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World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament has been in the spotlight of the media these days. Russian famous GQ magazine interviewed the participants before the championship commence. Below we present Levon Aronian’s interview.

- Who would you be, if you weren’t playing chess?
- I would be an artist, musician or something related to art, where it would be possible to express myself.

- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- I try not to think about that, not to predict. I’m always moving forward in life, so it’s hard for me to predict.

-  What would you suggest to those interested in chess to read or watch?
- Everyone can find something they can relate to in our game. Practically, the beauty, the mathematical, logical and artistic connection you can find learning to play chess is lacking in today’s society. Thanks to chess, one can learn to be free and can predict where and how time will flow. I advise to read Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Master of Go” and Hermann Hesse’s “The Glass Bead Game”. These are very close to chess. I haven’t seen many films about chess though.

-  Can you recall an episode in your life when your chess experience helped?
- That experience helped me in different situations all through my life. It often happens, when you look at people from both sides. Suppose, you have a weak pawn in a game, yet if you work on him, he might become stronger. So, I try to see the potential advantage in people, the good.

- They say women like successful men. Do you consider this to be true? 
-  I think so, yes. It turned out that women like successful men and these men are usually brainy.

- Who would you like to have a game with?
- I can mention Tigran Petrosyan, my fellow citizen, the 9th World Champion. I would like to play against him.

-  How will a modern gentleman’s life change if he decides to play Chess?
- In many aspects, if he’s never played chess before, the game would be a great support for him, because, besides critical and abstract thinking, he would also perceive that every move changes a lot, and he would start to appreciate his time and life more.