It was at a prestigious professionals' Nemiroff Cup 2013. An American athlete Dave Chaffee and Denis Cyplenkov, who was considered the strongest armwrestler on this planet, met for the first time. The apparent favourite was Denis. Obviously, noone underestimated Dave but those who considered him an opponent equall to Denis were few. Unexpectedly one of the fights resulted in Dave's victory. After the fight Denis announced, it had been referees who had given Dave the win. In Danis's words Dave had had a winning starting positsion. One fact was undisputed – Denis's hand had been at last pressed to the pin. And then some questions emerged. What kind of a sportsman was Dave Chaffee? Was he enough strong to take Denis Cyplenkov's place?

The A1 Russian Open could give us the answers. The Moscow tournament could show us who was the first and who was second. As it was expected, the two sportsmen met at a table once again. They had to fight against each other three times. The first clash was full of sustain and emotion. The pullers fought in the strips. The strip was near to burst. The initiative changed a side frequently. Dave attacked, Denis defended. Suddenly the referee stopped the fight and gave a second foul to the American. This was Dave's failure. So the winner of the first fight was Denis Cyplenkov. The fans were however disappointed. Who is better? This question remainded unanswered. The second clash was shorter and result even less clear. Denis tried to burst the grip and to go to the strips. But Dave didn't let him to do it. Keeping strongly Denis's thumb he said something to Denis with a smile. Sudden counterattack was Denis's answer. It was mighty and successful. It was seemingly unexpected to Dave. Dave tried to burst the grip. But he was already weakened so he lost the fight. And still nothing was clear. One had to wait for the third round. The level of emotions grew. At the third duel both of the pullers tried to take a winning starting position. None was successful in it. So it came to a referee's grip. The first who attacked after Ready! Go! was Dave. Denis withstanded Dave's fury and even started to counterattack. As previously, Denis took a defending position. He fought off some really strong Dave's attacks. After some time Denis's counterattacks were stronger and stronger. Dave was able to defend against some of them. Some but not all. Possibly it was Cyplenkov's superior power or maybe Dave's moment of inattention that Dave lost the fight. One could say everything was now clear and fair. But the audience was disappointed once again. There were still more questions than answers.

A1 was the second opportunity for Denis Cyplenkov and Dave Chaffee to meet. Twice the Russian puller was the winner. Twice Dave's defiance resulted in people' wish to see the next fight. Many fans are now of the same opinion – it is only armight that can finish the rivarly. Formally Denis Cyplenkov is winning. But those who belive in Chaffee's superiority are many. Who is better? We can only belive that the third clash will give us the answer.

Artur Grigorian