Top 8 Chess Puzzles from the Games of GM Levon Aronian
Today, we mark the birthday of one of the brightest figures of chess and Chessify's esteemed brand ambassador, Levon Aronian.
With a peak rating of 2830, Aronian stands tall as the fourth highest-rated player in the history of the game. His impressive resume speaks for itself: a former world rapid and blitz champion, a two-time winner of the FIDE World Cup in 2005 and 2017, and the leader of Armenia's national team triumphs in three Chess Olympiads and the 2011 World Team Chess Championship. Being a versatile player, Levon Aronian also succeeded in Fischer Random chess, winning Chess960 world championship titles in 2006 and 2007.
Beyond the achievements on the chessboard, Aronian is also a big fan favorite and is often referred to as the "David Beckham of chess" due to his immense popularity.
In honor of this chess great, we present a selection of 8 tactical puzzles from Aronian's games. So step into the shoes of a grandmaster and try to solve these puzzles as if you're the one playing. For verification, you can find the solution to each puzzle right above its diagram.
1. Levon Aronian vs Alexander Grischuk, 2007
See the solution | White to mate in 3
1.Nf6+ Bxf6 2.Rg7+ Kf8 3. h8=Q#
2. Levon Aronian vs Stefan Kindermann, 2004
See the solution | White to mate in 4
1.Rg6+ hxg6 2.Qxg6+ Qf6 3.Qxf6+ Kd5 4.Qxf5# A forced variation leading to a checkmate.
3. Viswanathan Anand vs Levon Aronian, 2008
See the solution | Black to win
1...Re3 if 2.fxe3 then Qxf3 mates
4. Levon Aronian vs Hrvoje Stevic, 2010
See the solution | White to win
1.Rg7+ Kxg7 2.Qb7+ Kf8 (if 2...Kg6 then Rh6 is a checkmate) 3.Qa8 Kg7 4.Rg1 and Black have to give up the second rook as well.
5. Levon Aronian vs Magnus Carlsen, 2019
See the solution | White to checkmate
1.Bf8+ Kh5 2.Qe7 and there's no defense against the mating threat. If 2...Qg5 3.Qxh7+ Kg4 4.h3
6. Dmitry Andreikin vs Levon Aronian, 2010
See the solution | Black to mate in 3
1...Rd3+ 2.Bd2 Rd2 3.Nd2 Nf2# The same checkmate follows after 2.Nd2.
7. Levon Aronian vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, 2023
See the solution | White to win
1...Qf7 2.Qd8+ Be8 3.Rf6 Qd7 4.Qxd7 Now the black bishop is in trouble as the white bishop attacks its only defender - the knight on g7. 4...Bxd7 5.Rd6 Be8 32.Rd8 and there's no way to save the bishop.
8. Parham Maghsoodloo vs Levon Aronian, 2019
See the solution | Black to mate in 3
1...Bf4 Creating a mating net. 2.Rh3 (if 2.g2 then Qh2 mates immediately) Qxh3 3.gxh3 Rxh2#
How many puzzles did you manage to solve? Check your solutions by clicking on the small arrow next to the "See the solution" text above each chess puzzle and comment the number of correct answers under our tweet. If you enjoyed this blog format, try solving more puzzles from Chessify’s other brand ambassadors - Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri.