KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

The tournament brought together 18 teams that had earlier won in chess championships held in Yerevan and marzes (provinces), including Javakhk and Nagorno Karabakh.

The team of Gyumri-based School N3 won the first honorable prize during the heated struggle. Vanadzor’s School N3 came the second and School N55 after A. Chekhov in Yerevan was the third. 

 

Astghik Khalikyan was one of the participants of School N3 that earned the first prize. It was her first team victory. Astghik says from the very beginning her team took the lead and was resolute to win. They were determined not to concede their leading position to any other team. Astghik advises her peers to play chess and practise it frequently. She is convinced that practice will help children train their brains, and in a short time chess will become an integral part of their everyday life. 

 

Arpine Grigoryan, who represented School N55 after A. Chekhov in the tournament, says she is fond of chess. Arpine began to play chess at the age of eight. 

 

“By participating in this tournament, I realized that even in the most tense struggle one should strive for victory. Although the atmosphere during the contest was highly competitive, we were very warm and friendly before and after the tournament,” says Arpine. 

 

The vocal and instrumental ensemble, "Arin Berd" dance ensemble and the brass band of the Faculty of Culture of Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan came to congratulate the tournament participants.

 

the event was also attended by President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Rector of Armenian State Pedagogical University Rouben Mirzakhanyan, Head of Department of Educational and Scientific-Methodological Activities Systematization, Vice-Rector Mher Melik-Bakhshyan, and a group of chess fans.

 

Note that Director of the Chess Academy of Armenia, Grandmaster Smbat Lputyan also heads the Chair of Sports and Chess of the Pedagogical University.