the board from...

... a cherub-faced Magnus Carlsen (above), requiring tiebreaks to get through and setting the tone for their many future encounters. His overall success in that tournament, however, ultimately fell short of what Grischuk managed to accomplish. Flash forward a few years later and Aronian was playing in the 2007 Candidates tournament. Again, his first opponent was Carlsen and, again, he required tiebreaks to get through. As a result, he ultimately made it to the 2007 World Championship tournament, where he finished tied for 6th-7th with Morozevich, only a half-point ahead of last-placed Grischuk. Then, the world traveled 'round the sun a few more times and the 2011 Candidates tournament was upon us. Who should Aronian face in the first round? None other than Carlsen’s replacement – Grischuk! Again, things went to tiebreaks, but, this time, Carlsen’s impersonator managed to get the better of his adversary and Aronian was sent home.

Aronian’s skill set stretches across all chess platforms, being one of only three players (the others being Anand and Kasparov) to have held both the title of World Blitz Champion and that of World Rapid Champion, while also having previously taken some Chess960 world titles for good measure. He will be seeking to round out his trophy case by wresting the title from Anand and he has both the skill and determination to manage it, so the other candidates are best forewarned. As another fellow candidate, Gelfand, has said of him: “he is the most striking player around, with the highest creative level, in terms both of openings and original ideas in the middlegame. Number one at the moment. So, frankly, it surprises me that the entire press is part of the Carlsen fan club, and not Aronian's.”

Incidentally, with the pairings now set, who should Aronian be facing in the first round, but Carlsen…  ‘nuff said!

Aronian's opponents at the Candidates

Boris Gelfand (2740 – World #18)

Overall: 6 Wins, 12 Draws, 5 Losses
White: 4 Win, 8 Draws, 2 Losses
Black: 2 Wins, 4 Draws, 3 Losses

Where Gelfand is concerned, Aronian may have less to worry about than with some of his other opponents in this event. Three of their last six games – stretching back to 2010 – have been victories in his favour. Two of these came with the black pieces. Gelfand has tremendous respect for Aronian’s abilities and it may be fair to say that even he would not be too shocked if the Armenian managed to white-wash him 2-0. This being suitable revenge for Gelfand’s own drubbing of Aronian at the 2007 World Championship. The Meran and the Benoni would be interesting landscapes for them to revisit.

Peter Svidler (2747 – World #14)

Overall: 2 Wins, 17 Draws, 2 Losses
White: 2 Wins, 11 Draws, 2 Losses
Black: 0 Wins, 6 Draws, 0 Losses

With his most recent game with Svidler ending in victory, the momentum between these two lies squarely in Aronian’s camp. Never underestimate inertia, nor the deployment of the Grunfeld. That said, Levon has been spoiled by the number of times he has held white and he was expertly resisted by Svidler at the 2007 World Championship, so it will be anything but a cakewalk.

Vassily Ivanchuk (2757 – World #13)

Overall: 9 Wins, 14 Draws, 12 Losses
White: 6 Wins, 6 Draws, 5 Losses
Black: 3 Wins, 8 Draws, 7 Losses

Ivanchuk and Aronian are both creative geniuses with a knack for introducing tactical complications, so, somewhat unsurprisingly, the majority of their mutual tilts have been decisive. Although Ivanchuk holds a wide margin in their lifetime score, he is another player against whom Aronian has the momentum. Expect compelling play between these two, whether in the Queen’s Gambit, Ruy Lopez, or some other opening.

Alexander Grischuk (2764 – World #10)

Overall: 6 Wins, 14 Draws, 2 Losses
White: 4 Wins, 9 Draws, 0 Losses
Black: 2 Wins, 5 Draws, 2 Losses

Aronian and Grischuk have been rivals since childhood. Although Aronian holds the edge in their lifetime series, Grischuk has, on more than one occasion, been able to place ahead of Aronian in important events, so nothing is certain between these two. Based on their results in the 2007 World Championship and 2011 Candidates tournament, certainly expect more of the Queen’s Gambit and, perhaps, the Ruy Lopez.

Teimour Radjabov (2793 – World #4)

Overall: 3 Wins, 16 Draws, 3 Losses
White: 2 Wins, 6 Draws, 2 Losses
Black: 1 Win, 10 Draws, 1 Loss

Aronian and Radjabov should be a treat to follow in this event. They have been consistently near one another in the world rankings and have an even split in their lifetime series across a number of dimensions. This is one of the few opponents against whom Aronian has had recent losses that have gone unavenged, but he will seek to remedy that here. There is no reason for the Queen’s Gambit not to make a return.

Vladimir Kramnik (2810 – World #2)

Overall: 2 Wins, 17 Draws, 6 Losses
White: 1 Win, 12 Draws, 1 Loss
Black: 1 Win, 5 Draws, 5 Losses

Kramnik represents a fellow Top-3 player, who has often gotten the better of Aronian. Their training match in Zurich last year allowed Levon to experience victory with the black pieces in a Semi-Slav, so he has cause to be cautiously optimistic, but Kramnik is not one to be complacent and will seek to build on his victory at the Olympiad. A Slav and a Berlin may be the result.

Magnus Carlsen (2872 – World #1)

Overall: 4 Wins, 21 Draws, 7 Losses
White: 2 Wins, 12 Draws, 1 Loss
Black: 2 Wins, 9 Draws, 6 Losses

Carlsen is brutally efficient against Aronian when holding the white pieces, but has a lifetime deficit as black. As implied by Carlsen himself, the games between these two very well might be the most important in the tournament, so do not expect to see short draws. Tears will be shed and songs written about the ferocious battles they are set to orchestrate. They may both try to surprise one another by taking advantage of lesser-known openings in their respective repertoires. The English has been a great friend to Carlsen, so he may seek to drop the Ruy Lopez, despite its own kindness to him.

Overall Stats Against Field

Repertoire white

More likely than not, Aronian will repeatedly turn to the Queen’s Gambit in this tournament, winning more than a few scraps. Both general and specific success in virtually every sub-variation of this opening speaks to the high probability.

Repertoire black

Aronian is as comfortable on the black side of the Queen’s Gambit as he is on the white side. He is ever-so-slightly less successful against the Ruy Lopez, but, faced with the option, he is not averse. In terms of catching the opposition off-guard, he may spring the Sicilian, with which he has no particular history.

The Candidates Tournament in London

The London Candidates 2013 will be the strongest tournament of its kind in history. The Prize Fund to be shared by the players totals €510,000. The winner of the Candidates will become the Challenger to Viswanathan Anand who has reigned as World Champion since 2007.

Full information on the Candidates – pairings and commentary schedule

Links

• World Chess Web Site
• FIDE Web Site