View source for Varuzhan Akobian

{{short description|Armenian-American chess grandmaster (born 1983)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{distinguish|Vladimir Akopian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox chess player
| name = Varuzhan Akobian
| image = Varuzhan Akobian (2017).jpg
| caption = Akobian in 2017
| birth_name = <!-- if different -->
| country = [[Armenia]] (until 2002) <br />[[United States]] (since 2002)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1983|11|19}}
| birth_place = Yerevan, [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenian SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (2004)
| worldchampion = 
| peakrating = 2673 (June 2017)
| peakranking = No. 76 (June 2017)
| FideID = 13300580
}}

'''Varuzhan Akobian''' ({{lang-hy|Վարուժան Հակոբյան}}, born 19 November 1983 in [[Yerevan]], [[Soviet Union]]) is an Armenian-born American [[chess]] [[International Grandmaster|Grandmaster]]. Originally from [[Armenia]], he now resides in [[St. Louis]]. He played on the bronze-medal-winning U.S. team in the [[37th Chess Olympiad|2006]] and [[38th Chess Olympiad|2008]] Chess Olympiads.<ref>{{Chessgames player|51148}}</ref>

==Chess career==

Akobian, an [[Armenian American]], 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 (chess)|Grandmaster]].
 
He won the [[World Open chess tournament|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 [[Glossary of chess#Performance rating|performance rating]] of 2796.<ref>[https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic606.html#4 THE WEEK IN CHESS 606 19 June 2006]</ref> In 2007 he tied for 1st–8th with [[Hikaru Nakamura]], [[Alexander Shabalov]], [[Darmen Sadvakasov]], [[Zviad Izoria]], [[Victor Mikhalevski]], [[Magesh Chandran Panchanathan]] and [[Justin Sarkar]] in the Miami Open<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic673.html#9 |title=TWIC 673: Miami Chess Open |last=Crowther |first=Mark |date=2007-10-01 |publisher=London Chess Center |access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> and came equal first in the American Continental Championship in Cali, [[Colombia]].<ref>[https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic663.html THE WEEK IN CHESS 663 23 July 2007]</ref> This qualified him for the [[Chess World Cup 2007]], where he was eliminated in the first round. He also took part in the [[Chess World Cup 2009]] and was knocked out by [[Ruslan Ponomariov]] in the second round.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/world-cup-2009 |title=The Week in Chess: FIDE World Cup Mini-Site 2009 |last=Crowther |first=Mark |date=2009-12-15 |publisher=Chess.co.uk |access-date=16 December 2011 |archive-date=20 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020184547/http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/world-cup-2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2007, Akobian was featured on [[MTV]]'s ''[[True Life]]'' documentary series, in an episode titled "I'm a Genius".<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1044908/ "True Life" I'm a Genius (2007)], [[IMDb]] {{unreliable?|date=August 2020}}</ref>

In May 2014, he was the fifth highest-rated player in the US, with a [[FIDE]] rating of 2643.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ratings.fide.com/download.phtml?period=2014-05-01|title=May 2014: Standard rating|website=[[FIDE]]}}</ref> In that month, while playing the [[U.S. Chess Championship]] at [[Saint Louis Chess Club|Saint Louis]] he tied for first with [[Gata Kamsky]] and [[Aleksandr Lenderman]], going to a three players playoff to decide who would become champion. In an Armageddon Game he defeated Lenderman and went on to a Rapid Match against Kamsky that ended 1.5 for Kamsky to 0.5 to Akobian, granting Kamsky the title and making Akobian the runner-up in the 2014 U.S. Chess Championship.<ref>[http://www.uschesschamps.com U.S. Chess Championship Official Site]</ref>

Akobian currently serves as assistant coach for the [[Saint Louis University]] chess team.<ref>{{cite web |title=SLU Chess Team Player Profiles |url=https://www.slu.edu/life-at-slu/chess-team/about-the-team.php |publisher=Saint Louis University |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.akobian.com}}
* {{FIDE}}
* {{USCF}}
* {{Chessgames player|51148}}
* [http://www.redhotpawn.com/chess/grandmaster-games/index.php?player=Varuzhan_Akobian&masterplayerid=1176 Grandmaster Games Database - Varuzhan Akobian] at redhotpawn.com
{{Armenian GMs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akobian, Varuzhan}}
{{American chess grandmasters}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Armenian chess players]]
[[Category:American chess players]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:Armenian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Chess players from Yerevan]]