Levon Aronian | Chess Career, US Olympic Team, Fatherhood | C-Squared

[@meruzhansargsyan1476]

My greatest pride is that I played Levon Aronyan in Armenia as a kid

[@williamrobert9898]

on the other hand I played Aronian as an adult in one of his Banter Blitz sessions

[@patrickdaly1088]

Lev the most wholesome top GM, truly a chess treasure

[@landwolf00]

Levon's story is amazing. He wins a chess tournament and his parents literally give away all of his toys. Play time was over!

[@dark_magician_sdy]

@Dendra7 do something with your life then hate on the best chess players In the world. Who are you? A no body? Oh okay cool (:

[@lillevikh]

@@dark_magician_sdy o

[@ragnorak56]

The insane way that GMs can reference games against each other 8-9years ago and just talk about it as if they had the PGN opened in front of them.

[@ramachandra776]

Great podcast as always . The c-squared team really got Aronian into opening up . Aronian really had to struggle from the beginning . Financial troubles , racism , nepotism , accusations of treachery for agreeing to play in a hostile country , Aronian has been through a lot . Glad he is in a happy place with his wife and daughter Isobel . Only Arianne was not discussed probably it was too painful of a topic and the c² podcast were diplomatic enough not to mention it . All in all one of a kind discussion .

[@sagardutta4176]

I had no idea about Arianne. Endless tests and tribunals.

[@shamsaddinamanov3879]

"hostile country"? LOL. Armenia occupied Karabakh for more than 30 years, Karabakh is an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan (every country in the United Nations, including USA, UK, France, even Armenia (technically, as being part of UN) itself recognize Karabakh as Azerbaijani land) Your ignorance makes me smile. But it is okay. Karabakh is liberated and is no longer under occupation.

[@zkprintf]

​@@shamsaddinamanov3879 Lol, dude, wtf are you talking about? Wtf is Karabakh and what the hell does your boring essay have to do with the word "hostile" which means unfriendly; antagonistic? Btw it's a rhetorical question, IDGAF about Karabakh.

[@shamsaddinamanov3879]

@@zkprintf thanks for calling yourself an uneducated idiot and saving my time

[@hugosykes]

Brilliant podcast as always - my humble recommendation is when e.g. about 1:07:06 Fabi and Levon go down the rabbit hole of calculation, you put a board on screen so us mere mortals have a clue what's going on. Even just to be able to watch in slow-mo or pause and think about the position would be a lot easier with a visual guide. Thank you for the content! 🙏

[@TanayRaj189]

+1

[@the_old_desperado]

Levon is one of the most down to earth people you'll ever see in the game of chess.

[@AlexBanzea]

Just imagining Wesley’s face when Fabi said it was prep not a mouseslip is hilarious

[@strikercool911]

Wow alex !!

[@yosefcohen483]

Levon is honest and warm-hearted, I appreciate that.

[@WhiteCavalier15]

Me seeing this being over an hour: "I'll watch first 10 minutes maybe..." Me after the end: "I want MOREEEE"

[@Chessmentor]

Greetings to Lev from Turkey. i listened his story partly laughing partly with tears in my eyes. He made me remember how hard people tried back in the day even to have a chance for being successful in the life. I think even he retires today he deserves to be in Hall of Fame of chess as a legend. Hope to see you guys one day in Turkey in a tournament.

[@inguh7041]

I'm gonna get to Turkey and maybe have some turkey

[@utsav45_]

Wow the journey of Levon's Chess career is truly inspiring! ❤

[@belld.s5276]

For new chess fans, Aronian is one of the most creative players in the field today and world #2 for many years. He was ridiculously high rated for a long, long time. I mean, anyone over 2800 is ridiculously high rated lol.

[@cipherlistic]

Levon story is powerful I see why he's such a humble guy the way he was raised and his mom she is a good woman every time I see him play now I'm going to think about his background and where he came from is just amazing how his family supported him

[@sayanchatterjee355]

Best. Chess. Podcast. On. The. Internet. Keep going Cristian and Fabi. Also, let's take this in: these two bespectacled gentlemen here are considered by Magnus himself as two of his three greatest all-time opponents (the third being Anand) and probably the two best classical players in world chess in the last 10 years besides Magnus.

[@flopasen]

this episode felt like it went for 20 minutes, could listen to Levon all day

[@tommyh5540]

The classiest, most entertaining Chess podcast BY FAR on the 'net. Thank you Christian and Fabiano for this treasure. I enjoy the slow pace, the time a discussion can evolve in. Best of all no cheap shots, no shouting or fake-freaking out over nothing. Instead some genuinely funny chess stories, intelligent conversation and humbling memories and stories from Levon's life. Please have more of such chat sessions with other chess personae. Actually might be interesting to invite Rex Sinquefield once and let him talk about why he does all he does for Chess and sponsoring players, SLCC and so on.

[@sgc3594]

I can't possibly love this podcast more, finding out that Maurice Ashley makes salsa dancing a routine, Alejandro Ramirez's hot sauce, now Levon's nose bleeding and twix bar. Love it. Makes me love the players.

[@gennadiygeyler7981]

Amazing interview. Lev is such a class act.

[@turdeaugottago114]

caruana is such an undercover chad! love watching the flex over the board with pushups! making danny whine - not 75! lol so good thank you!

[@randybailin4902]

Cristian and Fabi have the best chess podcast there is. Intelligent conversation, rich with interesting stories and chess talk. Respect their guests in a very comfortable setting.

[@jarrodanderson2124]

Aronian is someone you like almost immediately. This is a great interview and I'm glad there is a new chess podcast for us all. Thank you!

[@ankurd2889]

i like aronian..what a story !! what i love in aronian's story is..you can find good, compassionate people almost everywhere in the world..

[@lukeanatr]

Levon, a great chess player and a great person!

[@travistucker4067]

I concur

[@tommonk7651]

Big fan of Aronian! Glad to have him here in the US….

[@dif1754]

Aronian deserves a movie/series about his life. What a nice and relaxed interview!

[@dipronafis3298]

Yes! I've been waiting for levon to come in this podcast for so long. I feel like he's the one of those top players who don't get enough hype around them. Despite the fact he's literally the 4th highest rated player of all time

[@Grandcapi]

Many years ago (1998) I played an open tournament in Linares and Levon was still a youngster. In this tournament other greats were Korchnoi, Miles, Tiviakov, Lobron, and that open is something I will never forget. What a great player and it is a pity that he was never a contender for the world title.

[@bailinhuang]

One of the best of all chess podcasts, Levon is amazing

[@prathamesh413]

He's more happier being father and it made my day

[@sprcow]

Wow what an episode. Historical value off the charts

[@travistucker4067]

Nothing but love and respect for Levon.

[@Ebobster]

Enjoyable interview. Noteworthy quote is his goal to raise his new-born daughter to be “a good person”… that’s a real testament to Aronian’s sterling character. That and the obvious warmth the esteemed interviewers, especially the ever-humble Fabi, have for Aronian.

[@astrida.784]

Thank you sooo much for this content, it really is amazing to be able to listen to this kind of stories from GMs we probably wouldn't find anywhere else. This is seriously the best chess podcast ever!

[@tripsam4655]

Levon is truly an ornament to world chess.

[@chessloverontwitch]

Awesome I was about to ask when you guys would have Levon on podcast. Thanks a bunch! Christmas comes early. What a treat!

[@ROMKAUL]

Levon is a classy guy! Such a great podcast😄

[@hoomanneshat3669]

What a wholesome guy, absolutely loved his personality

[@monkeygrip2412]

Love this podcast! Thank you all for bringing such amazing interviews and perspectives! I learn so much every episode! Keep them coming!

[@chadmacgargle5311]

I always love Levon's games to hear his roots are a privilege.

[@dimension312]

Levan really has an amazing story

[@userhandle-l]

This was an amazing episode. Very interesting to hear about GM Levon's life in detail. I feel inspired now

[@morty7542]

what a podcast, thank you guys this was a great listen and thanks levon for sharing your story

[@noone-ld7pt]

Holy fuck, this podcast is the most amazing insight into top level chess that exists anywhere. It's so damn cool to see these absolute Giants of the game just casually chatting and telling their stories. And the way the can just mention a line and follow each others calculations and logic is so freakin cool. Like 5 words from Aronian about his game against Ivanchuck and Fabi already knows where all the pieces are when Aronian is explaining. To see their brilliant minds in such a casual context almost makes it more impressive, they have like this shared universe of knowledge that we mortals can only marvel at.

[@ranlit7717]

Dude how is this episode not 2 hours 😅😅😅 There were so many things later in Levon’s life worth discussing! Amazing stuff

[@DocUK123]

Not sure why I'm so late to the party but I've only just discovered this podcast a couple days ago but I can't get enough of the content! What a show! I listen to the Perpetual Chess podcast and thought that was the only one. Keep them coming, this is amazing. Thanks.

[@thomasalicea8877]

YALL ARE AWESOME LOVE THE WORK YALL ARE DOING WHEN I SEE A NOTIFICATION I CLICK

[@hellostranger2012]

So true

[@lucagandossi7069]

Wonderful interview! Thank you!

[@neilpearlman9732]

Love following Levon and it was great to hear him and Fabi talking about chess and sharing stories. I hope you have him back for a sequel episode! I'm sure there are hours more of entertaining stories and discussion there.

[@facebookreal]

Very interesting and inspiring life story. Never thought too much about the impact the collapse of the Soviet Union, very sad to hear about it... but glad it worked out well for Levon. Also he's a great speaker, I don't usually listen to podcasts but this was easy for me to listen to the whole thing

[@juliodavidrojasrodriguez7826]

I loved the conversation with Levon. Invite Leinier now please!!

[@tristan7720]

Man levon is such a great person Also, he can speak german, thats crazy

[@hamedrajhi]

I wish this episode was longer

[@Thedukeofchess]

Yea Levon my favorite GM . Great spirit

[@RatheeshRamachandranGTO]

Thank you so much for such a beautiful interview.

[@muntahafar8067]

knowing his past now, i like him more 🌸

[@DavidSchilter]

I'm the same age as Levon. My high school coach, in either 1999 or 2000, told us about this amazing junior prospect who would destroy people with the English...grab space with Rb1, b4 and positionally crush. He really matured from a junior talent to world-class player (#2 for the longest time) and human being. Just seems like a top bloke!

[@TheBlade1985]

Just by pushing the play button I know already that this is going to be my favourite episode! Aronian fans can't go wrong! 😁😁

[@thabangditlhabi3803]

Levon is always easy to listen to like an older brother

[@christopherorman5769]

Great podcast. Levon's story is wonderful and he is very engaging.

[@pranavjoshi6396]

The day after tomorrow, it's Vishwanathan Anand's birthday. So next week can you guys please have him on the podcast?

[@hamedrajhi]

Best episode to date

[@pavkal6603]

I like the angle where I can see all 3 players … I can see all the expressions and reactions …

[@a11pu1poj]

what a fantastic episode / guest !

[@toodle361]

Great episode guys. Levon is awesome

[@drjawad92]

Great episode 👍🏼 Know he is underdog but reaalllyy rooting for fabiano in the upcoming quarterfinal with magnus. 👏

[@tennisCharlzz]

Since we're unlikely to get a Cristian cat video anytime soon, I think it would be interesting to interview some of the chess players at Mizzou. The Aronian interview is fantastic, and of course, he's been around and very thoughtful, so it might be difficult to convince a college-aged student to do a podcast esp. as they are so much less experienced.

[@BrunoAxhausen]

Thanks for all these great conversations!!! Such a fascinating man and life story! Well done on the interview, many full-time podcasters / interviewers don‘t manage this quality of conversations on a regular basis🤯🙏🏻

[@christophermarshall527]

Great interview, thank you so much!!!!

[@axelgonzalezperez7743]

Great podcast!!! Please consider interviewing Leinier Domínguez 🇨🇺

[@Brian-sz4yk]

Great podcast. As someone recently getting into chess, hearing everyone's origin story and life experience really helps add depth to watching tournaments.

[@MoreContent24]

This is my favorite episode.

[@ragnorak56]

I can't tell you how much I Love these Biography episodes. They are so interesting. It would be great if you or someone could write down the names of the players Aronian references i.e. Medic (sp?) the strong player who lived with Aronian family.

[@thesarasohrabi]

U mean Melik? Melikset Khachiyan, shaper of many a talent

[@ragnorak56]

@@thesarasohrabi Thank you very much!

[@katis999]

Thanks !

[@iwannabeastaire]

What a great guy, and what amazing life story. Congrats on the podcast!

[@elijaharsenault]

i love levon so much lmao he’s just a dude who happens to be excellent at chess

[@jackriordan4960]

Guys, first comment ever on KZbin. Insanely fun podcast as a whole, thank you

[@network_noob]

Thank you.

[@rtt1961]

These podcasts are very entertaining and informative.

[@ragsreachrich]

What a supportive mother he has.

[@sebastiancruxian6518]

Always nice to hear Levon Aronian. Now is it just me or does Levon look like he came out of a castlevania game?

[@njtehderartinian3180]

Great podcast!

[@kasperlassner3632]

There's an easy way of getting rid of the noise Level of the recording without loosing the quality of the voices. Search for an audio vst plugin or standalone application that can clean audio. Izotope, waves have some simple ones which don't require to be an audio engineer. Beside that, love your channel!

[@miquelcanosasanteularia1678]

Nice a pod cast with levon

[@nikhilsahay895]

Experiences make a person, Levon certainly had plenty.

[@JStack]

12:21 his mother sold her jewelry to pay for chess books and he returns that favor with his career and maintaining his elegance. Truly inspiring

[@LittleChessMates]

One of the best discussion of chess for the future of standard chess. These guys are superheros of chess. But only one Superman and only one Batman and one wonder women etc.

[@lorenzlorenz4545]

Thanks a lot for this episode!

[@64podcast]

AMAZING EPISODE!

[@artemavetyan1962]

Thanks for the content!

[@BiasedSkeptic]

Excellent Episode, as always! But please, if somebody drops a name from the chessworld, please give some background to the audience. Obviously, you all know each other because the chess world is pretty small, but most of the times, I have no clue, who you guys are referring to, especially when it is a nickname.

[@stevevogt1328]

Man stuff like this makes me feel fortunate to be born in America. Feel like he had a crazy upbringing. Edit: also Cristian is fucking swoll fr

[@dimkilago2958]

Good luck to the next school massacre "lucky" kid.Also check the f stats to see the level of poverty and misery in your country you are not in a Scandinavian country.

[@danielprytz]

Tf is wrong with you he's a chess player

[@B21_raider]

What a wonderful story could be easily made into a movie

[@insidercam]

wonderful, guys. :)

[@Corteum]

_"If it's something that's not in my control, I can just relax! (laughs)"_ He's like a wise happy sage!

[@AroundWayOther]

v excited to listen to this !!

[@jeffin1998]

Uffff please don't stop this , you two are best

[@785lucky]

It is still a mystery who would have become world champion if not for Magnus Era. Most probable choice was Levon and Fabi only after vishy Anand started declining in his late 40s .

[@pathofmelee6746]

Best chess podcast so far

[@ray10wight]

Dude Levon's story is insane. To end up where he is today is absolutely incredible.