Levon Aronian Discusses Reasons for Moving to the USA: 'They Made Me Understand That My Opinion Is Worthless'

The Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian stated that the reason behind his decision to move to the USA was the state's "no" attitude towards him. He made these comments in an interview with LevitovChess on YouTube.

"I need to try to utilize my potential, but recently, the attitude towards me has, unfortunately, changed; I can't say it hasn’t been like this before, it simply wasn’t there. Principally, the state has always supported me, and even if it hasn’t helped, it has shown respect. When I see that something is wrong in my field, I try to change something. However, in this case, when I took the initiative, I was made to understand that my opinion is worthless," Aronian stated, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.

The chess player emphasized that as a politically neutral person, he has been treated as if he is constantly asking for something. However, according to the grandmaster, he has only represented chess and the interests of the chess world and has not sought financial assistance.

"The issue is certainly not money, but the fact that you are constantly being ‘trolled’. For example, you are invited to some meeting, but they don’t even show up; what you say is perceived as the words of someone favored by the previous authorities. This means that everything you say cannot be correct because you represent someone’s interests, despite the fact that you are actually representing the professional interests of your field," Levon Aronian concluded.