Levy Rozman's first tournament victory on his "Road to GM" journey

Levy Rozman's Road to GM grind

Levy Rozman, popularly known as 'GothamChess' for his YouTube channel won the US National Master title in 2011 at the age of sixteen. In 2018, not only did he earn the title of International Master, but also reached his peak rating of 2421! In 2020, Levy announced retirement from competitive chess due to physical and mental stress. During this period, his YouTube channel reached millions of people and he became one of the most popular chess content creators. Little did he know that his retirement would be temporary and he would announce his 'Re-entry' in the world of competitive chess.

On 24th April 2024, he announced his return to competitive over-the-board chess, something which is rare in the sports world. Even after suffering several setbacks in the past, Levy is inspired to achieve the GM title. He recently played in the 1000GM 2024 NY Six Day IM Summer Invitational in which he showed a phenomenal performance by scoring 8/9 points! He played some exciting games. In a recent interview with ChessBase India, Levy talks about his 'Road to GM', why he decided to play in this tournament, his coach GM Arturs Neiksans, and more.

About 1000GM 2024 NY Six Day IM Summer Invitational

This tournament was organized in New York City from 9-14 July. There were four groups of players with two groups (A and B) for GM and another two groups (C and D) for IM. The event is organized to allow participants to meet the requirements for GM or IM norms. The time control was 90 minutes for all moves, plus a 30-second increment per move from move one. Although Levy is gunning for the GM title, he took part in the IM section as there was no spot left in the GM event.

Interview with Levy Rozman

Sagar Shah: Levy, congratulations! You recently played in the 1000GM 2024 IM Invitational 2024 and finished first with a score of 8 out of 9. You performed at 2581 which is very close to a GM norm…

Levy Rozman: Luckily, I knew going in that I couldn't make a GM norm, so it wasn't a surprise. I agreed to play in this tournament well before the one in Madrid because it was local - just 20 to 30 minutes from my house. My friend was organizing it, and I could not join the GM section as there were no spots left when I was signing up. I started with three bad games but did not lose any of them. My goal before the tournament was to score seven and a half points, but since I got 8, I am very happy!

SS: Your performance shows that you are playing at your peak strength or even higher! You tweeted that after returning to competitive chess, you have played 18 games, lost only one, gained 50 Elo points, and now your rating is 2370. This is unbelievable. It generally takes a couple of events to get into the groove. How did you manage to perform so well?

LR: The first thing I will mention is the YouTube video with Hikaru and Danny, where they doubted I could become a Grandmaster. This was before the Madrid tournament when I was rated 2322. It was my lowest rating in 7-8 years. At that time, I might have agreed with them. What changed for me was getting a really good coach, Arturs Neiksans. He is a strong player from Latvia with a 2600 rating. He did a great job of pointing out my mistakes and instilling effective frameworks. I prepared for openings and everything else and my first game in Madrid really set the tone. I had not played in two years but I won the first game against the top seed, Tomas Sosa with black pieces. It was a special moment. Although I didn't achieve a GM norm, I almost did it. Finding the right coach made a huge difference, and his advice always plays in my head when I play. While I haven't faced many players over 2500 yet, I am happy with gaining 48 Elo in two tournaments.

SS: How did you choose him as your coach?

LR: He reached out to me! I have known him since 2019, when we met in Las Vegas. He had done a couple of coaching sessions with my friend. He reached out to me in April, and so did a few GMs. I sampled lessons with different coaches, but with Arturs, it just clicked right away! He awakened my confidence and helped me prepare for tournaments. In the past, I would just show up and wing it. Now, I have revitalized strong openings, like the Caro-Kann, and gained flexibility with White. Honestly, I put a lot of pressure on myself with this ‘Road to GM’. I was nervous one hour before the first round in Madrid. But then I felt like a fighter who is going to walk to the ring and just fight. When I played an amazing queen sacrifice against Tomas Sosa, I felt incredible. I have reignited my love for chess and I have improved psychologically as well. I can't wait to play more, learn from painful defeats, and focus on the journey! I am almost 30, not one of the 15-year-old prodigies, so it's all about the process for me.

SS: How do you switch from being a content creator to focusing solely on playing? How do you get into the zone?

LR: It doesn't really bother me. It’s not a conscious thing – maybe I am used to doing it. If I were playing in a huge stadium of 10,000 or 50,000 people, it might have been different. What motivates me is that my games can inspire others! I receive many heartfelt messages from fans saying they are going to play their first tournament because of me. When I am at the board, it’s just me, the board, and the opponent.

SS: You have created a series on Patreon where people can become members. You have put yourself under more pressure with this, but it's beautifully done and adds value for your viewers. You have gained over a thousand Patreon members in less than three months...

LR: I created it mostly from the perspective of the grandmaster lessons. I provide detailed analysis of my tournament games and behind-the-scenes training. I also post travel vlogs and personal content there. For higher tiers, I review their games and raffle tournament score sheets. This approach gives viewers unique ways to support beyond just educational content. I have gained nearly 900 members so far.

SS: Managing your channel daily, plus, a Patreon with a serious number of members must be demanding.

LR: Yes. I have admittedly fallen a little behind. This week, I plan to upload Q&A sessions, and game analysis for the higher tier, and do the giveaway. This has definitely increased my workload, but it has not affected my tournaments. During tournaments, I go into battle mode, and everything else shuts off. For now, I have a break so I am going to get some rest.

SS: Do you think this entire journey has made your life more disciplined? What does your schedule look like right now?

LR: No, actually. I don’t have a strict routine. My day usually starts the same: I wake up around 7:30-8:00, walk the dog, and get coffee for Lucy and me. Depending on my energy, I either start working right away or do simple tasks like accounting and laundry if I am sleepy. Then I work on content, sponsors, meetings, and interviews. After that, I immerse myself in chess by reviewing opening lines, checking tournament games, solving puzzles, and playing Blitz and Bullet.

SS: Do you feel more confident now in online chess as well because of your solid preparation?

LR: Yes. I have had a lot of success on my anonymous accounts. Even when I play stuff that I am not used to, I feel sharper and my decision-making is better. I have outplayed some strong GMs when I am focused. Playing in tournaments like Titled Tuesday and beating strong players boosts my confidence. But now, the most important thing for me is classical chess; everything else is secondary.

SS: What comes next for you now?

LR: I was planning two tournaments back-to-back here in New York, but after playing nine intense rounds in five days, I decided to take some rest. My next tournament is in Italy in August. It's an open tournament with a balanced field of players rated from 2200 - 2500. After that, I will probably play another tournament in New York in late August. September and October are packed with events like the Speed Chess Championship, the Olympiad, and the Global Chess League. In December, I might play in the Repetto Memorial in Mexico. I enjoy traveling and playing in new places with different participants. For now, the plan is to go to the tournament in Italy in three weeks.

SS: It would be amazing if you came to India. I hope an exciting event will come up…

LR: I have seen videos where a 1600-rated Indian player beats a Grandmaster! (laughs) And it’s impressive. I have observed that players often lose rating points when they play in strong tournaments in places like Chennai or Kolkata. I remember there was this French IM who came to India and lost 200 rating points!

It's nice to see that I performed at an Elo of 2581, but I don’t believe I have the skills of a 2581-rated player; I’d estimate my strength around 2420-2430. I am still improving and surprising myself. I know that there will be challenging games ahead, there will be bad games! There have been bad games, it's just that I haven't lost any!

SS: Besides your coach, who else has played a significant role in your journey?

LR: Besides my coach, Vanessa from the club in Spain helped me a lot. She handled the whole streaming setup. I taught Lucy (Levy's wife) how to use OBS. The games were broadcast, so we had to delay it by 15 minutes. She handled it really well.

SS: The toughest part is overcoming your fear and mental roadblocks. The fact that you are building everything around it and pushing through is truly brilliant.

LR: I am excited to keep playing and learning. I still find some structures and openings new, it’s fun to learn them. My focus is on improving without worrying about the rating. I might not become a GM in the next two years, but I plan to achieve it eventually, even if it takes longer.

Game Analysis

SS: In your first game, did your eyes light up when your opponent played Bd8?

Danila Poliannikov vs Levy Rozman Game 1

LR: Before that, I wanted to play Rd6 instead of h6. I avoided it because if he played g4, my knight would get stuck. So, I played h6. Interestingly, a few moves ago, he moved his rook to a1 but suddenly realized that it would be a blunder. So, he moved it to d1 immediately when he had two seconds left on the clock.

He made the blunder by playing Bd8. He just panicked due to time trouble. I actually suffered a lot in this game but his blunder made my life easier! 

SS: In the second game, I really liked your move h4. Was it a part of the preparation?

Levy Rozman vs Logan Brian Game 2

LR: Yes… until he played e6! After that, it was a complicated position.

After he played Qe7, I missed a good move f4. I didn’t know how to play this position. I spent a lot of time thinking about a good move. I went in with Qh7+ but my queen was somehow trapped! This game made me realize that I needed a different kind of preparation against the Grunfeld!

SS: In the third game, you were under time pressure, your position was bad, and the fact that you were playing a GM who might not falter. And when he played the move f3, it was looking quite bad for you.

Maksim Novik vs Levy Rozman, Game 3

LR: My coach warned me before this game that Maxim is a great positional player and he would grind me down! So, I decided that I might lose but I will at least try! In the game White could have won with an interesting manoeuvre where you move your queen from f2 to c2 to b1 and then try to sacrifice on g6. But I trusted my gut and tried not to be in time trouble!

After he had played Qf4, he offered me a draw. My plan was to play Qd1+ Kf2 Ra1 and try for a mate. But if he plays, Rb8 Qf1 Ke3 Nhf5 gxf5 nxf5 qxf5… he would checkmate me! When I saw that, I realized that aceepting a draw would be the right thing to do.  

SS: You had a very interesting position in the fourth game. Black’s d4 pawn was hanging. She tried protecting it by playing Bd6. To counter that, you played f4. This was your brave move, ‘a Levy move’, I would say. After that, your position became better and you went on to win…

LR: First of all, she surprised me by playing 1.c4 e5. I was expecting her to play the Slav Defence which she usually plays. When she surprised me, I tried to play what I knew. I knew some ideas in Reversed Dragon which we played.

Levy Rozman vs Megan Lee Game 4

When I played Na4, my idea was if she takes Nxa4, then Qxa4 Re2 Bf4 g5 Qd1 Re8 Bd2, and White’s position would be better. I was very proud of this positional assessment because even though I am a pawn down, I could clearly see that I am better.

But she played Nd5 and I made a mistake by playing Qb3. I should have formulated it well. Black wanted to play Be6, so I should have played Qc2. After that if she played Be6, then I could have continued the attack by playing Nc5! 

When Black goes Rad8, I would go Nxb6, if she would play Bc5, I could simply attack the queen by playing Nc8! If black would play Rxc8, I could play Qa4, and Black’s a5 and b7 pawns would be hanging and d4 is a strong threat. That’s why e3 was my best move. 

SS: In your fifth game, you outplayed your opponent in an equal position! His last move Nc3 was a difficult blunder to find. You were able to look at the hard lines which many players don’t because they find it risky. 

LR: I spent enough time to calculate such lines. Because I realized that the game was getting critical at that point.

Eugene Yoo vs Levy Rozman Game 5

I spent more time to find the best move Kf8. This is an important move. Because you prepare to meet Ne5 with Ke8. Next up was b4 and my rook would infiltrate. He actually lost on time after I played b4. 

SS: In your sixth game, when your opponent played Re7, did you think about this line Rxe7 Qf5+ Qf3?

Levy Rozman vs Aleksandar Savanovic Game 6

LR: I was in time trouble and stressed. When he played Re7, the most tempting move for me was Bd6. I thought it would be a forced win for me. I thought he would not play Rxd7, because I could play cxd7 Qxd7 Qxa8 and I would be a piece up. But I did not realize that he could take my bishop and the position would be equal! When I realized that, I had already played Bd6. Thankfully, he missed this line. I guess he did not check that line because I played the move so confidently.

But the line you mentioned was the easiest but I did not check it properly. I saw that his queen was giving a check to my king. So, I avoided it. But I didn’t realize that I could play Qf3 to save my king and I would have more time. Even if a queen exchange happens, I would be in a better position. So, I missed it clearly!

SS: In the seventh game, you just outplayed your opponent in the opening…

LR: I did not know anything about the opening line. I just knew that I could play e6 and shut down my bishop in the opening and later go f6 with the idea to play e5.

James Nguyen vs Levy Rozman Game 7

I was waiting to play this opening against somebody. I loved the way I played in this game. I won this game the way I think a person with 150 points higher than another should win. I just played fast and put some pressure. During the middlegame, I was not worried about the best move, I was worried about putting him under time pressure. Because he was low on time, I tried to confuse him. After I won that game, I felt like I am the best under 2400 Caro-Kann player in the world! (Laughs)

SS: In the eighth game, your opponent played a very dubious line with you. I remember that you played this line when we were playing Blitz in Canada (with black pieces).

LR: I was aware of my opponent’s style to play in King’s Indian/Modern positions. This position… I kind of snapped out of it. After some point, Black’s position was really bad because he could not move any of his pawns. Then I had one idea of sacrificing all my pieces on g8 and mate him. 

Levy Rozman vs Alexandre Kretchetov Game 8

For this game, I decided that I would play fast and trust myself.  

SS: In the last game, your opponent invited you to play Caro-Kann. Did you feel confident after seeing that? You played two very beautiful moves in the middlegame, Ne5 and Bh3!

Vikram Rajmohan vs Levy Rozman, Game 9

LR: By this round, I was confident that I could win because my score was 7/8! 

When I played d4, my plan was cxd4 exd4 Qd3 Nb4 Qb5. This might be seen as a problem but it’s not. Because after that, Bf3 Rxe8 I have the stunning move a6!! Qa4 b5 Qxb4 Rxe8 and then… Re1+ is a threat!  

But later in the position, I am glad that I found the move Nf3+. Nothing could have stopped me from winning that game.