YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The member of the Armenian Men’s Chess Team Gabriel Sargissian continues successful performance at Chicago open.

Armenian GM Gabriel Sargissian has scored 6,5 points after eight rounds and is solely leading at the open that is being held in Chicago, USA. The other 5 pretenders, which occupy the rest of the top positions, have scored only 6 points each. As reports ”Armenpress”, the official website of the Chess Federation of Armenia stated this.

Gabriel Sargissian is an Armenian chess player and International Grandmaster of Chess (2002). He was a member of the gold-medal winning Armenian team at the chess Olympiads in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and at the World Team Chess Championship in 2011.

Sargissian was born in Yerevan on 3 September 1983 and was taught to play chess by his grandfather when he was 6. He won the World Youth Chess Championship (under 14) in 1996 and the European Youth Chess Championship (under 16) in 1998. In the same year he became an International Master.

Sargissian won the Armenian Chess Championship in 2000 and 2003. He took part in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, but was eliminated in the first round by Sergei Tiviakov. Sargissian was victorious at Reykjavík 2006 and Dubai 2006. In 2007 he won the Ruy Lopez Festival (Zafra, Spain, March 16–25) finishing with 6.5/7, a point-and-a-half above the rest including in particular super players Ponomariov,Sasikiran, I. Sokolov. In 2009 he came first in the 18th Annual Chicago Open. He qualified for the Chess World Cup 2009 and was knocked out by Li Chao in the first round.

On the January 2012 FIDE list his Elo rating is 2683. His handle on the Internet Chess Club is "ARM-AKIBA".

Sargissian played for Armenia in the Chess Olympiads of 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. He took team bronze medal in 2002 and 2004 and team gold medal in 2006, 2008 and 2012. In the 2008 Chess Olympiad he won the gold medal for his individual performance on board three (+7 −0 =4 with an Eloperformance rating of 2869). He was a member of the gold-medal winning Armenian team at the World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo 2011. He also played for Armenia in the European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009 and 2011, winning team silver medal in 2007 and individual gold in 2009. Sargissian played for "MIKA Yerevan" in the European Chess Club Cupin 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and played for "CA Linex Magic Mérida" (Spain) in the 23rd European Chess Club Cup in Kemer 2007, winning team gold medal.

In June 2006 Sargissian was awarded the Khorenatsi medal, in December 2009 the Medal For Services Contributed to the Motherland and in July 2012 the Order of Honor of the Republic of Armenia.