Although the connection between Jews and chess is well-established, in the modern era Armenia is the nation with the most notable over-achievement. It stems from the fact that in 1963 the Armenian Tigran Petrosian beat the Russian Jew Mikhail Botvinnik to become world chess champion: this was a source of colossal pride in a nation then under the control of Moscow.
Armenia is the only country in which chess is part of the compulsory school curriculum — and its grandmasters are paid a salary by the state. As Levon explained to me, this is one reason why he uses an Armenian surname, rather than his father's name of Aronov. He adds: "I feel much more Armenian than Jewish, although there are sides to me which are more Jewish culturally, involving the arts and music."
Music is a large part of his life but Levon still astonished me by saying that when he is playing chess "I always have music in my head and I like mixing up various pieces of music, improvising with them during the game. Actually, I find it helpful."
In their contentious book, The Triple Package (Bloomsbury, £18.99), the "Tiger Mother" Amy Chua and her husband Jed Rubenfeld argue that some peoples have been especially successful because a tribal superiority complex has been mixed with a sense — as outsiders — of needing to prove themselves. They put Jews in this category, but don't mention Armenians. Yet Aronian's explanation of Armenian chess outperformance (this relatively poor country of only three million people has won the annual Chess Olympiad three times since 2006) evokes their theory.
"Every Armenian chessplayer believes that it's only an accident that he isn't the best in the world and his attitude is to show the world what is rightfully his. So, when I was younger, I would always trash-talk my opponent. In fact, I had the image of being a prat."
So why no longer?
"Because I finally am where I thought I should rightfully be."
Last month in Zurich, the ex-trash-talker Aronian annihilated the self-proclaimed "biggest threat to Carlsen" Nakamura — a case of actions speaking louder than words.
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