In the last list of the top Chess players we published, we went over the best Scottish Chess players. Now in this article, we’re ranking the best Armenian Chess players from Armenia, starting with the number ten spot in FIDE. All of the top players in this list have earned the Grandmaster title which requires an Elo rating of over 2500. For more information on ratings, see the guide on how to get a FIDE rating.
10. Robert Hovhannisyan
Full Name: Robert Hovhannisyan
Title: Grandmaster (2010)
International Master (2009)
Place of Birth: Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Born: March 23, 1991
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 208
Rapid: 2630
Blitz: 2570
Classical: 2601
Peak rating: 2650 (August 2019)
Profiles
Robert Hovhannisyan was granted the title of Grandmaster in 2010 and the International Master in 2009. In 2011, Hovhannisyan won the 71st Armenian Chess Tournament and was part of the Gold-winning Armenian squad at the World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo. In addition, Hovhannisyan shared the top position at the 2011 World Junior Chess Championship in Chennai with Dariusz Swiercz, placing second in the deciding set. The following year, Hovhannisyan became the runner-up in the Armenian Tournament and won the 6th Karen Asrian Memorial Tournament 2013.
9. Manuel Petrosyan
Full Name: Manuel Petrosyan
Title: Grandmaster (2017)
International Master (2014)
FIDE Master (2014)
Candidate Master (2012)
Born: May 6, 1998
Place of birth: Stepanakert, Armenia
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 187
Rapid: 2547
Blitz: 2592
Classical: 2609
Peak rating: N/A
Profiles
Manuel Petrosyan was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2017. The Armenian chess player triumphed in the 2022 Armenian Chess Tournament and the 2016 Under-18 World Youth Chess Tournament. Petrosyan placed second at the World Junior Chess Tournament in 2017. The following year, Petrosyan was the runner-up in the Riga Technical University Open “A” championship. additionally, Petrosyan was victorious at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial in 2020.
8. Aram Hakobyan
Full Name: Aram Hakobyan
Title: Grandmaster (2018)
International Master (2017)
FIDE Master (2014)
Born: April 1, 2001
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 186
Rapid: 2476
Blitz: 2563
Classical: 2611
Peak rating: N/A
Profiles
Aram Hakobyan is an Armenian grandmaster who won the World U12 Championship in 2012. Hakobyan also won the Armenian Youth Tournament in four distinct age categories, the U10, U12, U14, and U18, and became deputy victor of the U14 European Chess Championship in 2014. Hakobyan is ranked 13th among Armenian juniors and 12th among all juniors worldwide as of April 2022. Hakobyan won a CGC Play-in tournament in July 2022, earning a place in the CGC quarter-finals.
7. Karen H. Grigoryan
Full Name: Karen H. Grigoryan
Title: Grandmaster (2013)
International Master (2011)
FIDE Master (2010)
Candidate Master (2007)
Born: February 25, 1995
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 160
Rapid: 2639
Blitz: 2664
Classical: 2617
Peak rating: 2666 ( January 2021)
Profiles
The Armenian chess Grandmaster was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2013. Grigoryan won the Under-14 Armenian Tournament in 2008 and the European Under-16 Tournament in 2010. Furthermore, Grigoryan emerged victorious in the 2010 G.Kasparyan Memorial- Young Masters, the 2011 Youth Stars Championship in 2011, the 2012 Albena Open, the Open Internacional Escacs Villa de Sitges in July 2013.
6. Sergei Movsesian
Full Name: Sergei Movsesian
Title: Grandmaster (1997)
International Master (1995)
Born: November 3, 1978
Place of Birth: Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 157
Rapid: 2616
Blitz: 2571
Classical: 2619
Peak rating: 2571 (January 2009)
Profiles
Sergei Movsesian was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1997. Movsesian competed for the Czech Republic for most of his professionalism and thereafter Slovakia. Movsesian and the Armenian team won a gold medal in the World Team Chess Tournament held in Ningbo in 2011. Moreover, Movsesian won the 2002 & 2007 Slovak Chess Tournament and triumphed in the 2002 European blitz chess in Panormo, Crete.
5. Samvel Ter-Sahakyan
Full name: Samvel Ter-Sahakyan
Title: Grandmaster (1992)
International Master ( 1987)
Born: September 19, 1993
Place of birth: Vanadzor, Armenia
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 129
Rapid: 2530
Blitz: 2604
Classical: 2630
FIDE rating: 2630 ( September2022)
Profiles
Samvel Ter-Sahakyan was awarded the Grandmaster and International Master titles in 2009. Samvel won the Under-10 and the Under-18 European Youth Chess Tournament in 2003 and 2009, respectively. In 2008, Samvel placed fourth in deciding set at the 2011 World Under-18 Chess Tournament with 8/11 points. Furthermore, Samvel came 2nd in the Armenian Chess Tournament in 2011.
4. Hrant Melkumyan
Full Name: Hrant Melkumyan
Title: Grandmaster (2008)
International Master (2007)
Born: April 30, 1989
Place of birth: Yerevan
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 107
Rapid: 2686
Blitz: 2604
Classical: 2645
Peak rating: 2678 ( September 2014)
Profiles
Melkumyan was accorded the title of Grandmaster in 2008. The chess player triumphed at the 2011 European Blitz Championship. Melkumyan became a silver medalist in the Under-18 World Youth Chess Tournament in 2006. Melkumyan also shared first to fifth place at the Chigorin Memorial tournament in 2009 with Sergey Volkov, Andrey Rychagov, Andrei Deviatkin, and Zhou Weiqi.
3. Shant Sargsyan
Full Name: Shant Sargsyan
Title: Grandmaster (2007)
International Master (1997)
Born: January 27, 2002
Place of Birth: Yerevan, Armenia
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 87
Rapid: 2489
Blitz: 2601
Classical: 2661
Peak rating: 2661 ( July 2022)
Profiles
Shant Sargsyan was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2019. Some notable achievements of Sargsyan included; In both the World Youth Chess Championship 2019 in Mumbai and the World Junior Chess Championship 2019 in New Delhi, Sargsyan finished second. In the 2018 World Youth Chess Championship, Sargsyan won the U16 section. Shant won the 80th Armenian Group 1 Championship in Yerevan in August 2019 with 11 points out of a possible 13. In 2019, Sargsyan placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the Groningen Festival, scoring 7 out of 9 points and 2nd place with extra indicators, defeated by Dutchman Liam Wroliik.
2. Haik M. Martirosyan
Full Name: Haik M. Martirosyan
Title: Grandmaster (2017)
International Master (2016)
FIDE Master (2011)
Born: July 14, 2000
Place of Birth: Byuravan, Ararat province
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 80
Rapid: 2440
Blitz: 2745
Classical: 2666
Peak rating: 2672 ( July 2022)
Profiles
The Armenian Chess player was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2017. Martirosyan won the Under-16 World Youth Chess Tournament in 2016. In 2017, Martirosyan was a World team member that won the Match of the Millennials in St. Louis, Missouri, scoring four points in seven games. Martirosyan won the Armenian Chess Championship in 2018 and represented Armenia in the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi with a performance rating of 2708. Later that year, Martirosyan defeated Rasmus Svane, SL Narayanan, Dennis Wagner, and Andrei Istrățescu to win the Zurich Christmas Open.
1. Gabriel Sargissian
Full Name: Gabriel Sargissian
Title: Grandmaster (2002)
International Master (1999)
FIDE Master (1996)
Born: September 3, 1983
Place of Birth: Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Federation: Armenia
Ratings
World ranking: 32
Rapid: 2639
Blitz: 2561
Classical: 2711
Peak rating: 2711 ( September 2022)
Profiles
Gabriel Sargissian was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2002. Sargissian was part of the Armenian squad that won a gold medal in the 2006, 2008, and 2012 Chess Olympiads and the 2011 World Team Chess Tournament. In 2000 and 2003, Sargissian won the Armenian Chess Championship. Sargissian competed in the 2004 FIDE World Chess Championship but was defeated in the initial set by Sergei Tiviakov. Sargissian won the 8th Dubai Open in 2006 with a score of 7 points out of 10 games, sharing first place with Sergey Fedorchuk and compatriot Tigran L. Petrosian.
That concludes the list of the best Armenian Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Japanese Chess players or the best Bullet Chess players.
Sources
- http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/4490-titles-approved-at-the-2nd-quarter-presidential-board-2010.html
- http://chess-results.com/tnr103933.aspx?art=4&lan=1&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070707050802/http://www.armchess.am/news06-6.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20120120000741/http://www.armchess.am/all_ch_arm.htm
- http://en.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4005026/olympiad-r7-armenia-lead-ahead-of-germany-israel-and-france.aspx
- https://sport.news.am/eng/news/25815/
- https://haydzayn.com/en/page/Hayk%20Martirosyane,%20shakhmati%20Hayastani%20ch%60empion_40334
- http://asbarez.com/155397/armenian-teens-become-world-chess-champions/
- https://armenpress.am/eng/news/992935/
- http://chess-results.com/tnr385903.aspx?lan=1&art=4&turdet=YES&flag=30