'I would've quit chess by now, if not for Goa': Untold story of a legend putting Anand's WC record in danger

NEW DELHI: In the long and storied history of the Chess World Cup, only two players have managed to lift the trophy twice. India’s very own five-time World Champion Vishwanathan Anand is one of them.

The other is Levon Aronian, one of the most admired and effortlessly eloquent Grandmasters around.With Goa hosting the FIDE World Cup, it is the latter who seems poised to script his name deeper into chess history.

On Wednesday, Aronian stormed into the pre-quarterfinals with a convincing 1.5–0.5 victory over Poland's Radoslaw Wojtaszek in the fourth round.Playing black in the return game, the 43-year-old comfortably held the Polish Grandmaster to a draw, meaning that his win with the white pieces earlier in the round put him one step closer to the third World Cup title.Still, amid the rising expectations of chess fans, Aronian stays firmly grounded."I'm just playing, not really setting any goals. I'm just happy to be back here," Aronian told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction. "When I heard it (FIDE World Cup 2025) would be in Goa, of course, that was a huge happiness for me personally."The source of that happiness, however, goes back more than two decades.23 years back in 2002, the FIDE World Junior Championships came to Goa’s shores.

And in the Open category, it was a 20-year-old Aronian who walked away with the title.With his glasses on, Aronian, dressed in a black full-sleeve T-shirt and light blue denims, lifted the cup as high as he could, marking what he now calls the revival of his career."It was my last Under-20 tournament, and I remember thinking that if I hadn’t won it, I probably would’ve quit chess by now. I was supposed to start studying, so it was a really important event for me," Aronian recalled with a broad smile on his face.

"When I won, I got so overwhelmed that I decided to drink a lot, to celebrate with some of the other players there. It ended up being a really fun night with my friends. I went to sleep after setting the alarm," he continued."The next morning, I woke up three hours after my flight was supposed to leave! I packed my things in a huge rush. I reached the airport, and they told me, “We're sorry, sir, your flight has been delayed by six hours."So yes, I was lucky not only with my play and winning the tournament, but with everything that happened in Goa!"Aronian, who now represents the United States after switching from Armenia in 2021, seems to have rediscovered his rhythm this year. A top-three finish at the ongoing World Cup would guarantee him a spot in next year’s Candidates Tournament, set to be held in Cyprus.And if history kisses Aronian's feet on Goan soil, one is thing is for sure: he will make sure that catching his flight isn’t left to luck.