Head coach of the team Arshak Petrosyan told Mediamax Sport that the players are in a good mood ahead of the tournament.

“We have both physical and chess training. We start with the exercises in the morning and continue with chess playing and analysis in the second half of the day. We haven’t been to a team championship for around two years, but we’re all in a good mood. Naturally, it won’t be easy, the strongest teams will be competing there,” said Petrosyan.

Four team members are veterans: Levon Aronian, Gabriel Sargsyan, Sergey Movsisyan, and Hrant Melkumyan. They’ve been playing for the national team for many years now. The newbie is this year’s Armenian champion Hovhannes Gabuzyan, who’s been called to the team for the first time. “Hovhannes is a great guy. He makes fast, smart moves. We’ll see how he performs,” said Petrosyan.

The Armenia team will travel to Crete on October 26. The European Team Championship will kick off on October 27 and finish on November 7.