Levon Aronian

Background Information:
Levon Aronian is the highest rated chess player in Armenia and was ranked second in the world in 2012 with a rating of 2830. His peak rating is the fourth highest recorded in history. Aronian is perhaps best known for his sense of humor and world champions like Kasparov consider him as one of the greatest players of the game of chess. He was also the world Chess960 Champion in 2006 and 2007. He won the rapid chess championship in 2009 and the blitz world chess championship in 2010. He is nicknamed the David Beckham of Chess.

2017 World Cup Knockout Tournament:
Perhaps, Aronian's best year was in 2017 where he won simply won tournaments after tournaments. He reached the finals of the 2017 World Cup which automatically qualified him for the candidates tournament in 2018. In the finals of the event he defeated Chinese player Ding Liren to become the winner of the World Cup.

In round 1, he played against Daniel J. Cawdery, the South African chess champion, defeating him 2-0 to advanced. In round 2, he played against Hou Yifan, former world woman chess champion. They drew both of their games in classical chess but defeated her in the rapid tiebreaks. In round 3, he was paired against Russian chess star Maxim Matlakov. After exchanging blows, they were tied in classical 1-1. They were also tied in rapids 2-2 until Aronian eliminated him in the blitz. In round 4, he was paired against another rising Russian chess star; Daniil Dubov. Aronian defeated him the classical portion with a score of 1.5 - 0.5. In round 5, he was paired against veteran chess grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk. He eliminated him in similar fashion, winning with a score of 1.5 - 0.5. In round 6, he was paired against his friend Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. After drawing their rapid game, blitz game and classical games, they had to play Armageddon in which Aronian claimed victory. In the finals, Aronian defeated Ding Liren in a six games match. Aronian won two games and drew four finishing with a score of 4/6.
 * Levon Aronian vs Daniel J. Cawdery (1-0)
 * Daniel J Cawdery vs Levon Aronian (0-1)
 * Hou Yifan vs Levon Aronian (0-1) [Rapid Tiebreak Game 1]
 * Levon Aronian vs Hou Yifan (1-0) [Rapid Tiebreak Game 2]
 * Levon Aronian vs Maxim Matlakov (1-0) [Game 1 Round 3]
 * Maxim Matlakov vs Levon Aronian (0-1) [Rapid Tiebreak Game 2]
 * Levon Aronian vs Maxim Matlakov (1-0) [Blitz Tiebreak]
 * Daniil Dubov vs Levon Aronian (1/2-1/2) [Round 4 Game 1]
 * Levon Aronian vs Daniil Dubov (1-0) [Round 4 Game 2]
 * Levon Aronian vs Vassily Ivanchuk (1-0) [Round 5 Game 1]
 * Vassily Ivanchuk vs Levon Aronian (1/2-1/2) [Round 5 Game 2]
 * Levon Aronian vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (1-0) [Armageddon Game]
 * Levon Aronian vs Ding Liren (1-0) [Finals Game 5]
 * Ding Liren vs Levon Aronian (0-1) [Finals Game 6]

2017 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz:
Aronian also won the 2017 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz chess tournament which consisted of players such as the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Karjakin, Caruana, Nakamura, Le Quang Liem, Navara, Nepomniatchi and Dominguez.