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Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Jan 1 2005
A hometown chess prodigy
Gledale's Tatev Abrahamyan, 16, finished in second place at the U.S.
Chess Championships last month.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
DOWNTOWN GLENDALE - When Tatev Abrahamyan entered the 2005 U.S. Chess
Championship in late November, her confidence was a bit shaken. She
had just returned from Greece, where she competed in the World Youth
Champ- ionships, and struggled to a 16th-place finish.
Turns out the Greek tragedy just increased the Southern California
drama.
Tatev, a junior at Clark Magnet High School, finished second in the
women's division at the U.S. Champ- ionship, winning $9,200 and
cementing her reputation as a rising star in the competitive chess
world.
"I got in better shape as I played one tournament after another,"
Tatev said. "I got in shape in Greece."
Tatev began playing chess eight years ago, when her family lived in
Yerevan, Armenia. She saw her father play, and the game caught her
interest. Then her father took her to the Chess Olympiad, the chess
version of the Olympics, and before long she was taking lessons and
playing competitively.
Her family moved from Yerevan to Glendale three years ago to escape
poor conditions. She never joined the chess club at Clark Magnet,
instead playing in tournaments with a private coach. She tried out
for the United States' Olympiad team this year and didn't qualify,
but chess experts believe she will be there eventually.
"She's a very good thinker," said John Henderson, press officer for
America's Foundation for Chess who attended the U.S. Championships.
"She doesn't get flustered, which is a great help, if you're a
serious chess player. She's not easily riled. If she loses, she takes
it in stride and gets ready for the next game. That's a good
attribute to take when you're playing chess.
"There are a lot of prodigies in chess, and she's one of them. She
has a bright future."
At the U.S. Championships, Tatev played one six-hour game per day for
nine consecutive games, going 4-4-1 against both male and female
competition. She matched Rusudan Goletiani, 24, of Hartsdale, N.Y.,
for the best women's score, forcing a tie-breaker.
Goletiani beat Tatev in two 25-minute matches to win the women's
title.
"I was really nervous and very tired," Tatev said. "The game didn't
go well."
But Tatev knows she'll have plenty more chances. After she graduates
from Clark Magnet, she's considering taking a year off to focus on
chess. Eventually, she might become a coach.
"I like playing," Tatev said. "I like the fighting, I like coming up
with new ideas, I like being better than other people."
LATimes.com
Jan 1 2005
A hometown chess prodigy
Gledale's Tatev Abrahamyan, 16, finished in second place at the U.S.
Chess Championships last month.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
DOWNTOWN GLENDALE - When Tatev Abrahamyan entered the 2005 U.S. Chess
Championship in late November, her confidence was a bit shaken. She
had just returned from Greece, where she competed in the World Youth
Champ- ionships, and struggled to a 16th-place finish.
Turns out the Greek tragedy just increased the Southern California
drama.
Tatev, a junior at Clark Magnet High School, finished second in the
women's division at the U.S. Champ- ionship, winning $9,200 and
cementing her reputation as a rising star in the competitive chess
world.
"I got in better shape as I played one tournament after another,"
Tatev said. "I got in shape in Greece."
Tatev began playing chess eight years ago, when her family lived in
Yerevan, Armenia. She saw her father play, and the game caught her
interest. Then her father took her to the Chess Olympiad, the chess
version of the Olympics, and before long she was taking lessons and
playing competitively.
Her family moved from Yerevan to Glendale three years ago to escape
poor conditions. She never joined the chess club at Clark Magnet,
instead playing in tournaments with a private coach. She tried out
for the United States' Olympiad team this year and didn't qualify,
but chess experts believe she will be there eventually.
"She's a very good thinker," said John Henderson, press officer for
America's Foundation for Chess who attended the U.S. Championships.
"She doesn't get flustered, which is a great help, if you're a
serious chess player. She's not easily riled. If she loses, she takes
it in stride and gets ready for the next game. That's a good
attribute to take when you're playing chess.
"There are a lot of prodigies in chess, and she's one of them. She
has a bright future."
At the U.S. Championships, Tatev played one six-hour game per day for
nine consecutive games, going 4-4-1 against both male and female
competition. She matched Rusudan Goletiani, 24, of Hartsdale, N.Y.,
for the best women's score, forcing a tie-breaker.
Goletiani beat Tatev in two 25-minute matches to win the women's
title.
"I was really nervous and very tired," Tatev said. "The game didn't
go well."
But Tatev knows she'll have plenty more chances. After she graduates
from Clark Magnet, she's considering taking a year off to focus on
chess. Eventually, she might become a coach.
"I like playing," Tatev said. "I like the fighting, I like coming up
with new ideas, I like being better than other people."