YEREVAN, MAY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The Chess House in Yerevan hosted a chess tournament between the teams of Anania Shirakatsy Lycee and the French University in Armenia. Initiated by the chairs of physical education of the two educational institutions, the tournament aimed to develop chess in Armenia as well as to promote large-scale participation in chess competitions and bring students and pupils closer together. Among the participants were six eighth, ninth, and tenth graders who had been the winners of the Lycee chess competition, and six students of the French University in Armenia. Zaven Andreasian - the winner of the under-20 world chess championship, conducted a multi-board chess play with them. The young Grand Master was playing simultaneoulsy against all the participants on 14 chessboards. The play lasted for almost two hours. The students and schoolchildren were stubbornly resisting Z. Andreasian's attacks, but only 2 out of the 14 participants managed to defeat him, namely David Barghutian, a first-year student of the Management Faculty of the French University in Armenia, and Gegham Vardanian, a first-year student of the Faculty of Trade and Marketing of the same university. Tenth grader Gor Chobanian upheld the honor of the pupils: he was the last participant to lose. At the end of the play Zaven Andreasian confessed that there were good chess players among the competitors, and he was surprised at and pleased with this fact. Then a short competition was held between the pupils and the students. The participants' passion for chess and their mutual respect won. Susanna Hoveyan, Head of the Healthy Lifestyle and Physical Education Chair of Shirakatsy Lycee, told NT correspondent that in the course of a year, they conduct physical culture lessons (102 hours), in addition, many pupils are involved in out-of-school groups (table tennis and chess). Each school year the Lycee organizes sporting events on 5 kinds of sports: table tennis, chess, vollleyball, basketball, and track and field athletics. S. Hoveyan said that the difference in age and experience among the participants certainly play a considerable role, but their participation and closer ties are no less important than the results of a contest. In the opinion of Yervand Hakobian, an instructor of Physical Education and Sports Chair of the French University, the aspiration to uphold the sport honor of their own educational institution has a special moral significance for the rising generation. The French University has a good tradition of participating in such contests: about two months ago, a similar tournament was held with the team of Yerevan State University (YSU). The YSU team won by a slim margin (6.5-5.5). According to Y. Hakobian, from the second year of their studies, the students of the French University choose some or another kind of sports and attend the respective group. The chess group is one of the most popular ones: it includes over 60 students, with girls being quite active. Director of Anania Shirakatsy Lycee Ashot Alikhanian welcomed the fact of holding such tournaments: "I am glad to see a student playing chess with a pupil: it means that the student considers that pupil as an equal rival. This is exactly what we strive for. We want our pupils to realize that they are future students. They should try to resemble the students of Armenia's leading universities".

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