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| 70th Armenian Chess Championship |
Popular
Still popular today, Chess in Armenia gained world-wide recognition when Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian became the Chess World Champion in the late 1960’s. However, back then, under Soviet rule, Petrosian was referred to as a Soviet Champion rather than an Armenian one.
Strongest Chess Nation
When you consider that Armenia has a population of approximately 3 million people then it is doubly impressive that they are considered to be one of the strongest chess nations in the world. In fact, Armenia has one of the highest ratios of chess grandmasters per capita anywhere in the world.
Team Success
Team chess has taken off in recent years with the Armenian Men’s Chess Team winning the 1999 European Chess Team Championship (held in Batumi, Georgia). They went to have similar success at the 2011 World Team Championship (held in Ningbo, China) and 2012 Chess Olympiad (held in Istanbul, Turkey).
Similarly, Armenian Woman’s Chess team have had similar success and took the title at the 2003 European Chess Championship.
Official Rankings
In the official FIDE World Chess rankings Armenia has an enviable reputation with the country ranked sixth in the world and the countries best player (Levon Aronian) is ranked as number 2 in the world. In fact, Aronain was a candidate for the World Chess Championship in 2013.
Compulsory in Schools
As discussed in a previous article, in 2012 Armenia became the very first country in the world to make chess a compulsory part of the national curriculum in each and every school in the country. In doing so Armenia has underlined the country’s intention to become a leading chess nation for generations to come.
Weekly Magazine
Armenia’s obsession with the game of chess is reflected in its top selling magazine ‘Chess in Armenia’. Established as a monthly periodical by Gaguik Oganessian in 1972, the magazine has gone from strength to strength and is now published on a weekly basis. Oganessian continues to be the editor in chief and continues to take an active role in the magazines output.
Television Show
However, ‘Chess in Armenia’ is not Armenians only source of chess information as they have a long running weekly television show, Chess 64, hosted by Chess in Armenia’s very own Gaguik Oganessian. The television show is Armenia’s longest running television show having been on air since 1972.
Still popular today, Chess in Armenia gained world-wide recognition when Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian became the Chess World Champion in the late 1960’s. However, back then, under Soviet rule, Petrosian was referred to as a Soviet Champion rather than an Armenian one.
Strongest Chess Nation
When you consider that Armenia has a population of approximately 3 million people then it is doubly impressive that they are considered to be one of the strongest chess nations in the world. In fact, Armenia has one of the highest ratios of chess grandmasters per capita anywhere in the world.
Team Success
Team chess has taken off in recent years with the Armenian Men’s Chess Team winning the 1999 European Chess Team Championship (held in Batumi, Georgia). They went to have similar success at the 2011 World Team Championship (held in Ningbo, China) and 2012 Chess Olympiad (held in Istanbul, Turkey).
Similarly, Armenian Woman’s Chess team have had similar success and took the title at the 2003 European Chess Championship.
Official Rankings
In the official FIDE World Chess rankings Armenia has an enviable reputation with the country ranked sixth in the world and the countries best player (Levon Aronian) is ranked as number 2 in the world. In fact, Aronain was a candidate for the World Chess Championship in 2013.
Compulsory in Schools
As discussed in a previous article, in 2012 Armenia became the very first country in the world to make chess a compulsory part of the national curriculum in each and every school in the country. In doing so Armenia has underlined the country’s intention to become a leading chess nation for generations to come.
Weekly Magazine
Armenia’s obsession with the game of chess is reflected in its top selling magazine ‘Chess in Armenia’. Established as a monthly periodical by Gaguik Oganessian in 1972, the magazine has gone from strength to strength and is now published on a weekly basis. Oganessian continues to be the editor in chief and continues to take an active role in the magazines output.
Television Show
However, ‘Chess in Armenia’ is not Armenians only source of chess information as they have a long running weekly television show, Chess 64, hosted by Chess in Armenia’s very own Gaguik Oganessian. The television show is Armenia’s longest running television show having been on air since 1972.
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