ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOARD

We met with the best Armenian chess player during the European chess team championship in the Serbian town of Novy Sad.  Twice Olympic Champion Levon Aronyan gladly accepted our request to share with us his impressions about the European championship.  Although the grand master is not a talkative person, he helped us clarify many issues, including the reasons for his refusal to arrive in Baku to take part in a qualifying tournament.

- The Armenian team was among the favourites for the European championship, but in the end did not win a medal.  What was the problem?

- I think that we played well.  We simply did not win a medal.  Our players did their best.  But in the last round, they were tired, which is why we were not among the winners.

- Before the match with the Azerbaijani team, the Armenians had not lost a game.  But then...

- Yes, it was difficult to play against Azerbaijan.  I accepted the offer of a draw from Teymur Racabov on the first board.  The results were the same on the second and fourth boards.  But Sarkisyan's victory made the match successful for our team.

- Sarkisyan won the game against Qadir Huseynov.  Although the Azerbaijani grand master had a good opportunity...

- Qadir made a mistake when he was one step away from victory.  Sarkisyan is a very experienced player, and he managed to change the course of the game in his favour.

- Many people believe the Azerbaijani team's victory at the European championship was natural.  We would like to know your opinion.

- The Azerbaijani team could have achieved this success long ago.  In Novy Sad, you won after a difficult struggle.  Your players endured great pressure and won gold medals.

- And which team surprised you?

- From the very beginning of the championship, Azerbaijan displayed stability of performance.  This is why you deserved your victory.  The Ukrainian team surprised me.  Its performance was not so stable.  To be frank, I was surprised that the Ukrainians won the bronze medal.

- Some experts argue that the players who played on the first board in the continental championship failed to come up to expectations.  They often played out draws.

- The first board fights for the team.  The strongest players play the first board.  But they do not always manage to win.  After all, a draw is better than defeat.  The main objective of the first board is to stop the opponent, that is, not to lose.

- The capital of Azerbaijan will host the qualifying tournament for the world championship.  But considering your refusal to go to Baku, FIDE decided to split the tournament into two parts.  Why did you refuse to go to Azerbaijan?  Your security was guaranteed at government level.

- Let us be realistic:  I respect Azerbaijan and its capital.  But I am not certain that I would be comfortable in Baku (the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is meant - R+).

- But Armenian wrestlers did take part in the world championship in Baku.  And not so long ago, our judo wrestlers competed at the European Championship in Yerevan.  You would not experience problems either.

- Let us not compare wrestling and judo with chess.  I know about the visits of the wrestlers and judo wrestlers.  But in chess, the player should be ready psychologically.  For instance, I should not have to think about what would happen if I took a walk in the city.  I do not think that I would feel relaxed in the streets of Baku.  This sort of tension would affect my performance.  This is why my visit to Baku was unlikely.