Varuzhan Akobian ties against Pentala Harikrishna in 6th tour of Corus Chess 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yesterday, January 22, 6th tour of the 72nd Corus Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee (Holland) was held.



In the 6th tour, grandmaster group B participant, Armenian chess player Varuzhan Akobian (US) tied against Pentala Harikrishna (India).



Having scored 1,5 points, Varuzhan Akobian shares 13-14 places with Dimitri Reinderman (Holland).



In the 7th tour, Varuzhan Akobian will play against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania).



Varuzhan Akobian (born November 19, 1983) is an American Grandmaster of chess, originally from Armenia, who now resides in Los Angeles.



He became an International Master at age 16. In 2001, he moved to the United States and one week after his 20th birthday in November, 2003, earned the title of Grandmaster.



Akobian won the World Open tournament in Philadelphia on three separate occasions; he shared first place in 2002 and won it outright in 2004 and 2007. In 2006 he tied for first in the San Marino tournament with a performance rating of 2796.



He played on the bronze medal winning USA team in the 2006 and 2008 Chess Olympiads.

In 2007, Akobian came equal first in the American Continental Championship in Cali, Colombia. This qualified him for the Chess World Cup 2007, where he was eliminated in the first round.



As of November 2009, he is the sixth highest rated player in the USA, with a rating of 2624.

In 2007, Akobian was featured on MTV's True Life documentary series, in an episode titled "I'm a Genius".



Corus Chess 2010, the 72nd Corus Chess tournament is held from 15 January - 31 January 2010 in Wijk aan Zee.