Magnus Carlsen: Tatev reminds me of my homeland

By Vera Martirosyan

YEREVAN. – The 2013 World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen together with Levon Aronian visited medieval Tatev Monastery during his trip to Armenia.

“Tatev is a very beautiful place and reminded me of my homeland. I have not seen much to express my  opinion about Armenia. I am very much impressed by the attitude toward chess in your country. It is really a good example for other countries,” he said during a press conference in Yerevan.

Carlsen believes Armenia is one of the favorites of Chess Olympiad that will take place in Norway this August.

“I hope the tournament will be a success for Norway, too. We have been recently losing to Armenians,” he emphasized.

The grandmaster told about his first meeting with Levon Aronian back in 2004 when the Norwegian player was only 13.

“He defeated me in the first game and broke my heart. Then he defeated me in 2007,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen arrived in Armenia on Sunday at the invitation of businessman Ruben Vardanyan, Acronis company and IdeA fund.

Photo by Shushanik Hakobyan

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