LAS VEGAS, Nev. (A.W.)—Armenian Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian recently won the North American Open, one of the Continental Chess Association’s largest annual tournaments. The tournament, held in Las Vegas from Dec. 26-29, 2009, attracted 613 participants in its different sections.
Nine grandmasters were among the 99 chess players in the strongest section, called the open section. Five of them tied for first place. Akobian won on tiebreak.
Earlier last year, Akobian came in fourth in the 2009 U.S. Championship, held in St. Louis, Mo.
Armenians have always had a strong presence in the game of Chess competition. Chess great Garry Kasparov has an Armenian mother and is known for breaking most world records in Chess. Garry is brillant, even tried to run for President of Russia.