The Little Giants of the Chess Kingdom: IRON TIGRAN’S ARMENIA

A Three-part Series on the Lesser Known ‘power-nations’ of Chess

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A small chess-crazy nation of over 3 million people achieved a mighty feat that the formidable Russians could not: winning the World Chess Olympiad three times!

Armenia, the ancient and tiny Caucasian nation and the former Soviet Republic is #6 in the world of chess going by the average rating of its Top 10 players and has one of the highest numbers of grandmasters per capita in the world.

Armenia is the first (and the only country till recently) in the world where chess lessons became mandatory in school. In 2011 it was made compulsory for children aged 6-8 years to attend chess lessons.

Though a nation that is squeezed in by geographical limitations and cross-border volatilities, Armenia has withstood centuries of bloody harvests with its precise strategies and excellent outmaneuvering. Perhaps, the natural output of a cultured aptitude in chess.

The country claimed the crown in the 2006 and 2008 Chess Olympiads (which is bi-annual) in a row and won another in 2012, beating chess giants like the US, Russia, China, and Ukraine.

Malcolm Pein, chess columnist with the Telegraph and head of charity Chess in Schools and Communities, observes how incredibly good Armenian children are at visualising things: incredibly good at “moving pieces around in their head along a chessboard.” The Armenians have literally demonstrated “how it’s possible to teach chess to an entire country,” he remarks. There’s no wonder, BBC called it ‘The cleverest nation on earth’, in the BBC World Service report, 2009.

Although it was under the Soviet Union that Armenia became the world's tonir (a native earthen oven) for “baking” some of the greatest chess champions to perfection, the country‘s love for the game dates back to the Middle Ages.

HISTORY

Chess, according to the ancient manuscripts, came to Armenia in the IX century. But modern chess developed and was popularised during 1920 when it became a favoured sport and found its place in mainstream media as well as social life. In 1934 the first all-Armenian chess championship was hosted at Yerevan where the title was won by G. Kasparyan. In 1939, Armenia’s first chess club opened in its capital city, and by 1962, almost the whole population was involved with the game.

Genrikh Kasparyan (1910-1995)

G. Kasparyan can be called the founding father of chess in Armenia and is the record-holder for the most victories in the Armenian Championships (10 titles from 1934 to 1956). His contributions were rudimentary in the modernisation and popularity of chess in the country.

Kasparyan’s victory in the semi-final of the USSR Championship in 1931 put Armenia on the Soviet chess map. Kasparyan was also one among the forerunners who received the International Master title when FIDE first introduced it in 1950.

Kasparyan also contributed to chess through his books that mainly focus on endgame. In 1972, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster of Chess Composition, becoming the first person to receive the title.

Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984)

The arrival of Tigran Petrosian in the nation’s chess map turned a new leaf in Armenian chess history. Like Kasparyan, Petrosian also was not born in Armenia and had his initial gaming experience in Georgia.

Petrosian went on to become the first World Champion who won a World Championship soon after winning the title. Till then, over a span of more than 30 years, the best games of the reigning champions had ended in a draw!

Tigran Petrosian’s forte was his defense and strategic thinking that made him iron-hard to defeat. Over the 10 Chess Olympiads that he participated in from 1958 to 1978, he lost only one game out of 129, thus gaining the moniker “Iron Tigran”.

Armenia has a whole lot of accomplished chess players and grandmasters including, Rafael Vaganyan, Smbat Lputyan, Levon Aronyan, Vladimir Akopyan etc. Among them, Rafael Vaganyan became a highly successful name by becoming a grandmaster at the age of 19, at a time when he wasn’t even an international Master!

In the center of Yerevan, the capital city, on Charles Aznavour Square and next to the Moscow cinema, there is a large chessboard with real chess figures and covering an area of 30sq.m. Anyone can go and try a hand on the game there and enjoy moving the huge figures! The massive chessboard is reflective of the nation’s spirit for the game and symbolises its chess-ingrained culture.

Greater Moves

The way the country has developed and prospered the game starting from the foundational level and promoting it not just as a sport but a tool to build logical thinking in its younger generation is admirable. As Malcolm Pein remarked, Armenian children indeed have perfectly developed visualisation, strategic thinking capabilities and great leadership skills. The living proof of how chess works in young minds.

A chess scientific research institute is also due to open in Yerevan where the impact of chess in the learning process will be further researched by scientists and psychologists. Many world nations like the U.S. and the U.K have followed in the footsteps of Armenia taking efforts to incorporate chess in schools.

Smbat Lputian, president of the Armenian Chess Academy highlights the significance of chess in perfect words: The most important quality of chess is that it's a fair game, so young children start learning a game which is clean and honourable, and it teaches them good behaviour. The child is constantly making strategic decisions - assessing the situation before making a move. I think this is a great benefit for society as a whole."

If you would like to know more on how young minds can be impacted positively through the game of chess and how learning the game could cultivate leadership qualities and cognitive skills in your child, please feel free to contact us at info@mindmentorz.com or call us at +91 636644864