With Aronian’s relocation, the U.S. now boasts five of the world’s top 20 grandmasters, and it’s a genuine American melting pot: Fabiano Caruana (No. 2), Florida-born but who played a while for Italy; Wesley So (No. 9), a Philippine native to who switched to the U.S. in 2014; Leinier Dominguez Perez (No. 14), a Havana native who joined Team Red, White and Blue in 2018; and Japanese-born Hikaru Nakamura (No. 18), whose family moved to the U.S. when he was two.
Aside from a sterling resume, Aronian boasts an attractive, well-rounded style and has authored some of the most brilliant games of the last two decades. He took down Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen, playing at home and at the peak of his powers, in a 2017 game that featured two audacious speculative sacrifices against the world’s best player.