Author: Raffi Khondkarian

June 20 2023

Press release by the International Chess Federation

The Armenian team emerged victorious at the European Pair Blitz Chess Championship, which took place in Kraków on Monday. The Polish team of Oliwia Kiołbasa and Jan-Krzysztof Duda placed fourth. The Championship was an accompanying competition to the 2023 European Games and one of the biggest chess events of the year in Poland. 

The Armenian pair, women’s tournament winner Elina Danielian and the open event runner-up Shant Sargsyan, finished ahead of the teams from the Netherlands (Elina Roebers and Benjamin Bok) and Azerbaijan (Gunay Mammadzada and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov). The Polish duo tied for fourth place with Romania. They were followed in the standings by Spain, Israel and Ukraine.

Elina Danielian and Shant Sargsyan

Poland’s number one player, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, scored an impressive 5½/7 in the qualifying round but lost in both the semifinal and the final, finishing fourth in the open category. His compatriot Oliwia Kiołbasa came seventh in the women’s tournament.

“I cannot be happy with myself, as it evidently was not my day. It is a shame; I certainly expected more. I am glad so many fans came to the Kraków Opera House to support us. I am very grateful, and it was nice of them,” Kiołbasa said.

Indeed, the tournament was a real success, as hundreds of chess enthusiasts filled the audience in the Kraków Opera House. Many of them were young aspiring chess players, who came to observe the champions.

“It is a great moment, not just for Polish chess, but for the game on the European and global scale, for the tournament to be associated with the European Games. We believe chess will one day become part of the Olympic family; since we have no doubt that chess is a sport, and a very beautiful one. I am happy the event is taking place in Poland, as Polish chess is a part of the global elite. Poland loves the game; it is evident, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda is one of the faces of the 2023 European Games. Poland is a great chess nation, with competitors at a very high level,” said Dana Reizniece-Ozola, the Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management board and the first vice-president of the European Chess Union. Both these bodies greatly contributed to the organization of the Championship in Kraków.

Łukasz Turlej, FIDE Secretary General, believes that holding the European Pair Blitz Championships as an accompanying event to the European Games is an excellent opportunity for the game.

“It is a big deal for chess, not just in Poland, but also globally, since the Games in Kraków is the biggest sport events in the world this year. The chess championship held in conjunction with the Games and starting them off is a great distinction and an opportunity. It is special for a chess player to be one of the ambassadors of the Games. Jan-Krzysztof Duda is highly regarded in Kraków. Here he is very popular, which is a source of great joy for the entire chess community,” Turlej stated.

The tournament’s sponsors included Superbet, the Superbet Foundation and Mokate, all of which are strongly involved in promoting the royal game in Poland.

At the official opening, Janusz Kozioł, plenipotentiary of the mayor of Kraków for the development of physical culture and deputy CEO of the 2023 European Games, stated that Kraków wishes to present itself as a good host of major chess events. 

“It is no secret I am on good terms with the president of the European governing body and the secretary general of the global federation, and we are convinced it is necessary to take the next steps, organizing more major chess tournaments. It is much easier to make these decisions when you have a leader like Jan-Krzysztof Duda. That makes these decisions understandable to all,” Kozioł said.

Kamila Kałużna-Turcza, head of the Małopolska Chess Association and the main organizer of the Championship, echoed this sentiment:

The entire team has come a long way before we could meet in the Kraków Opera House. I am very satisfied looking at the end result. The European Pair Blitz Championship is the next step towards Kraków’s hosting more important chess tournaments. Yes, together with the city of Kraków and our friends from the Silesian Chess Association, we have plans. In 2024 we would like to host the World Team Championships.

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Los Angeles – May 29 2023

The Los Angeles City Council earlier this month unanimously approved a measure to rename an intersection in Brentwood where the consulate of Azerbaijan is located.

The intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue was designated “Republic of Artsakh Square,” named after the breakaway region of the dictatorship that has ethnic and historical ties to neighboring Armenia.

In December 2022, Azerbaijan instituted a blockade on the Republic of Artsakh, threatening the lives of thousands of people who call the region home.

The renaming of the intersection is a symbolic gesture from the City Council to protest the blockade and the Azerbaijan government, which city officials say has a “long and sordid history” of war crimes, threats of genocide and violating international law and breaching internationally recognized borders.

The proposal to rename the intersection was drafted by Council President Paul Krekorian, who was the first Armenian American elected to the city council in Los Angeles.

“Azerbaijan’s dictator has explicitly threatened genocide and called for the expulsion of all Armenians from territories he claims, once again threatening the annihilation of the Armenian people in their ancient homeland,” Krekorian said in a news release. “We have taken this action to affirm the solidarity of the people of Los Angeles with the indigenous people of Artsakh who struggle to maintain their tiny democracy in the face of oppression, violence and expansionist threats from Azerbaijan.”

Los Angeles is home to one of the largest populations of ethnic Armenians outside of Armenia, and the Republic of Artsakh is considered to be of extreme importance to the Armenian population located thousands of miles away.

Council member Traci Park co-authored the motion to designate the intersection as Republic of Artsakh Square. The intersection is located within Park’s council district, and she hopes the honor will “stand as a symbol of Artsakh’s self-determination and our unequivocal opposition to the Azerbaijani dictatorship’s unprovoked aggression to erase Armenian history and culture.”

The Republic of Artsakh was formerly known as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. However, it’s recognized by the majority of the international community, including the United States, as part of Azerbaijan. California, however, has independently recognized the Republic of Artsakh since 2014.

A view of an Azerbaijani checkpoint recently set up at the entry of the Lachin corridor, the Armenian-populated breakaway Artsakh region’s only land link with Armenia, by a bridge across the Hakari river on May 2, 2023. (Getty Images)

Its autonomy has been the subject of global conflict for decades, with Artsakh receiving support from Armenia to the west, while its existence is ignored and disputed by Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the region, which resulted in thousands of deaths. In 2020, Moscow brokered a ceasefire and posted “peacekeepers” along the Lachin corridor.

The conflict has intensified in recent months due to the ongoing blockade. The Lachin corridor is a thin mountainous roadway which is the only artery between Armenia and Artsakh. Azerbaijan has set up checkpoints along the corridor with the backing of Russia.

As part of the dedication, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation was directed to erect permanent signage to identify the intersection as Republic of Artsakh Square.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-names-intersection-in-front-of-azerbaijan-consulate-to-protest-blockade-of-artsakh/

‘Maestro’, a new application to make learning classical music more attractive and enjoyable has been launched in Armenia, developed by professional musicians Lucy Bichakhchyan and Arus Nazaryan as part of the EU-funded Artbox programme.

“Traditional methods of music education can sometimes seem dry and unappealing. These methods discourage young people, and they lose interest in music over time. That is why, while developing the application, we strived to create a game through which people can easily connect with the history and basics of classical music,” say the app’s creators.

The ‘Artbox’ programme helped the musicians fully visualise their idea and turn it into a business, understand its shortcomings, and find the best possible solutions.

The app offers many opportunities to enhance the user’s musical knowledge, including conversations with famous musicians, interactive games, music theory lessons and ear training exercises. The app is designed for anyone who loves music and wants to learn more about it, from beginners to experienced musicians. It will soon be available for the visually and hearing impaired, with text-to-speech and closed captioning options.

The ‘Artbox’ programme was developed by ‘Creative Armenia’ and is implemented in Armenia with funding from the European Union and in cooperation with AGBU Armenia within the framework of the ‘Katapult’ creative acceleration programme.

Find out more

Press release