Armenia President attends opening of European chess championship in Yerevan (PHOTOS)

YEREVAN. – The official opening of the European Individual Chess Championship 2014 was held Sunday in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan. 

The event is devoted to ninth World Chess Champion, Armenian Grandmaster (GM) Tigran Petrosian. The opening ceremony brought together Armenian President and Armenian Chess Federation President Serzh Sargsyan, World Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, among numerous others. In an interview with reporters, Ilyumzhinov expressed his delight over this tournament, and wished success to all its participants.   

“Armenia has always been a center for the development of chess. Tigran Petrosian would have turned 85 this year, and this tournament is dedicated to him.“It is not a coincidence that this small country has won the title of World Chess Olympiad champion three times. “It is also a great success that [GM] Levon Aronian [who plays first board for the three-time World Chess Olympiad champions and the previous World Team Chess champions, Armenia] is second in the FIDE rankings.  

“It is also important that chess is considered a national game in Armenia. It is no coincidence that Armenia was the first country to include chess in the school curriculum.“And all this together contribute to the successes of the Armenian national chess team,” the FIDE President also stated.

 Photo by NEWS.am Sport