From 2012 to 2014, Aronian was often ranked second in the world; most people in chess expected him to challenge Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the three-time, and current, world champion. But when Aronian performed badly at the 2014 Candidates Tournament, the event that chooses who will face off against the reigning world champion, it seemed to spark a decline. Last year he performed erratically, falling well below the mark required to face Carlsen for the world title in New York last November. A month after the Candidates Tournament, I met up with Aronian at a hotel in London. He had just competed at the London Chess Classic, drawing six matches and losing two, placing eighth out of ten entrants. It was cold and gray, and Aronian was tired.
