“Poor in spirits without chess” Serzh Sargsyan

The 5th tournament of “Grand Prix” FIDE chess championship, dedicated to Tigran Petrosyan, ended yesterday. The president of RA Serzh Sargsyan was also present in the closing ceremony. Gevorg Danielyan, the Minister of Justice of RA, Armen Harutyunyan, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Armenia and Armen Grigoryan, the RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs were among the guests.

The official ceremony of awarding the winners followed the concert. The President of RA congratulated the participants and winners, outlining the importance of the championship as it was held for the great chess player Tigran Petrosyan and took place in Armenia.

“Today we close the 5th tournament of “Grand Prix” FIDE chess championship. It happens so that interesting and pleasant moments come to an end. I am really happy that the struggle was serious and persistent. I am sure that the specialists will analyze the games and will give their estimations, but the first impression is that the championship was an interesting one”, - said Serzh Sargsyan.

He also stated that the championship was a celebration not only for Armenians but also for chess fans. He thanked FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for the cooperation, and mentioned that recently a very serious cooperation had been established between FIDE and the Armenia Chess Federation, and it was prospering and would reach its pick.

The president thanked all those who were following the games, taking part in organizations, and the chess players who made the championship magnificent.

“There is one thing that makes us unified: love to chess, and this unification always gives the expected results”,-said Serzh Sargsyan. He wished the grandmasters new victories and to reach all that has not been reached in Jermuk”.

“I am sure that your best games are still ahead, and you are to make us happy, to show perfect games, because without nice games something will be missing in the world. We will have poor spirits without chess”, - emphasized RA President.

Later Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Vasily Ivanchuk on victory.

Concluding his speech Serzh Sargsyan said. “I am really happy that we managed to glorify Tigran Petrosyan. This was also his festival, the festival of his dreams and ideals. We would not be able to have the nowadays chess in Armenia without T. Petrosyan. Glory to T. Petrosyan and I bend down before his commemoration”.

Vardan Petrosyan ,T. Petrosyan’s son, awarded Boris Gelfand, the third position, with a souvenir. The vice president of FIDE, Jeffrey Borg, awarded Levon Aronyan, the second position, mentioning that the points gained by him were considerably different from those of other chess players and he is considered the winner of Grand Prix for present.

Vasily Ivanchuk, the winner of Jermuk championship, was awarded 30.000 euros. The symbolic cheque was given by RA President.