Levon Aronian - Grandmaster Extraordinaire
Levon Aronian is not just any chess player; he is a Grandmaster who turns 64-square battlegrounds into works of art. With a flair for the dramatic and a mind sharper than a queen’s gambit, Levon’s chess journey reads like a captivating novel filled with brilliant wins, deep strategy, and just the right amount of blitz burn.
Chess Credentials and Style
Awarded the prestigious title of Grandmaster by FIDE, Levon has dazzled the chess world with peak blitz ratings soaring beyond 3150 and bullet ratings flirting with an incredible 3191. Whether it’s rapid-fire bullet games or the thoughtful maneuvering of rapid and classical chess, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Known for a penchant to outwit opponents with openings like the Alapin Sicilian Defense and a deadly touch in the English Opening Agincourt Defense, Levon's playstyle combines deep positional understanding with tactical fireworks. He’s as comfortable sacrificing a pawn as he is collecting wins, boasting a comeback rate of nearly 90% when things get tough.
Winning, Losing, and Everything In Between
Levon's blitz record reads like a rollercoaster of triumph: 358 wins, 157 losses, and 116 draws. He’s won battles against chess titans and novices alike, though, fun fact, Magnus Carlsen remains his elusive nemesis in head-to-head clashes. But hey, not everyone can conquer the world champion, right?
The Human Behind the Moves
Behind the scenes, Levon has an over 7% tilt factor, proving even legends have their emotional moments. But don’t let that fool you; his best moves often come in the mid-afternoon, especially around 3 PM, when his win rate skyrockets above 70%!
Recent Adventures on the Board
As recent as June 2025, Levon crushed opponents with razor-sharp play in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Episode: Ragozin Defense – leaving them no choice but resignation. Yet, even the greats stumble, as shown in a recent time-forced loss against MatthewG-p4p – a reminder that patience is the ultimate virtue in chess.
Fun Facts
- His longest winning streak is a mighty 9 games – a legendary hot streak!
- Levon averages around 89 moves per win and about 91 moves per loss – he's persistent to the last piece.
- He plays with white pieces slightly better, boasting a 55.43% win rate there.
- His most frequent rival staring down the board: the formidable Hikaru with 106 encounters.
In the grand theatre of chess, Levon Aronian remains a captivating protagonist – brilliant, cerebral, and just a little bit mischievous. Let's face it: he probably sees the world as one enormous chessboard. And we, the audience, are lucky to watch the masterpiece unfold!
Overall Performance Feedback
Levon, you've demonstrated strong play in your recent blitz games with a solid strength adjusted win rate of approximately 49.3%. Your 3-month rating improvement of over 3100 points is remarkable, showing significant growth and adaptation in your playing style. However, the recent 1-month trend indicates a slight dip, suggesting some fluctuations that are natural but worth attention. Maintaining consistency will be key moving forward.
Opening Play Insights
Your games prominently feature openings such as the Trompowsky Attack, the Sicilian Defense with various sub-variations, and Kings Indian Defense themes. Your comfort with these systems is an asset:
- Trompowsky Attack: Your aggressive approach often leads to strong attacking chances, as reflected in the successful tactical sequences in your wins.
- Sicilian Defense: You have effectively employed ideas involving the Hyperaccelerated Dragon and French variations. Continuing to deepen your understanding here could lead to even better results.
- Kings Indian Defense and Benko Gambit structures: You have shown good strategic awareness, but watch for potential counterplay - balancing activity and solidity is important.
Consider reviewing key moments in your losses where opening preparation or early inaccuracies led to positional or material disadvantages, especially versus active counterattacks.
Game Tactics & Time Management
Your games include strong tactical awareness and precise endgame technique, which contributed to many resignations in your favor and decisive checkmates. However, a few losses reveal:
- Opportunities where early exchanges or defenses could be improved, especially avoiding openings for enemy initiative.
- The need to carefully manage clock pressure, as some defeats came in positions where time trouble influenced decision-making.
Improving quick decision-making under time pressure and reinforcing opening rehearsals to reduce surprises can enhance your blitz results further.
Recommendations for Continuous Improvement
- Maintain a regular review routine of your blitz games focusing on recurring tactical motifs and positional errors, especially in openings that showed weaknesses.
- Analyze recent losses carefully to pinpoint critical phases where either the initiative was lost or key defensive moves were missed.
- Optimize time management through practice drills to achieve strong moves more reliably during critical moments of your games.
- Experiment with deepening your repertoire in your favored openings and explore possible sidelines to stay unpredictable against opponents.
Overall, your demonstrated resilience and tactical skill set a great foundation for continued success in blitz chess. Keep leveraging your strengths and address subtle inconsistencies for a steady climb.
🆚 Opponent Insights
| Most Played Opponents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hikaru Nakamura | 21W / 59L / 31D | |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi | 22W / 22L / 17D | |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 13W / 25L / 16D | |
| Wesley So | 12W / 17L / 16D | |
| Vladislav Artemiev | 10W / 18L / 15D | |
Rating
| Year | Bullet | Blitz | Rapid | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3115 | 2808 | ||
| 2024 | 3057 | 3062 | 2818 | |
| 2023 | 3138 | 3115 | 2723 | |
| 2022 | 3133 | 3051 | 2790 | |
| 2021 | 3034 | 3081 | ||
| 2020 | 3113 | 3094 | 2778 | |
| 2019 | 2959 | 3052 | ||
| 2018 | 3050 | 2970 | ||
| 2017 | 3036 | 2955 | ||
| 2016 | 2698 | 2807 |
Stats by Year
| Year | White | Black | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73W / 26L / 11D | 63W / 25L / 22D | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 119W / 26L / 29D | 92W / 52L / 29D | 89.7 |
| 2023 | 69W / 26L / 27D | 55W / 27L / 40D | 92.8 |
| 2022 | 37W / 20L / 28D | 33W / 21L / 32D | 97.6 |
| 2021 | 14W / 9L / 4D | 9W / 15L / 2D | 93.0 |
| 2020 | 13W / 10L / 7D | 8W / 10L / 14D | 97.5 |
| 2019 | 17W / 31L / 10D | 17W / 33L / 9D | 88.4 |
| 2018 | 24W / 9L / 8D | 14W / 13L / 17D | 99.5 |
| 2017 | 6W / 4L / 3D | 4W / 7L / 3D | 93.0 |
| 2016 | 5W / 5L / 1D | 2W / 6L / 4D | 102.4 |
Openings: Most Played
| Blitz Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense | 47 | 36 | 7 | 4 | 76.6% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation, Sherzer Variation | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 63.6% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 85.0% |
| Amazon Attack | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 42.1% |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense | 19 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 84.2% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 47.1% |
| Sicilian Defense: Closed, Anti-Sveshnikov Variation, Kharlov-Kramnik Line | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 68.8% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 68.8% |
| Ruy Lopez: Closed | 16 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 31.2% |
| Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 57.1% |
| Rapid Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburne Shilling Gambit | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 37.5% |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 22.2% |
| Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 38.9% |
| Sicilian Defense | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 68.8% |
| Petrov's Defense | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 58.3% |
| Giuoco Piano: Tarrasch Variation | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 58.3% |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 54.5% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 63.6% |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20.0% |
| French Defense: Burn Variation | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 33.3% |
| Bullet Opening | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Indian Defense | 13 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Döry Defense | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 45.5% |
| London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 63.6% |
| Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 30.0% |
| Sicilian Defense | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 44.4% |
| Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 62.5% |
| Alekhine Defense | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 42.9% |
| Czech Defense | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 42.9% |
| King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
🔥 Streaks
| Streak | Longest | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Winning | 9 | 0 |
| Losing | 7 | 2 |