Though they fell short of the summit, you could make a pretty formidable team from what might be called the Also-Rans Club.
He boasted a record and a resume as impressive as anyone who ever played the game, but it always seemed that three-time world champion Mikhail Botvinnik was more admired than loved by chess players around the world.
Armenian GM Levon Aronian has won his third Amber Blindfold/Rapid title in four years, winning the unique dual-format event over a world-class field with a combined score of 15 1/2-6 1/2. Remarkably, in a field that included reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand and two former world champions, Aronian lost only once in 22 games, to former Russian national champ Alexander Grischuk.
