By Marianna Martynova Armenian Championship of Game "What? Where? When?" was held in Stepanakert. It is a television intellectual game show first aired in the USSR in 1975 and still popular in the former Soviet countries. The championship was organized with the assistance of Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. This year's championship was held under the aegis of the International Association of Game Clubs "What? Where? When?" Alexei Bogoslovsky, one of the best Russian players, was invited as the host and questions' author of the Armenian tournament. We asked Tigran Kocharian - President of the Association of Armenian Experts to tell our readers about the achievements and problems of the Armenian Club of Game "What? Where? When?" and about the recent championship. Why was the Nagorno Karabakh Republic chosen as the place of this year's championship? According to a tradition, all major events are held outside Yerevan. It was the first reason. And Armenia's minister of education and science Armen Ashotian suggested the idea of holding the championship in the NKR. The second reason was the aspiration to promote in this way the intellectual movement in the NKR. How did the championship go? About 20 teams from Yerevan, Gyumri, Stepanakert and Berdzor (former Lachin) participated in the championship. It was the best championship in terms of the level of preparedness of its players. Competition was keen among the three leading Armenian teams: DAF, Hayastan, and Reload. Reload won, becoming Armenia's champion for the first time. DAF was the runner-up, and Hayastan took third place. All the three teams are qualified for the South Caucasian Championship to be held in Batumi in late July. Tell us about the Armenian Club of Game "What? Where? When?", please. The first permanent club of the game "What? Where? When?" was founded by lovers of that game in the city of Gyumri in the late 1980s. A year later a similar club was established in Yerevan. For several years there was a strong rivalry between these two clubs. The number of clubs and teams has been gradually increasing. 5 years ago such clubs appeared in Stepanakert and Berdzor as well. Each month, various face-to-face games and distant, so-called sport games are organized with the participation of teams. There is of course a TV version of the game, and after a long break, the Armenian television has resumed its airing. What is the difference between the sport game and the television game? The television format is aimed at making the game spectacular. It is the basic difference between the sport and television versions. During the Armenian television gam, players compete for the Marble Eagle - the Armenian version of the owl (in Russia), the symbol of wisdom. This year Suren Manukian won the Marble Eagle of the spring series of games. There are also some differences in the questions asked. Besides, the host of the television game show has more opportunities to manage the process of a game by asking a leading question, prompting players by the intonation of his voice. Such things are ruled out in a sport game. You also mentioned distant tournaments. What is it? We have some financial difficulty in holding face-to-face tournaments, so distant (simultaneous) tournaments, in which the teams answer the same questions while not meeting each other, are quite popular now. The members of each team gather in their club, they receive a question at the same time, discuss it and send their answer to the organizer of the tournament. In addition to financial problems (almost everybody encounters them nowadays), what other problems does the Armenian Club of Game "What? Where? When?" have? Fortunately, in recent years the state has begun paying attention to people whose greatest asset is their high intellect. Nevertheless, the minimum assistance provided by the state is not enough to solve the main problem related to proper presentation of Armenian intellectuals abroad. The Armenian teams are deprived of any opportunity to compete in major tournaments held in Russia and Ukraine, therefore the best Armenian players have no chance to become members of the Moscow Elite Television Club "What? Where? When?" Unlike Azerbaijanis who are in the limelight on Russian channels, we cannot afford it yet. However, it is no less important than the availability of money. What was the highest achievement of the Armenian Club of Game "What? Where? When?" in recent years? The highest achievement was the victory of Gyumri children's team at the 1995 CIS Championship. Does the participation in intellectual games affect the careers and lives of club members? Their abilities to rapidly find the correct answer, work in a team, and think logically - all these necessary skills and abilities help them in everyday life, work and game. It is also obvious from the fact that all club players manage sooner or later to establish a successful career. For example, the current minister of education and science Armen Ashotian was one of the leading experts of our club. The director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Hayk Demoyan also used to play in the Armenian Club of Game "What? Where? When?". Let's finish our story on this cheerful note. It remains only to wish success to our teams at the upcoming tournament in Batumi. The Noyan-Tapan Highlights

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