Armenian chess players to miss World Team Chess Championship

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s men’s and women’s teams won’t participate in World Chess Championship 2017, slated for June 16-28 in the Russian town of Khanty-Mansiysk.

According to the deputy president of the country’s chess federation, Ashot Vardapetyan, neither of the teams “have won this right.”

“A total of 10 teams participate in World Team Chess Championship in each category - the continental champions, three teams from the Baku-hosted World Chess Olympiad, the host country, the previous world champion, and one more team chosen by the FIDE president,” Vardapetyan explained.

“Our teams did not fit into these criteria.”

The men’s team has taken part in eight previous tournaments, snatching one gold and four bronze medals overall. The women’s team, however, has claimed no medals at four championships it participated in before.

Chess lessons are part of the school curriculum in every public school in Armenia, making it the first country in the world to make chess mandatory in schools.