Chess Festival Held at the National Assembly

On July 20, a chess festival titled "Chess Swallows" was held in the garden of the National Assembly of Armenia, dedicated to the International Chess Day, as reported by the press service of the National Assembly.

The event organized in parliament was attended by deputies of the National Assembly, as well as more than 120 young chess enthusiasts from various regions of Armenia and the Diaspora.

Also present at the chess festival was Vibeke Ekeland Bronn, the president of the Scandinavian Chess Federation, who followed the games.

Welcoming the participants, Mikayel Hayrapetyan, the chairman of the National Assembly's standing committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth, and Sports, emphasized the significance of the event organized by the National Assembly on the occasion of International Chess Day, noting that it aims to promote further dissemination and development of chess in Armenia.

According to the committee chairman, such events will continue, and the parliament will encourage the spread of sports through various tournaments. The tournament consisted of 7 rounds, with 10 minutes allocated for each game.

For several hours in the garden of the parliament, a competition unfolded among enthusiasts of the intellectual game, resulting in the following top three placements: Robert Piliposyan took first place, Robert Muradyan secured second place, and Benik Agasaryan came in third.

The winners of the tournament were congratulated and awarded trophies, certificates, and gratitude from Mikayel Hayrapetyan. Certificates of appreciation were also awarded to referees Tigran Gasparyan, Gevorg Muradyan, and Vahagn Khachatryan for their excellent organization and management of the festival.

Furthermore, thanks were given to Norair Kalantaryan, the executive director of the Yerevan Chess Federation, for supporting the organization of the "Chess Swallows" tournament.

International Chess Day has been celebrated since 1966. The idea to create the holiday was proposed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), which was established on July 20, 1924, in Paris. According to some FIDE data, there are approximately 605 million adults worldwide who continuously play chess.