NINGBO, China—The team representing Armenia won the World Chess Team Championship for the first time on Tuesday.
The Armenian team led by Levon Aronian, the world’s third highest ranked chess player, dominated throughout the 12-day tournament, winning five games and drawing the four others. It sealed the title with a draw against Ukraine in the final round of the competition, reported RFE/RL.
Tuesday’s title-winning match ended in a 2-2 draw (with all the four grandmasters tying their games) to cap Armenia’s unbeaten run in the tournament that brought together the world’s ten leading chess nations.
The pairings in the 9th round were Levon Aronian-Vasily Ivanchuk, Sergey Movsesian-Pavel Elyanov, Vladimir Akopian-Zahar Efimenko, Gabriel Sargsyan-Alexander Moiseenko
The results of all 9 rounds are presented below:
1. Armenia vs. Israel – 3.5:0.5
2. USA vs. Armenia – 2:2
3. Armenia vs. Russia – 2:2
4. Armenia vs. Egypt – 3.5:0.5
5. China vs. Armenia 1.5:2.5
6. Armenia vs. India – 2.5:1.5
7. Hungary vs. Armenia -1.5:2.5
8. Armenia vs. Azerbaijan – 2:2
9. Armenia vs. Ukraine – 2:2
Smbat Lputyan, the vice-president of Armenia’s Chess Federation called the team members “heroes.”
“Armenia twice became Olympic champion, world champion, but our team never won world team chess championship. It was very difficult to win the world’s strongest teams so brilliantly and confidently. It proves the Armenian chess team is one of the best in the world,” Lputyan noted.
“I am just proud Armenia is considered a powerful chess nation,” Lputyan emphasized, adding almost all the teams were strong and had equal chances to win the championship. “But our team was able to win a brilliant victory due to its solidarity and spirit,” Lputyan noted.
© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.
This is such a brilliant news . An outstanding victory for our nation. Aprek Hazar Aprek! The winners are our super heroes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long Live Armenia!!!!!!!!!!!
Shnorhagal-enk, mehr hai dghaknehr… menk hubard enk… BRAVO!!
Arshak, Levon, Sergei, Robert, Gabriel, Vladimir…
Manooshag
Nations like Russia, China, India and America have more chess players than the entire population of Armenia and the diaspora combined. Nations like Israel, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan have chess programs that Armenians would be jealous of. Yet, time and again, Armenians have proven themselves in the game of chess. This advantage we clearly seem to have over the globe’s best and the brightest is most definitely a result of our superior genetics, our makeup. And it is not only chess that we are good at. Our small, poor and embattled nation has regularly put out large numbers of excellent athletes, renowned scholars and world class artists. We Armenians have the talent, we have the brawn and we definitely have the brains. If we Armenians can only get our act together, that is if we learn how to be organized, ideologically driven and work collectively, only the sky will be our limit.
Avetis, I agree… the tiny new fledgling nation of Christian Armenians – today abused via its borders with Turks and the Azeris… Too, these 20 years – all the Haiastansi leaderships have been/are inept and incapably equipped, – are certainly not of the of the caliber of our patriots which our ancient and advanced history has proven we have had. Today, such patriots are needed to serve the honest citizens of our homeland. All leaders to date have been of the communistic mentality… filling their own pockets and to hell with our highly advanced and noble peoples of Haiastan. Where are our patriots… when such as an Aram Manoogian, who in two years 1918-1920 – had a university for Armenians!!
Armenia is too small, too remote and too poor for the restless, lawless, brilliant and ambitious Armenian mind. Armenia is a small nation populated by very ambitious, very independent and very shrewd people. But that’s not all. Despite Armenian brilliance in various fields of profession, when it comes to politics, however, Armenians are deeply naive. Armenia’s problems also have to do with its very bad geopolitical neighborhood. So, our so-called “oligarchs”, that which all nations have, are not the fundamental problem. It’s Washington’s psychological warfare operations (psyops) that wants us to believe that Armenia’s only problem is its system of government (the system that just happens to be pro-Russia and pro-Iran). Armenia’s main obstacle today is its geography and its people.
Avetis. Armenia’s problem is Armenian. We are unable to unify. We are our own worst enemies. For instance Armenia’s inability to recognise Artsakh. Dashnak parties inability to recognise the Serves Treaty committee of Western Armenians. Tha Armenian people Armenia not recognising the political views of the Armenian Diospara. Armenian Diaspora not investing heavily in Armenia. These are problems not originated from outside. These are problems we alone can solve with unity.
Well, lets see what the next election brings to the leaderships of Haiastan.
Former personages of from the communistic mentality shall be more of the same as Haiastan has had for all these 20 years!! How sad!! Are there not any patriots in Armenia… Brave and honest men/women needed who care about citizens of Haiastan – not filling their own pockets from Der Bedrossian until today – all same… to hell giving the citizens of Haiastan honesty in government – which our bretheren are due and are worthy!!
I just like to make a comment that for over almost a century we have been saying we are too small, we aren’t small let me remind you. It’s not the size of a country that should matter, but the ones ability, lets take a look at Israel, its heck smaller than Armenia, but its more politically advanced than Armenia, so why do you think they are more successful? Its because they have a community that is not divided like us. Lets face it, its the truth just like Fred at the bottom said, we are our worst enemies. Its time for Armenia to reconstruct its inside because for any wall to stand up one it will need a foundation and two good walls to hold everything together.
The only reason America has more chess players is because we have a larger population. If every 40 of 100 Americans play chess but for 100 Americans there are only 10 Armenians(a scaled down ratio), and the same percentage play chess, then only 4 would play chess and the 40 chess playing Americans would overwhelm the Armenian population of 10. Same with other countries with the exception of China, Russia, and a few others who have big financial support from the government. Maybe if you knew some math you would realize that your statement is wrong. Also, many other countries have also produced great athletes and artists- more than from Armenia! Armenia is not a bad country, but they are not way superior to other countries!
Bravo!!!
Does that mean that the Armenians are the smartest people on earth? it’s interesting to note that Armenia and Azerbaidjian came to a draw. I can’t help wondering; recent DNA studies show that the two are genetically identical. As is the case with Armenians and Assyrians. What does this all mean?
Greatest Chess Player of all time, Garry Kasparov, had an Armenian mother and a Jewish father. Father abandoned him when Garry was child; mother raised him – so he took mothers maiden name for himself.
Kasparov was born in Baku. The term ‘Azeri’ has no more genetic value than the term ‘Soviet Man’: its a political, not a natural term. As to Azeri chess players: most likely are Jews, or have Jewish or Armenian lineage. There is no such thing as ‘Azeri’ genealogy. How many famous Tatar or Turk chess players do you know of ? In the former Soviet Union, where there was an open field to achievement for all nationalities, the overwhelming majority of Chess Grandmasters were ethnic Russians, Jews, and Armenians.
His mother is still alive and apparently lives with him according to an article written about his political activity in a reputable newspaper last year.
Link to those studies please.
Also Armenia and the US also came to a draw, what does that mean? Nothing special really.
In any way, it does not mean anything like your first sentence suggests. There is a lot of individual strenght, team spiriti and a traditional shkola involved.
There was a very interesting article in the ” The Independent” about chess and Armenia. You can read the entire article online if you wish under the following title: In Armenia chess is king and grandmasters are stars
Thursday, 13 May 2010.
Great job! And I agree with Avetis’ statement above.
Last 10 years of WTCC
Russia 2 – 1 – 1 – 0
Armenia 3 – 3 – 0 – 1
Ukraine 1 – 0 – 0 – 3
China 0 – 2 – 0 – 2
USA 0 – 0 – 2 – 0
India 0 – 0 – 3 – 0
Grandmasters per capita:
Armenia 1:97.000
Ukraine 1:500.000
Russia 1:600.000
USA 1:4.300.000
China 1:47.000.000
India 1:50.000.000
Finally compare population (Russia 140 mil, US 310 mil, India 1.100 mil, China 1.400 mil, Ukraine 45 mil and Armenia 2.5 mil), not to talk about GDP.
Very interesting . Thank you.
In the article written about this in ” The Guardian” 29/7/2011 under the title ” Armenia replace England in punching above their weight” ,the author asks: how do they do it? but I guess it would be too much to admit the real reason why Armenians are such high achievers. The article also had provided no comment section , in case someone did come up with the correct reply.
Long Live Armenia!
Its the genes… the Armenian genes!!
Yes, my sentiments exactly!
put these people in the military!
“Armenia replace England in punching above their weight”
•Leonard Barden
•guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 July 2011 16.51 BST
•Article history
This brief article makes interesting reading. It is surprising that a major event like this has had the minimum coverage in the British newspapers at least!
I am so proud of our boys, this demonstrates once again that armenians can work together as a team and be victorious!
Whatever they do, an Armenian is the best by the simple fact that he is Armenian.
but …
Only necessary thing is his really wants.
Although I am not Armenian, I express in this way all due respect, for the smartest people on earth. One of the smallest country, with most of the greatest genius. Long life ARMENIA !!!