'It's one of the biggest victories in my life', Aronian says after winning Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

Levon Aronian captured his first Freestyle Chess Grand Slam crown on Sunday at Wynn Las Vegas, defeating Hans Niemann 1.5-0.5 in the Grand Final. The 42-year-old, who earlier in the week knocked out both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, sealed the title – and the $200,000 first prize – by converting a dominant second game after an opening draw.

Niemann came close to his biggest career win but had to settle for the runner-up spot and $140,000.

“It’s one of the biggest victories in my life, definitely the biggest when you count the prize fund,” said Aronian, who didn’t need a casino for his wonderful success in Sin City. “I am extremely happy and grateful for the opportunity.”

On the road to victory, Aronian first beat Carlsen in a playoff, then Nakamura and then Erigaisi. Today he was too strong for Niemann, whose chess had been quite impressive throughout the tournament — one would almost say that it spoke for itself.

“I was kind of relaxed,” said Aronian about going into the final against the 22-year-old American, whom he had jokingly called ‘the Professor’ earlier in the tournament. “You know, you make it to the final. It already doesn’t really matter. I mean, you had a successful tournaments so I was kind of relaxed and just wanted to play and enjoy.”

Aronian admitted that he was tired after what was only a five-day tournament but one with very long days. Perhaps that was why the final day did not see any tiebreaks; mistakes were made early on.

It was not just the long days that were tough, noted Aronian: “At the end of the day, Freestyle is much harder to play because you have to understand the position from a very early stage. So I think that’s the reason why everybody is tired.”

Aronian was probably busted at some point in his game with Niemann but as so often, he fought incredibly well and held the draw eventually. The tournament winner struck gold in the second when Niemann allowed him to build a nice pawn center and then chose a wrong square for his rook following a tactical sequence. Aronian did not hesitate, won an exchange and finished off with precision.

“I wanted some rehabilitation after my not so great results lately, so I wanted to show that I’m capable of fighting and capable of performing,” said Aronian, who more than rehabilitated himself: he reminded the chess world of his best days, in which he won two FIDE World Cups and became the fourth-highest rated player in history.One reason behind his success was that he brought his family with him to Vegas. “My wife, my daughter and my whole family have been here every day with me and they’re the reason I find the strength to fight. They make me very happy and I am. I’m very grateful and it’s a privilege to be around them because they’re good people.” Source Article

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