Issue #38 — Levon Aronian

About This Issue

The oldest player in the field, American GM Levon Aronian claims the title in the 2024 American Cup without a single defeat.

Exclusively for ACM, elite GM Levon Aronian has selected and deeply annotated a couple of his games from the American Cup. In the following interview, Levon shares his views on many and various aspects of chess and life in general, explaining the requirements of modern chess at the top level, a turning point in his career when he made substantial adjustments in his approach to the game, and also his thoughts on the past, the present and the future of the chess world.

The winner of the Women’s American Cup, IM Alice Lee, annotates a couple of her exciting games from the event and shares her own thoughts during some nerve-wracking battles, particularly against her biggest rival GM Irina Krush. At the same time, WIM Zoey Tang recounts her first American Cup experience, where she was not only able to score her first classical win against a GM, but also gain a couple of important rapid victories. To complete the reports from both the Open and Women’s American Cup, FM Grayson Rorrer annotates a personal selection of combative encounters. In addition, he has prepared a very thorough report on a number of tournaments, including one in which he achieved his first GM norm.

In an attempt to evaluate the chances of the American representatives at the Candidates Tournament, GM John Burke provides an in-depth analysis of both Americans’ recent encounters against their Toronto opponents through parallel stories on Fabiano Caruana’s and Hikaru Nakamura’s games.

In their respective regular columns, GM Jacob Aagaard continues his individual style of training on attacking chess – with a projected dozen carefully chosen examples, replete with clear explanations of key elements – while GM Sarunas Sulskis dissects three magnificent games played by the world’s elite players. GM Rahul Peddi and WIM Tarini Goyal, colleagues at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), offer a quick and easy repertoire for White to test the ever-solid Semi-Slav Defense. This issue also includes obituaries for Luis Salinas and IM Rade Milovanovic, who were important figures in the UTD Chess Program.

GM Illia Nyzhnyk explains the nuances of central control and its importance in middlegames, while GM Alex Fishbein brings back memories of the legendary New York 1924 tournament through amazing instructive examples of endgame play.

FM James Eade tells the whole story from behind the scenes of the first U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, held in California. A couple of the winner’s key games are annotated by IM Elliott Winslow. Remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area, from his treasure trove Andy Ansel presents Peter Grey, a local player whose great potential could have been noticed in the late 1960s and who almost never missed the Tuesday Night tournaments at the Mechanics’ Institute.

Professor of psychology Dr. Corey Butler this time tackles the topic of competition, issuing warnings on how to avoid its dark side. Then FM Dylan Loeb McClain showcases an array of 8-year-old prodigies whose recent results are truly astonishing and raise many questions, to which Dylan has tried to give answers. As usual, FM Carsten Hansen reviews ten newly published books, helping you discover resources for improving your chess skills, while World Correspondence Champion Jon Edwards offers valuable advice on how to combine various sources for learning chess with tech solutions and their facilities. Finally, in “A Five Question Guide,” our guest is IM Dean Ippolito, a successful chess coach.

What’s Inside

• p.8 — The Knockout King! — American Cup: Levon Aronian Claims the Title Without a Defeat — GM Levon Aronian
• p.15 — On the Wings of Success — Interview with GM Levon Aronian — Dusan Krunic
• p.20 — Against All Odds — Women's American Cup: Alice Lee Finally Breaks Irina Krush's Dominance — WIM Zoey Tang
• p.32 — Another Quest for Fabi and Hikaru — 2024 Candidates Preview — GM John Burke
• p.69 — Trailblazers Start from Berkeley — U.S. Senior Women's Championship — FM James Eade
• p.80 — Endgame Legacy from a Century Ago — GM Alex Fishbein
• p.98 — A 5 Question Guide from Chess Masters for the Next Generation — IM Dean Ippolito

Inside the Issue