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Aronjan is ready for the final of the Christmas jacket championship. On Saturday and Sunday he will play the final against Tejmur Radzjabov.
The meeting is not just a duel between two of the best chess players in the world. The two duelists are also side by side in a bitter battle.
2020 has been a difficult year for many. For Levon Aronjan, it has been horrible.
– the worst I have ever felt
At the end of March, news came that his then wife, Arianne Caoili, died after a traffic accident.
Aronjan reported the death himself and received statements of support from around the world. Several of the best chess players in the world send their condolences.
– The year has been unbearably difficult for me. Losing Arianna was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life, Aronjan wrote in an emotional post on Facebook.
– I’m ready to go to war
At the end of September, a state of emergency was declared in Aronjan’s homeland, Armenia. The reason is the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but since 1994, Armenian separatists have controlled the area.
– I will do everything I can to help my country. “I’m ready to go to war, if my country wants it,” Aronjan told chess24.
In the interview, the Armenian says that he has lost several friends in the war and that he could not sleep well in three weeks. This happened at the same time he was participating in the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger.
– I have not been able to concentrate on chess, he tells chess24.
On the other side of the war is Radzhabov’s homeland, Azerbaijan. He is among those who have a different version of the case.
– The terrorist country Armenia attacked civilians on several occasions, he wrote in a Twitter message. The message should end with the hashtag #StopArmenianTerrorism.
After just two months, the war ended. It was probably a defeat for Aronjan and Armenia.
– There are no words that can describe the pain in our hearts. We have experienced our most tragic blink in the last 55 days. We will get up again, he wrote.
Although the two are on opposite sides of the war, lazy chess has been chess and politics has been political. Like when Radzhabov was asked about the duel between the two yesterday.
– He’s a good player, so I’m looking forward to the final. If I can keep the level high, I have opportunities. But it will be a quiet ending. It’s about who is less tired. Anything can happen, was the word the Azerbaijani chose.
WORLD STOP: Tejmur Radzhabov has been one of the best chess players in the world for several years. Here in a meeting with Magnus Carlsen at the candidates tournament in 2013.
Photo: Morten Rakke / NTB
– The English send me another chance
Although Aronjan himself claimed it was difficult to focus, 2020 has been a chess boost for Levon Aronjan. Now he is also in the first chess final in 2021.
– He has been among the best in the world for 20 years. And the old understanding is so huge that it is doing well. Maybe he plays off his shoulders because the year has been so absurd, says Atle Grønn.
AGAINST CARLSEN: Levon Aronjan in a match against Magnus Carlsen. The picture is from the 2019 tournament, but the players also met this year.
Photo: Jørund Wessel Carlsen / NRK
In Norway Chess he was number three, only surpassed by Magnus Carlsen and Alireza Firouzja. In pain, religion and faith have meant a lot.
– I have been loyal and loved to my wife for 13 years, and no one knows how I felt after losing her. I also know that angels send me a new opportunity to love and be loved. I respect his memory for the rest of my life. I’m sure he wants me to keep living and be happy, writes Aronjan.
