Chess in Armenia

As of August 2021, Armenia ranks seventh in the world by the average rating of its top players.

[18] In modern Eastern Armenian, the variation used in Armenia, chess is known as šaxmat շախմատ ([ʃɑχmɑt]).

[23] Chess is mentioned in manuscripts from the 12th–13th centuries, kept in the Matenadaran in Yerevan, including by Vardan Areveltsi and Mkhitar Anetsi.

[24][16] Until the mid-20th century villagers in Shenavan, in the Aparan area, used homemade chess figures similar to medieval ones.

[27] In 1926-27, chemist Simon Hovyan (1869-1942) spearheaded an initiative to introduce sections dedicated to chess in numerous Armenian newspapers.

The women's championship was also held the same year, Sirush Makints and Margarita Mirza-Avagian shared the champion title.

In 1963 Petrosian became the World Chess Champion, defeating Mikhail Botvinnik, another Soviet representative.

Petrosian's victory not only popularized the game of chess, but also "led to an outpouring of patriotic fervour" in the smallest Soviet republic.

[30] Besides being World Champion for six years (1963 to 1969), Petrosian won the Chess Olympiad nine times with the Soviet team (1958 to 1974).

By 1986 the number of chess players had increased to 50,000, including three grandmasters: Rafael Vaganian, Smbat Lputian, and Arshak Petrosian.

[50] In 2011, the Ministry of Education of Armenia made chess part of the primary school curriculum along with such standards as math and history for children over the age of 6.

[53] Grandmaster Smbat Lputian argued that "bringing chess into schools is the best way to build the future.

[59] On December 12, 2019 the United Nations (UN) designated 20 July as World Chess Day as proposed by the Armenian delegation.

Most notably, in 1985, Garry Kasparov, born in Baku, Soviet Azerbaijan to an Armenian mother and Russian Jewish father,[66] became World Champion.

[67] Other notable Armenian diaspora chess players include[68] Sergei Movsesian (Czech Republic, Slovakia), Yury Dokhoian[69] and David Paravyan (Russia), Levon Ashotovich Grigorian (Uzbekistan), Tatev Abrahamyan, Samuel Sevian, Varuzhan Akobian, Melikset Khachiyan and Levon Aronian (United States), Dina Kagramanov and Natalia Khoudgarian (Canada), José Bademian Orchanian (Uruguay), Krikor Mekhitarian (Brazil), Knarik Mouradian (Lebanon).

It was founded in 2002 by the initiative of Grandmaster Smbat Lputian and supported by then-Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

Championships were held sporadically in the Armenian SSR until 1945, when they became an annual event; this practice has been continued in independent Armenia.

[29] In 1972, the magazine Chess in Armenia (Շախմատային Հայաստան Shakhmatayin Hayastan) was founded by Gaguik Oganessian.

[73] In 1972, the TV show Chess-64 (originally named Chess School) started to be aired by the Public Television of Armenia.

Hosted by Gaguik Oganessian, it is the "longest lived program series" in the channel's history.