Varuzhan Akobian
Encyclopedia
Varuzhan Akobian is an Armenian-American
Grandmaster
of chess
, originally from Armenia
, who now resides in Los Angeles
.
He became an International Master at age 16. In 2001, he moved to the United States and one week after his 20th birthday in November 2003, earned the title of Grandmaster.
Akobian won the World Open
tournament in Philadelphia on three separate occasions; he shared first place in 2002 and won it outright in 2004 and 2007. In 2006 he tied for first in the San Marino tournament with a performance rating of 2796. In 2007 he tied for 1st-8th with Hikaru Nakamura
, Alexander Shabalov
, Darmen Sadvakasov
, Zviad Izoria
, Victor Mikhalevski
, Magesh Chandran Panchanathan
and Justin Sarkar in the Miami Open.
He played on the bronze-medal-winning USA team in the 2006
and 2008
Chess Olympiads.
In 2007, Akobian came equal first in the American Continental Championship in Cali, Colombia
. This qualified him for the Chess World Cup 2007
, where he was eliminated in the first round.
In 2007, Akobian was featured on MTV
's True Life
documentary series, in an episode titled "I'm a Genius".
As of July 2011, he was the sixth highest rated player in the USA, with a FIDE rating of 2613.
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, originally from Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, who now resides in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
He became an International Master at age 16. In 2001, he moved to the United States and one week after his 20th birthday in November 2003, earned the title of Grandmaster.
Akobian won the World Open
World Open chess tournament
The World Open chess tournament is an annual open chess tournament played in most editions in Philadelphia and some editions in New York. The inaugural event was a huge success played in New York in 1973 with 732 participants, and was won by Walter Browne....
tournament in Philadelphia on three separate occasions; he shared first place in 2002 and won it outright in 2004 and 2007. In 2006 he tied for first in the San Marino tournament with a performance rating of 2796. In 2007 he tied for 1st-8th with Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov is an American chess grandmaster, the multiple winner of the U.S. Chess Championships; he was the 2007 US Champion. He was born in Latvia, and like his fellow Latvians Alexei Shirov and Mikhail Tal he is known for courting complications even at the cost of objective soundness...
, Darmen Sadvakasov
Darmen Sadvakasov
Darmen Sadvakasov is a Kazakhstani chess grandmaster. Sadvakasov received the International Master title in 1995 and the GM title in 1998 as a result of his victory in the World Junior Championship. He tied for first at Bali 2000 and the 2003 Samba Cup, and won first place outright at Copenhagen...
, Zviad Izoria
Zviad Izoria
Zviad Izoria is a chess grandmaster.-Selected tournament victories:* 2000: Victory at the World Youth Chess Championship for U16.* 2000: Winner of the Moscow Kasparov Cup....
, Victor Mikhalevski
Victor Mikhalevski
Victor Mikhalevski is an Israeli chess grandmaster who lives in Beer Sheva. his Elo rating was 2611, making him the #7 player in Israel and the 171st-highest rated player in the world...
, Magesh Chandran Panchanathan
Magesh Chandran Panchanathan
Magesh Chandran Panchanathan is an Indian chess Grandmaster.In 2003 he won Asian Junior Championship in Sri Lanka. In 2005 he tied for first with Kamil Mitoń in the 33rd World Open, played in Philadelphia over the Independence Day weekend. In the same year he came first in the UTD GM Invitational...
and Justin Sarkar in the Miami Open.
He played on the bronze-medal-winning USA team in the 2006
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
and 2008
38th Chess Olympiad
The 38th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between 12–25 November 2008, in Dresden, Germany and was won by Armenia.The 2010 Olympiad is...
Chess Olympiads.
In 2007, Akobian came equal first in the American Continental Championship in Cali, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. This qualified him for the Chess World Cup 2007
Chess World Cup 2007
The Chess World Cup 2007 served as a qualification tournament for the World Chess Championship 2009. It was held as a 128-player single-elimination tournament, between 24 November and 16 December 2007, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia....
, where he was eliminated in the first round.
In 2007, Akobian was featured on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's True Life
True Life
True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
documentary series, in an episode titled "I'm a Genius".
As of July 2011, he was the sixth highest rated player in the USA, with a FIDE rating of 2613.