Referee: defeat by Gelfand was a psychological problem for Aronian

PanARMENIAN.Net - World chess referee Ashot Vardapetyan commented on the results of London-hosted Candidates Tournament.

In a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the referee noted the tournament as interesting due to the absence of a definite leader.

“The winner was unknown up until the final round. It was mainly a psychological struggle. Though Magnus Carlsen is ranked N 1, he, too, suffered a loss. He is young and still has a lot to learn,” Mr Vardapetyan said.

“Aronian showed good results, improved his ranking, however, he didn’t’ satisfy our expectations. I think the 9th round defeat by Boris Gelfand caused Aronian psychological problems. He later fell only 0,5 point behind Carlsen,” he said.

The referee voiced hope that Aronian will show betters result in other tournaments.