INDO-ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP NGO
Relationship Inspired
Third Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament.
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On the 27th of May, 2019, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO in association with the Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi and with the support of the Embassy of India in Armenia organized the third Indo-Armenian Friendship Tournament at the Silk Road Hotel, Yerevan.
Like in the previous two tournaments held in 2015 and 2017 respectively, the championship was organized in a team format, where two teams, an Armenian Team and an Indian Team comprising of 10 players each competed with each other for the winner’s trophy.
The Indian team comprised of the Indian Students of Yerevan State Medical University, while the Armenian team was formed by a group of young chess enthusiasts and players, including youngsters from the National Chess
Academy- Echmiatsin Branch, members of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO and other chess lovers.
The tournament was inaugurated by Mr Shambu Amitabh, HOC of the Embassy of India in Armenia, Mr Rananjay Anand, Co-Founder and President of the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO and Dr Rahul Sethi, representative of the Yerevan State Medical University.
In his opening remark, IAF President Mr Rananjay Anand welcomed all the players and guests to the third Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Championship and touched upon the importance of Chess in both India and Armenia. Touching upon the historic ties that both nations share, Mr Anand laid emphasis on the importance of involving sports in the process of strengthening the bond between India and Armenia and thanked the Indian Embassy and the Yerevan State Medical University for their continued support and cooperation to IAF.
Mr Shambu Amitabh, HOC of the Embassy of India in Yerevan congratulated IAF on organizing the tournament for the third time and urged IAF to make the tournament an annual event, instead of it being a biennial, so that the tournament becomes more popular and attracts many more participants. According to Mr Amitabh, Chess is a wonderful sport through which friendships can be forged and strengthened, as unlike the other popular sports like soccer, the players and fans of the game never create a nuisance and always play and enjoy the game in a positive and friendly atmosphere.
Dr Rahul Sethi in his turn extended his congratulations to the organizers of the tournament and expressed his happiness and pride that the Yerevan State Medical University is involved for the third time in making the tournament a success. Dr Sethi also re-assured that YSMU is always ready to support in every way possible in the future and also expressed his personal willingness to cooperate in any activity in the future aimed at strengthening Indo-Armenian ties and strengthening the bond between the two countries and their citizens.
Before the tournament kicked off, Mr Roman Akopov from the National Chess Academy, who had very kindly agreed to be the judge of the day explained the rules and the format to the players and assigned each of them a partner to play against. Each player played four games and the results were added to the total team score to determine the winning team.
The room was filled with enthusiasm and good sporting spirit, and while all players played well, in the end, there could only be one winning team.
After two-hour long competition, the Armenian team was able to collect higher points and was declared the winner of the Third Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament.
At the end of the tournament, all the players were given certificates, medals and the respective trophy won by the team.
The students playing on behalf of the Indian Team were given the silver medals and the runner-up trophy, while the Armenian team won the gold medals and the main winners trophy. What mattered to all was the amazing time they had in a friendly Indo-Armenian Atmosphere.
IAF Co-Founders Mr Rananjay Anand and Mrs Ruzanna Ashughyan and IAF General Secretary Mrs Lusine Toroyan distributed the medals, certificates and trophies to all the participants and congratulated them for their participation and the wonderful show of sportsmanship. Certificates of appreciation were also given to the Indian Embassy in Armenia, Yerevan State Medical University, Silk Road Hotel, Mr. Roman Akopov of the National Chess Academy and the head coach of the Echmiatsin Branch of the National Chess Academy for their support and cooperation in making the tournament a success.
Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO thanks all our volunteers, supporters and well-wishers for their continued support and encouragement.
Long-Live Indo-Armenian Friendship.
