I was suggesting that because Leko's father-in-law was Armenian and a big fan of Tigran Petrosian, he might have influenced the already drawish youth to adopt a style of prophylaxis which completely crushed his desire to play competitively and win after he found out that every chess game, when played to perfection, will inevitably end as a draw.
Why would a prophylactic style crush his desire to play competitively ?
It never did for Karpov.
At least he does look happy on the photos. Being happy is more important than belonging to the chess elite. He was in the Top 50 of the world but could not be persitently in these high ranks. It's a waste of time to regret that he isn't ranked so high any more. Others took his place and others will come after them. His games remain in the databases 
and the chessbooks 
. I find it more interesting to read articles about new talents.
At least he does look happy on the photos. Being happy is more important than belonging to the chess elite. He was in the Top 50 of the world but could not be persitently in these high ranks. It's a waste of time to regret that he isn't ranked so high any more. Others took his place and others will come after them. His games remain in the databases and the chessbooks . I find it more interesting to read articles about new talents.
A reasonable comment.
Suppose it was Magnus Carlsen. And suppose he has a girlfriend or wife, and his chessplaying ability decreased to the point that he was no longer the World Champion, or among the top 20 chessplayers in the world two years from now in 2019. Would you still feel the same way?
@Seniorpatzer: I don't care about Carlsen or any other player either. They care about their stuff and I care about mine. If there were no chess world elite Players tomorrow, I would not miss a game from them. The beauty of the game can also be watched in Engine games. Every time has it's 'heros', but even man of steel become 'old iron'.
@Seniorpatzer: I don't care about Carlsen or any other player either. They care about their stuff and I care about mine. If there were no chess world elite Players tomorrow, I would not miss a game from them. The beauty of the game can also be watched in Engine games. Every time has it's 'heros', but even man of steel become 'old iron'.
Okay. Seems reasonable. I think others might lament, maybe many others, but your approach seems balanced in my opinion.
In 2004, when Leko competed for the World Championship, he was 2749 and rated in the top five in the world.
In 2009, Leko was in the top ten in the world with a 2752 rating. In 2013, He had lost only 22 rating points and dropped to 24th in the world. As recently as October of last year, Leko was still in the +2700 club, but had dropped to 38th in the world.
Leko has been amazingly consistent over the years. Nothing has happened to Leko. Young players have just gotten better.
Yes, he is number 72 now at 2671, don't panic! it could happen to anyone folks, keep your hair on, he's 37 and getting pretty old.
As he reached his FIDE peak of 2763 on April 1, 2005 it may well be that we have all been suckered in to his April Fools joke.
Also i'd like to ask intermediatedinoz what antiperspirant he uses for his butt, is it cavemanpro, adhominemcooler or sure ?
I read once that Leko was a vegetarian. Could this have affected him?
Is Anand a vegetarian?
Leko has been amazingly consistent over the years. Nothing has happened to Leko. Young players have just gotten better.
Anand, Kramnik and Topalov are all several years older than Leko and were all around his strength the first half of this century. All these players have been able to hold on to their positions at least up until the last years. Leko, on the other hand, hasn't been top 30 the last three years and hasn't won anything in nine years. It isn't just that there are many strong young players, Leko has fallen far below the older players.
Anand and Kramnik were higher rated than Leko for almost all of their careers, and have shown they play on a different level.
During the WC match, Leko celebrated finding a short forced draw as White. The match was even at the time. Kramnik said that he simply didn't understand such an approach to chess. Kasparov said that such an attitude "isn't chess".
Leko's approach to chess and his ratings showed that he never was quite at the same level as Kramnik and Anand.
Kramnik and Anand's best ratings are far higher than Leko's. Kramnik and Anand have usually been 50 points ahead of Leko!
Topalov is another story. He has been semi-retired twice this century. He's capable of playing at the same level as Kramnik and Anand in short spurts, but has had difficulty being consistently at the top.
Leko may have lost interest in chess. I mean he plays the game, but he is just not as curious and excited as he was before about the game.
Do vegetables play chess?
I read once that Leko was a vegetarian. Could this have affected him?
Sounds like he should see a doctor about his condition.
From another viewpoint, I don't know why anyone bothers being a SuperGM. It seems like a lot of work for nothing and the peak of your career lasts only so many years. A highly intelligent person is wasting his time with chess instead of becoming a lawyer or stock broker or some other more remunerative career.
I was suggesting that because Leko's father-in-law was Armenian and a big fan of Tigran Petrosian, he might have influenced the already drawish youth to adopt a style of prophylaxis which completely crushed his desire to play competitively and win after he found out that every chess game, when played to perfection, will inevitably end as a draw.
Of course. I was so dense for not figuring that out based on the photos of Leko and his wife.