Gabriel Sargissian
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Gabriel Eduardi Sargissian ( hy, Գաբրիել Էդուարդի Սարգսյան, ''Gabriel Eduardi Sargsyan''; born 3 September 1983) is an Armenian
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
grandmaster. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team at the
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
s in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and at the
World Team Chess Championship The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent. It is played every two years. In chess, this tournament and the Chess Olympiads ...
in 2011. Sargissian was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal in June 2006 and awarded the Honoured Master of Sport of the Republic of Armenia title in 2009.


Early years

Sargissian was born in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
on 3 September 1983 and was taught to play chess by his grandfather when he was 6. He won the
World Youth Chess Championship The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cade ...
(under 14) in 1996 and the
European Youth Chess Championship The European Youth Chess Championship is organized by the European Chess Union (ECU) in groups under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years old. The first tournament was held in 1991, and the under 8 category was introduced in 2007. Until 2002 there was als ...
(under 16) in 1998. In the same year he became an
International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
.


Career

Sargissian won the
Armenian Chess Championship This is a list of all the winners of the Armenian Chess Championship. The first championship was played in 1934, when Armenia was a part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. Championships were held sporadically in the Armenian SSR until 1945, when they beca ...
in 2000 and 2003. He took part in the
FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 The FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13, 2004. It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½–3½. He won about US$100,000 and ...
, but was eliminated in the first round by
Sergei Tiviakov Sergei Tiviakov (russian: Серге́й Тивяков; born 14 February 1973) is a Russian–Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a three-time Dutch Champion and was European Champion in 2008. Chess career Tiviakov won the World Under-18 Champion ...
. Sargissian was victorious at
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2006 and
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
2006. At the 8th Dubai Open in 2006, Sargissian scored 7/0 points, sharing first place with
Sergey Fedorchuk Sergey Fedorchuk ( ua, Сергій Федорчук, translit=Serhiy Fedorchuk; born 14 March 1981) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2002. Career In 1995 Fedorchuk won the European Youth Chess ...
and compatriot
Tigran L. Petrosian Tigran Levoni Petrosian ( hy, Տիգրան Լևոնի Պետրոսյան; born 17 September 1984) is an Chess in Armenia, Armenian chess player who holds the title of Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster, which FIDE awarded him in 2004. A two-time n ...
. In 2007 he won the
Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...
Festival (Zafra,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, March 16–25) finishing with 6.5/7, a 2½ point margin above the rest, including in particular the players Ponomariov, Sasikiran, I. Sokolov, and with a 3021 performance rating. He came in third place at the 2008 Second Ruy López International in Mérida with 4.5/7 points. In 2009 he came first in the 18th Annual Chicago Open. He qualified for the
Chess World Cup 2009 The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2012. Boris G ...
and was knocked out by Li Chao in the first round. Sargissian won the Annual Chicago Open 2012 with 7.0/9 points. In 2014, Sargissian tied for 1st–2nd with Priyadharshan Kannappan in the 23rd Annual Chicago Open. In 2015 he tied for 1st–3rd with
Pentala Harikrishna Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...
and
Laurent Fressinet Laurent Fressinet (; born 30 November 1981 in Dax) is a French chess grandmaster. He is a two-time French Chess Champion. Career He won the French Chess Championship in 2010 and 2014. In 2012 he finished second in the European Individual Chess ...
at the 2nd
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Isle of Man International Chess Tournament in
Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...
. In November 2017, Sargissian won the silver medal for individual performance on board 3 with a 2797 TPR, 6.5/9 score (+4, =5) in the
European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
. In December 2017, he shared 1st–3rd places with
Hrant Melkumyan Hrant Melkumyan ( hy, Հրանտ Մելքումյան; born April 30, 1989, in Yerevan) is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and European Blitz Champion in 2011. Chess career He won the international Internet championship organized by the ICC ches ...
and Sebastien Maze in 9th CSC London Chess Classic FIDE Open. In February 2018, he participated in the
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid and blitz event, whil ...
. He finished eighth out of ninety-two, scoring 6/9 (+3–0=6).


Team competitions

Sargissian played for Armenia in the
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
s of 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He took team bronze medal in 2002 and 2004, team gold medal in 2006, 2008 and 2012, and team silver medal em 2022. On Sargissian's performances at the Chess Olympiads, Grandmaster Peter Svidler commented in 2010: "Gabi Sargissian is a kind of Armenian Hulk: a very good, but nevertheless not brilliant player, who once every two years at the Olympiad turns into a real monster, and in many ways it was due to that metamorphosis that the Armenians twice won the Olympiad.". Svidler's comment proved to be true once again at the 2022 Chess Olympiads, where Armenia's Silver Medal was largely due to Sargissian's stellar performance in board one, where in the last decisive five rounds he scored 4.5 points, with wins over 4 grandmasters with ratings above 2700: Caruana,
Pentala Harikrishna Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...
, Mamedyarov and Shirov. Armenia won its first ever
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
at the
37th Chess Olympiad The 37th Chess Olympiad ( it, Le 37° Olimpiadi degli scacchi), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as we ...
. Sargissian played on board five for the Olympiad. The Armenia national chess team won gold ahead of China and the United States. In 2008, Sargissian won the
38th Chess Olympiad The 38th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 38. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, ...
in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
with the Armenia national Chess team, winning gold for the second time in a row at a Chess Olympiad. He played on board three and defeated Alexander Grischuk, the only win in a game with Russia, putting Armenia in the lead. Armenia ended up winning by one point ahead of Israel. In this Chess Olympiad, Sargissian won the gold medal for his individual performance on board three (+7 −0 =4 with an Elo
performance rating The PR (Performance Rating, P-rating) system was a figure of merit developed by AMD, Cyrix, IBM Microelectronics and SGS-Thomson in the mid-1990s (Cyrix announced it in February 1996) as a method of comparing their x86 processors to those of ri ...
of 2869). Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
attended the Olympiad to support the team. After the Olympiad, they flew back to Armenia with him on the presidential plane, Air Force Armenia One. Armenia and Sargissian regained their Olympiad title in 2012 at the
40th Chess Olympiad The 40th Chess Olympiad ( tr, 40. Satranç Olimpiyatı), organised 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 in Istan ...
. This was the third time Armenia won gold at the Olympiad. As the players, one of them was
Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian ( hy, Լևոն Գրիգորի Արոնյան, Levon Grigori Aronyan; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenians, Armenian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, who currently plays for the United States Chess Federation. A ches ...
, were awarded their gold medals, the Armenian national anthem ''
Mer Hayrenik "" ( hy, Մեր Հայրենիք}, ; "Our Fatherland") is the national anthem of Armenia. It was arranged by Barsegh Kanachyan; the lyrics were written by Mikayel Nalbandian. First adopted in 1918 as the anthem of the short-lived First Republic ...
'' was played and the Armenian flag was raised in Istanbul. Upon returning to Yerevan, the players were welcomed back with a ceremony by many people in the city the moment their airplane touched down in
Zvartnots Airport Zvartnots International Airport ( hy, Զվարթնոց միջազգային օդանավակայան, translit=Zvart'nots' mijazgayin ōdanavakayan) is located near Zvartnots, west of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. It acts as the main ...
. The Armenian national chess team won the
World Team Chess Championship The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent. It is played every two years. In chess, this tournament and the Chess Olympiads ...
for the first time in 2011, the tournament took place in
Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
. Sargissian played on board four. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team at the
World Team Chess Championship The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent. It is played every two years. In chess, this tournament and the Chess Olympiads ...
2011. He also played for Armenia in the
European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
s of 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, winning team silver medal in 2007 and 2015, and individual gold in 2009. Sargissian played for "CA Linex Magic Mérida" (Spain) in the 23rd
European Chess Club Cup The European Chess Club Cup is an annual chess tournament for club teams from Europe. It is organised by the European Chess Union. The competition is held with the Swiss system over seven rounds. It consists of two sections, open and women's, with e ...
in Kemer 2007, winning team gold medal. He played for "MIKA Yerevan" in the European Chess Club Cup in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.


Awards

In June 2006 Sargissian was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal, in December 2009 the Medal For Services Contributed to the Motherland and in July 2012 the Order of Honor of the Republic of Armenia.


Chess school

In 2012, together with
Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian ( hy, Լևոն Գրիգորի Արոնյան, Levon Grigori Aronyan; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenians, Armenian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, who currently plays for the United States Chess Federation. A ches ...
, Sargissian founded a chess school in Yerevan, where the most talented chess players between the ages of 10 and 18 can study.


Personal life

Sargissian is married to Liana Avoyan, an alumna of
Armenian National Agrarian University Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) ( hy, Հայաստանի Ազգային Ագրարային Համալսարան, ՀԱԱՀ), is a state university and higher educational institution based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.The universi ...
. The wedding took place on 28 June 2013 at the
Saint Sarkis Cathedral, Yerevan Saint Sarkis Cathedral ( hy, Սուրբ Սարգիս Մայր Եկեղեցի (''Surp Sarkis Mayr Yekeghetsi'')) is an Armenian cathedral in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It wa ...
, with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
in attendance.


Notable chess games


Gabriel Sargissian vs Etienne Bacrot, Ch World (under 14) 1996, Modern Defense: Two Knights, Suttles Variation (B06), 1-0Gabriel Sargissian vs Melikset Khachian, Panormo zt 1998, Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Nadanian Attack (D85) 1-0Igor Kurnosov vs Gabriel Sargissian, 6th European Individual Championship 2005, Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack (C52) 0-1Gabriel Sargissian vs Marko Tratar, European Team Chess Championships 2007, King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Benjamin Defense (E60), 1-0Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Gabriel Sargissian, 6th Aeroflot Festival 2007, Center Game: Paulsen Attack Variation (C22), 0-1Martin Neubauer vs Gabriel Sargissian, European Team Chess Championships 2007, Spanish Game: Berlin Defense, Rio Gambit Accepted (C67), 0-1Gabriel Sargissian vs Alexander Grischuk, 2008 Ol. 2008, Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto, Nimzowitsch Variation (E15), 1-0Gabriel Sargissian vs Sergey Karjakin, FIDE World Team Championship 2015, Queen's Gambit Declined: Hastings Variation (D30), 1-0


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sargissian, Gabriel 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Yerevan Chess grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors World Youth Chess Champions Armenian chess players