Chess Grandmaster Melik Khachiyan

U.S. National Olympiad Chess Team Coach
U.S. Senior Chess Champion
The Strongest Active Chess Coach in California

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Dec 27, 2023 2023 has been a great year for Grand Master Khachiyan. Besides winning the US Senior Championships himself, as well as coaching in various prestige international tournaments, GM Khachiyan also helped many players, especially youth players, to make tramendous progress in chess. Here are a few to mention:
Michael Li, 13, NY, became US National Master
Jasmine Su, 13, CT, became US National Master
Carter Ho, 12, NY, became US National Master, 2300+

Nov 25, 2023 GM Khachiyan was appointed by US Chess Federation to coach the US youth chess team in the 2023 World Youth Chess Championships held during 12th~25th November 2023, in Montesilvana, Italy. Under GM Khachiyan's guidance, FM & WGM Rochelle Wu won silver medal in the Girls Under 18 section. See details ☛.

Sep 15, 2023 The US Women's Chess Team led by FST & GM Khachiyan attended the 2023 FIDE World Women's Team Championship, from Sep 5 to 12, 2023 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The team competed well against strong teams such as Bulgaria, China, Germany, Ukraine, and tied for the 3rd place. See details ☛.

Player Rating Win Tie Loss
WGM T. Abrahamyan 2377 2 1 1
IM A. Wang 2356 2 1 1
FM A. Lee 2350 3 1 1
IM A. Zatonskih 2275 1 1 1
WGM A. Pourkashiyan 2254 1 3 0

Aug 5, 2023 GM Khachiyan's student, 12 year old Jasmine Su became the co-champion of the 13th Annual Dewain Barber National Tournament of U.S. Middle School State Champions, held during July 29-August 1, 2023, at DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Su's outstanding performence in this tournament also earned her a USCF National Master title. After the event, GM Khachiyan also received a thank-you letter from NM Su's family. See details ☛.

Aug 2, 2023 GM Khachiyan's exciting chess games in the 2023 US Senior Championships has been published on chess.com. details ☛.

July 23, 2023 GM Khachiyan took the first place in the 2023 US Senior Championships held in Saint Louis Chess Club, from July 15 to July 23. See details ☛.

Apr 3, 2023 GM Khachiyan's student FM Sharvesh Deviprasath tied for the first place in the 2023 US NationaL High School Championships held during March 31-April 2 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. See details ☛.

Mar 22, 2023 GM Khachiyan has been named the 2023 University of Texas at Dallas Chess Educator of the Year by the UT Dallas Chess Program. See details ☛.

Feb 12, 2023 GM Khachiyan is working on a chess hand book, to provide a practical systems players can follow. See the book in development ☛.

Dec 22, 2022 GM Khachiyan's students Vyom and Omya Vidyarthi competed in the U20 North American Youth Championship in Mexico City, MEX during December 2~6. Vyom scored 7.5/9, took the champion of U20-Open and earned his 2nd GM norm. His sister Omya scored 8/9, tied for the first place in U20-Girls, and earned a WIM title. See details ☛.

Nov 22, 2022 FST & GM Khachiyan will conduct another senior level trainer seminar and workshop for FIDE for the North & Central America region, during December 2~4.See details ☛.

Oct 20, 2022 GM Khachiyan's students WIM Ashritha Eswaran and FM Ruiyang Yan competed in the 2022 US Women's Championship in Saint Louis, MO during Oct 1~20. WIM Eswaran scored 3.5 points, while the 14-year-old FM Yan scored 7.5 points and took the fourth place among 14 attendees. See details ☛.

Sep 30, 2022 GM Khachiyan has been conducting group chess lessons on weekly basis for Chessable Academy. See details ☛.

Aug 10, 2022 In The FIDE World Women's Chess Olympiad, from July 28 to August 9, 2022 in Chennai, India, the US Women's Team led by FST & GM Khachiyan had an outstanding performance and took the 4th place out of 162 delegations. See details ☛.

Player Rating Win Tie Loss
WGM Tokhirjonova G. 2329 4 6 0
GM Krush I. 2430 6 3 1
IM Yip C. 2416 6 0 3
IM Zatonskih A. 2383 3 2 1
WGM Abrahamyan T. 2291 6 2 1

July 12, 2022 GM Khachiyan's student, 12 year-old C. Levitan was tied for first place in the U16 Open section of the African Youth Championships in Lusaka, Zambia during July 2-9th, 2022, thus earned an FIDE Master title. Meanwhile his twin brother J. Levitan obtained a bronze medal in the the U12 Open section and was awarded a candidate master title. See details ☛.

July 9, 2022 In the 9-round XXXII Pan Am Youth Chess Championships at Montevideo, Uruguay, during June 25 to July 2, 2022, GM Khachiyan's students had a very strong performance, earning two gold medals and one silver medal.

Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U18 Open V. Vyom 2391 6 3 0 1 Gold
U14 Girls S. Arivoli 1291 4 1 4 13 15
U12 Girls J. Su 1891 7 2 0 1 Silver
U12 Girls V. Omya 1872 8 1 0 2 Gold

Jul 4, 2022 After FST & GM Khachiyan has successfully organized and conducted a FIDE Trainer Online Seminar for North and Central America on behalf of FIDE International Training Commission, during May 20~22, 2022, he is planning another similar seminar taking place during Aug 26~28, 2022. See details ☛.

Jul 1, 2022 GM Khachiyan is once again chosen by the US Chess Federation to be a member of the US Delegation as a coach, to the XXXII Pan-American Youth Chess Championship, at Montevideo, Uruguay, during June 25 to July 2, 2022. See details ☛.

Jun 27, 2022 GM Khachiyan's student WIM Ashritha Eswaran had an outstanding performance in the National Open Chess Tournament in Las Vegas NV, during the period of June 8~12, 2022. She scored 6 points out of 9 in the master session of the competition, and improved her FIDE rating to 2394. See details ☛.

Jun 1, 2022 FST & GM Khachiyan is once again chosen by the US Chess Federation to be the captain for the US Women's Team to participate in The FIDE World Women's Chess Olympiad, taking place July 28-August 10, 2022 in Chennai, India. See details ☛.

May 28, 2022 FST & GM Khachiyan has successfully organized and conducted a FIDE Trainer Online Seminar for North and Central America on behalf of FIDE International Training Commission, from May 20th-22th, 2022 to a list of high level veteran chess trainers. See details ☛.

Jan 15, 2022 GM Khachiyan's student WIM Ashritha Eswaran has successfully passed the 2300 rating threshold and officially became a FIDE Master. See details ☛.

Dec 11, 2021 While the pandemic has yet to completely end, GM Khachiyan continues to coach the top young players through the group online chess lessons in North American Class Club. See details ☛.

Nov 28, 2021 GM Khachiyan partipated in the 57th American Open in California during Nov 24~27. He scored 6 points in 8 rounds of competion, and took the first place, for the 8th time in history. GM Khachiyan's student WIM Ashritha Eswaran also scored 6 points and took the second place in the tournament. See details ☛.

Oct 25, 2021 GM Khachiyan's student WIM Ashritha Eswaran attended the 2021 US Women's Championship in Saint Louis, MO during Oct 5~19. She scored 6 points, and tied for the fourth place. See details ☛.

Sep 7, 2021 GM Khachiyan's former student IM Christopher Yoo had an amazing performance in the LABOR DAY 2021 CCCSA GM/IM NORM INVITATIONAL tournament. He scored a 4-win, 5-draw, & 0-loss, thus took the first place in the Group A and secreted a GM Norm. IM Yoo studied chess with GM Khachiyan for years and rose above 2300 rating. See details ☛.

Aug 8, 2021 Congratulations to GM Khachiyan's student IM Annie Wang, who has won big in the 2021 U.S. Girls Junior Chess Championships in Saint Louis during late July. After 9 rounds of competition, Wang scored 7/9 with 6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, thus took the first place in this prestige national event. See details ☛.

June 8, 2021 GM Khachiyan's student IM Annie Wang will attend the 2021 US Girls Junior Invitational tournament, during the period of July 15~26, 2021 at Saint Louis Chess Club. See details ☛.

June 7, 2021 GM Khachiyan will attend the 2021 U.S SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP, during the period of July 15~26, 2021 at Saint Louis Chess Club, along with some other top senior US Grandmasters such as J. Benjamin, A. Yermolinskiy, A. Shabalov, etc. See details ☛.

Jun 1, 2021 GM Khachiyan's students are competing in the 2021 Women's Speed Chess Championship on chess.com from May 28 to Jun 7, 2021. See details ☛.

May 15, 2021 On May 11, the FIDE Trainers' Commission recognized Grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan as the 2020-21 recipient of the first Liu Wenzhe Award, for his persistent excellent work on raising young chess players into top level chess competitors. See details ☛.

May 1, 2021 After years being on sabbatical of high level chess play, GM Khachiyan will attend the International Chess Festival to compete in the master section and conduct day camps, during the month of June, 2021. See details ☛.

Apr 8, 2021 While the pandemic has yet to end, GM Khachiyan continues to sharp the young players through the group chess lessons in North American Class Club. See details ☛.

Feb 12, 2021 After GM Khachiyan had been named a councillor by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in 2018, he then entered the official lecturer list of FIDE Trainer Commission in 2020. Since that time, GM Khachiyan has given many seminars to chess trainers. See details ☛.

Dec 21, 2020 GM Khachiyan has been conducting a series of group chess teaching sessions at North America Chess Hub. See details ☛.

Oct 24, 2020 GM Khachiyan's students had an impressive performance in the 2020 U.S. Women's Chess Championship. After 11 rounds of competition, WIM A. Eswaran tied for the 5th place with 5.5 points, while IM A. Wang finished 9th place with 4.0 points. detailed results ☛

Mar 1, 2020 We are facing a huge pandemic. However, GM Khachiyan will still continue his chess lessons. For the safety of everyone, All lessons will be conducted remotely. For further information, contact us here ☛.

Oct 18, 2019 GM Khachiyan's student A. Kolay from the Bay Area California competed in the 2019 World Youth Championships in Mumbai India during Oct 1st~13th. Kolay scored 8 points in 11 matches. He tied for the 2nd place and ranked #4 on tiebreak in the U14 section. See details ☛.

Aug 8, 2019 GM Khachiyan's student Annie Wang attended the 2019 Pan American Junior Championships in Cochabamba, Bolivia during Aug 1~6. Wang scored 7/9 and took the first place in the absolute section, thus obtained an International Master title as well as a Grand Master Norm. See details ☛. GM Khachiyan worked with Wang extensively to prepare for the tournament.

Aug 7, 2019 In the 9-round 2019 Pan Am Youth Chess Championships held during July 20 ~ 27 in Guayaquil, Ecuador, GM Khachiyan's students had a very strong performance.

Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U14 Girls A. Nguyen 1637 7 2 0 10 Gold
U16 Girls A. Velea 1944 5 3 1 1 Bronze
U12 Girls S. Velea 1687 6 2 1 3 Bronze

Jul 12, 2019 GM Khachiyan is conducting a series of chess camps to vigorously train the young players across the nation during the summer of 2019, including the Pacific North West Chess Camp this week. See details ☛

May 7, 2019 In the 13TH Annual FOXWOODS Open at Mashantucket, CT, GM Khachiyan's 13 year-old student Peter Boris performed well and won the Under-2200 section with a score of 6/7. detailed results ☛

Apr 1, 2019 GM Khachiyan's students performed well in the 2019 U.S. Women's Chess Championship concluded today at Saint Louis Chess Club, MO. After 11 rounds of competition, WIM A. Wang finished 4th place, while WIM A. Eswaran tied for the 5th. detailed results ☛

Mar 15, 2019 The 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia concluded today. The U.S. Women Team, led by GM Khachiyan finished with a 7th place after 9 rounds of competition.

Player Rating Win Tie Loss
T. Abrahamyan 2377 1 2 5
K. Nemcova 2315 2 3 2
C. Yip 2279 3 2 4
F. Sabina-Francesca 2276 1 2 3
R. Wu 2120 2 3 1

Mar 4, 2019 GM Khachiyan is attending the 2019 FIDE World Team Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. List of the e U.S. Women players include:

Title Player Rating
WGM T. Abrahamyan 2377
WGM K. Nemcova 2315
FM C. Yip 2279
WGM F. Sabina-Francesca 2276
WCM R. Wu 2120

Feb 17, 2019 GM Khachiyan's students A. Wang and A. Eswaran will compete in the 2019 U.S. Women's Chess Championship from March 18 to April 1 at Saint Louis Chess Club. details ☛

Feb 1, 2019 GM Khachiyan has been selected again to lead the U.S. Women Team to attend the 2019 FIDE World Team Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan between March 4 and March 15. See details ☛

Jan 2, 2019 GM Melik Khachiyan is appointed as a Councillor in the FIDE Trainers' Commission. See FIDE Trainers' Page ☛

Nov 25, 2018 One of GM Khachiyan's students A.Kondakov, won the Under 12 section of North American Youth Chess Championships held in Puerto Nuevo, Baja California, Mexico, with a score of 7/9. Kondakov has earned a FIDE Master title for his excellent performance in this event. GM Khachiyan posted this in social media: "I'm so happy what one of my most difficult projects for helping my students to get grown, to start believing on them selves finally start to get paid off."

Oct 9, 2018 GM Khachiyan attended the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia , as the lead of the U.S. Women Team, during October 2018. After 11 rounds of competition, the team had 7 wins, 2 ties, 2 losses, and finished with a 7th place out of a total 150 teams, while ranked 10th by FIDE rating.

Player Rating Win Tie Loss
A. Zatonskin 2431 4 4 3
I. Krush 2423 6 3 1
A. Tatev 2361 5 1 2
F. Sabina-Francesca 2311 0 1 3
J. Yu 2268 6 4 1

Aug 5, 2018 In the 9-round 2018 Pan Am Youth Chess Championships held during July 21-July 28, in Santiago, Chile, GM Khachiyan's students had a high level performance.

Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U14 Girls A. Velea 1773 6 3 0 4 1
U12 Girls S. Velea 1417 5 1 3 12 10
U10 Girls S. Velea 1563 8 1 0 2 1
U14 Open J. Martinez 1628 4 2 3 46 27
U14 Open D. Soong 1685 5 2 2 29 11

July 14, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan is starting the 2018 season of summer training of top young players at Western Invitational Chess Camp in Tucson, Arizona.

July 12, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan is named a senior chess trainer by FIDE at the 2018 Second Quarter PB. See List ☛

July 12, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, Steve Zierk, was officially awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in Bucharest, Romania. Details ☛

June 11, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, Steve Zierk, won the Charlotte Chess Center GM/IM Norm Invitational Tournament with 6.5/9. Zierk has also earned his third and final GM Norm after this event. Standing ☛

June 9, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan has been appointed by the US Chess Federation as the captain of the US Women's Team to compete at the 2018 World Chess Olympiad in Butumi, Georgia. More ☛

May 10, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan's student FM/WIM Annie Wang is tied for the first place in 2018 US Women Chess Championships at Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. After 11 rounds of the competition, she earned 8 points with no loss. IM Paikidze won the tie-break and scored the champion. See US Chess Champs Report ☛ for results.

Apr 24, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan's student FM/WIM Annie Wang is attending the 2018 US Women Chess Championships in Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. After six rounds of the competition, she earned 5 points out of 6 (4 wins and 2 draws). Wang is currently ranked #1 in the tournament. See US Chess Champs Report ☛ for results.

Mar 15, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in the 2018 Spring Chess Classic held in Saint Louis, Missouri. After nine rounds of competition, GM Khachiyan scored 4.5 points and ranked #4 among the group filled with strong grandmasters. See US Championships web site for the details.

Mar 5, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan earn a co-champion in the master section of the 2018 Western Class Championships held in Van Nuys, California. GM Khachiyan scored 3 wins and 2 draws in this 5-round tournament. See CCA Tournament Report for the details.

Feb 20, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan tied for the first place in the new San Diego Open during the president day weekend. GM Khachiyan fought five rounds in this tournament, scored 3 wins and 2 draws. See USCF Tournament Report for the event ranking.

Jan 18, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan will start a new season of US Pro Chess League, by playing on a strong team of Las Vegas Desert Rat.

Jan 10, 2018 Starting the new year of 2018, GM Melik Khachiyan is "going internationally" to work with top kids in countries such as England,South Africa, and Australia.

Jan 1, 2018 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 2017 World Youth U16G Champion, WIM Annie Wang continues to progress. She has achieved a USCF rating of 2380, "almost certainly" to qualify for the 2018 US Women Championship.

Dec 30, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan's student Christopher Yoo has been invited to an exclusive Kasparov Chess School program in New York to receive top level chess training.

Oct 1, 2017 The FIDE World Youth Chess Champs 2017 has concluded on September 25 in Montevideo, Uruguay. After 11 rounds, GM Melik Khachiyan's student WIM Annie Wang has won the Girl U16 section of the tournament. Wang has scored an exceptional 10 win and 1 draw in the 11 rounds' of competition. Please see US Chess Fedration Report and GM Khachiyan's Notes for details.

All three of GM Khachiyan's students in the 2017 World Youth Championships have performed well above their initial rating ranks.

Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U16 Girls A. Wang 2090 10 1 0 11 1
U14 Open A. Costello 2081 7 1 3 27 5
U14 Open J. Martinez 1556 4 2 5 63 55

Sep 25, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, Mike Zaloznyy has won the 2017 Nevada State Championship, concluded on September 23rd in Tonopah, NV. See USCF Tournament Report for the event ranking.

Sep 20, 2017 The FIDE World Youth Chess Champs 2017 is being held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from September 16th to 26th. After round 4, GM Melik Khachiyan's team of students are performing well in this event. The first stage of the tournament will conclude after round 5 today, followed by a rest day tomorow. The event will resume this Friday.
Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U16 Girls A. Wang 2090 4 0 0 11 1*
U14 Open A. Costello 2081 3 0 1 27 8
U14 Open J. Martinez 1556 2 0 2 63 43

Aug 7, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan's student Christopher Yoo has recently won the U16 Section of the North American Youth Championships held in Morristown, New Jersey with a strong score of 7/9. As a result of this event, Yoo also acquired the title of FIDE Master as well as a Norm of International Master.

April 5, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan has been appointed by the US Chess Federation as the captain of the team to participate in the 2017 Women's World Team Champions held in Khanty-Mansiysk Russia during the period of June 16 to June 28. See FIDE Invitation for event details.

Mar 28, 2017 2017 US Women Chess Championships officially started today in Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. In round one of the competition, GM Melik Khachiyan's student, WIM Emily Nguyen of Texas, managed a draw against 2369-rated IM Nazi Paikidze, during her first appearance of this prestige event. See US Chess Champs Report for round-for-round results.

Mar 4, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan's San Diego Surfers chess team has scored 5.5-1.5 in the regular season of the 2017 Pro Chess League competition and earned a play-off spot. See Pro Chess League standings for details.

Mar 3, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, WIM Emily Nguyen of Texas, has confirmed the attendance of the 2017 US Women Chess Championships. The 11-round tournament will be held in Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis during the period of March 27 to April 10. See US Chess Champs Web Site for more details.

Feb 26, 2017 FM Craig Hilby, GM Melik Khachiyan's student, has acquired the 3rd and the final International Master norm after the 8th Annual Southwest Class Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Hilby will officially become an IM after he reaches the FIDE 2400 rating threshold. See FIDE Norm Report for details.

Jan 27, 2017 GM Melik Khachiyan led the team of San Diego Surfers to start a season of the 2017 Pro Chess League competition. See Pro Chess League standings for details.

Dec 22, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, Albert Lu of California has won the 10th grade section of the 2016 National K-12 Grade Championship, held in Nashville, Tennessee, during the period of Dec 16-18. Lu scored 6 points out of 7 and won clear first in he section. See USCF Tournament Report for the event ranking.

Nov 20, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, Christopher Yoo of Clifornia became the youngest National Master in US, at the age of 9 years and 11 months. He beat the prior record by 2 days, which was set by Max Lu in 2015.

Nov 18, 2016 Two of GM Melik Khachiyan's students, IM Vignesh Panchatham and WIM Emliy Nguen are participating in UT Dallas FIDE Open, during the period from November 18 to 23. See Ches-results Report for progress.

Oct 27, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan won the 2016 Western States Open Championship in Reno, Neveda with the highest tiebreak over IM John Bryant and GM Alexander Ivanov. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 4 wins and 2 draws. See Reno Club Report for details.

Sep 19, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, WFM Emily Nguyen of Texas won the 2016 North American Junior (U-20) Girls Chess Champpionship held in Dallas, Texas. Nguyen scored 8 points out of 9 in the tournament, and acquired a Woman International Master Title as well as a norm for Woman Grandmaster. See Chess Daily News Report for more details.

Sep 6, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 16-year-old Vignesh Panchanatham from the California Bay Area, is scheduled to confirm his International Master title on 87th FIDE Congress 2016, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Aug 6, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, WFM Emily Nguyen of Texas took the second place in the 2016 US K-8 Invitational Championships (also named as the Barber Championship) held in Indianapolis, Indiana. After Nguyen scored 3 wins and 3 draws in the event, she reached her peak USCF rating of 2257. See USCF report for more details.

Aug 4, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 10-year-old Rianne Ke from Southern Clifornia won the U10-Girls section of the 2016 Pan-American Youth Chess Championships concluded on August 2 in Montevideo, Uruguay. She earned a perfect score of 9-0 in this competition. See USCF report for more details.

Jul 9, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 15-year-old FM Vignesh Panchanatham from the California Bay Area recently gained his third and final International Master norm. See NorCal chess news for more details.

Jun 30, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 13-year-old WFM Emily Nguyen from Texas won the 2016 US Junior Girls Championship held this month in Manchester, NH. She scored 6.5-2.5 in a field of 10 strong young female chess players in US. See USCF report for more details of this event.

May 1, 2016 Several of GM Melik Khachiyan's young students qualified for the 2016 US National Invitational K-8 Championships. See Barber Site for more details of this event.

April 29, 2016 US Chess Federation has announced the qualifiers for 2016 World Youth Chess Championships held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, September 20 – October 4. The list includes multiple students of GM Melik Khachiyan's. Congratulations! See USCF news for details.

April 20, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan's student FM Craig Hilby won the K-12 section of the 2016 SoCal Super States Chess Championships with a perfect score of 6-0 in Valencia, California. In thre same event, he also took first place in the K-12 Blitz competition. See USCF rating reports for details. Hilby has also received his second IM Norm at the Philadelphia Open earlier this month.

Mar 13, 2016 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in the Master-Junior Simul event sponsored by Sean Reader's Fund, together with IM John Byrant, IM Motikozyan, GM Sevillano and seveal chess juniors in Southern California. GM Khachiyan's Team won the 1st place in this event.

Feb 15, 2016 GM Khachiyan participated in a new fashion in U.S. Amateur Team West at Santa Clara, California. This year, he led a group of young students to compete in the event under the name Team Dragon Fire. GM Khachiyan's team scored 3.5-2.5. Here is the list of players on the team -
Player Rating Qualification Win Tie Loss Rank
GM Khachiyan 2605 US Olympiad Team Coach 5 0 0 5
Christopher Yyoo 1992 World Youth U10O Player 3 1 1 13
William Sartorio 1962 World Youth U10O Player 3 1 1 16
Sindjua Dasari 1276 World Youth U12G Player 2 1 2 26

Jan 1, 2016 After many years of chess teaching to individual students, GM Kahchiyan recently started organizing his own weekend monthly chess camps in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first session of the camp was in December 12-13. Next one will be conducted on January 30-31 with another coach, GM Khachkiyan's student International Master S. Zierk. Details to follow.

Nov 6, 2015 The FIDE World Youth & Cadets Chess Championships 2015 has ended in Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece. GM Khachiyan's students had a wonderful experience in the event.
Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U14 Open A. Titus 2025 4 3 4 79 89
U12 Open A. Hong 2136 6 3 2 17 12
U12 Open D. Pan 1848 4 4 3 87 80
U10 Open W. Sartorio 1725 5 3 3 55 39
U10 Open C. Yoo 1807 6 1 4 36 55
U12 Girls S. Dasari unr 3 2 6 111 105
U10 Girls J. Miyasaka 1512 5 2 4 26 39

Nov 1, 2015 The FIDE World Youth & Cadets Chess Championships 2015 in Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece has completed seven rounds out of the total eleven. GM Khachiyan's students are doing quite well in this event.
Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss S.Rk Rank
U14 Open A. Titus 2025 3 3 1 79 39
U12 Open A. Hong 2136 5 2 0 17 4
U12 Open D. Pan 1848 3 2 2 87 78
U10 Open W. Sartorio 1725 3 2 2 55 51
U10 Open C. Yoo 1807 3 1 3 36 108
U12 Girls S. Dasari unr 1 2 4 111 108
U10 Girls J. Miyasaka 1512 3 2 2 26 37

Oct 24, 2015 The FIDE World Youth & Cadets Chess Championships 2015 will be held in Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece from 24th October to 6th November 2015. GM Melik Khachiyan will be the official coach for the US National Youth team. He will also have several private students competing in this event, including C. Yuoo (Boys-8), W. Sartorio (Boys-10), D. Pan (Boys-12), A. Titus (Boys-14), J. Miyasaka (Girls-10), A. Hong (Boys-12), and J. Liu (Girls-14). See USCF World Youth Qualifiers List for details.

Sept 7, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OPEN 2015 in San Diego, California. He completed the 6-round tournament with three win, three draw, zero loss, tied for the second place. See USCF rating report for details.

July 15, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan's student, National Master Craig Hilby performed well in the 43rd World Open Championship in Arlinton, Virginia. In the 9-round tournament against opponents rated mostly above 2500, Hilby scored 5.5, earning a IM norm while pushing his USCF rating above 2400. See USCF rating report for details.

July 12, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan will be one of the main coaches to teach an one-week Western Invitational Chess Camp in Tucson, Arizona, organized by Tucson Chess LLC. See WesternChessCamp.com for details.

Jun 21, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in the 2015 National Open Chess tournament in Las Vegas, NV. He completed the tournament with no loss. During the event, he also held lecture sessions for chess players. See tournament ranking for details.

May 10, 2015 In the 2015 National Elementary Championships at Nashville, TN, GM Melik Khachiyan's students had an outstanding performance. In K-6 section, National Master Andrew Hong from California won clear first with 7-0. In K-3 section, Rithik Polavaram from Texas won the first place with 7-0, while GM Khachiyan's another student Maurya Palusa from California won the second place with 6.5-0.5. See USCF report for details.

Apr 27, 2015 The US Women's Team had a solid performance after 8 rounds of competition in the 2015 World Women's Team Championships in Chengdu, China. See USCF report for details.

Apr 18, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan is leading the US Women's Team to participate in the 2015 World Women's Team Championships in Chengdu, China. The team is composed of 5 strong players:
Name Title FIDE ID Rating YOB
1 Abrahamyan, Tatev WGM 13301918 2301 1988
2 Foisor, Sabina-Francesca WGM 1212915 2235 1989
3 Nemcova, Katerina WGM 322750 2279 1990
4 Melekhina, Alisa FM, WIM 2022613 2235 1991
5 Ni, Viktorija WIM 11602252 2188 1991
More Info ☛

Jan 19, 2015 GM Melik Khachiyan won the DREAMING KING OPEN in San Diego, California together with GM ENRICO SEVILLANO and IM JOHN DANIEL BRYANT. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 3 wins and 3 draws. See USCF rating report for details.

Jan 19, 2015 In the 2015 Annual Golden State Championships completed in Dublin, California, GM Melik Khachiyan's student, 10 year old Andrew Hong, had an outstanding performance in the Master section, scoring 5 wins against players with average rating way above his, including one grand master. Hong has recently became a USCF National Master. See USCF player record for details.

Dec 14, 2014 In the 2014 US National K-12 Championships concluded today, 5th grader Alexander Costello won his section of the competition with 6.5-0.5 in the 3-day 7-round tournament. Costello has been studying with GM Melik Khachiyan and made significant progress. See tournament ranking sheet for details.

Nov 30, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan's young students had some impressive performance in the 4-day competition of 50th American Open Chess Champsionships in Orange, CA. 14 year old FM VIGNESH PANCHANATHAM earned 5.5-2.5 in the Open Section, while 13 year-old NM Albert Lu scored 5.0-3.0 in the same section. Both have beaten some strong players including IMs. See USCF rating report for details.

Oct 21, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan won the 32nd Annual Western States Open Chess Tournament in Reno, Nevada together with IM Andrey Gorovets, GM Alexander Ivanov, GM Alex Yermolinsky, GM Enrico Sevillano and GM Walter Browne. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 3 wins and 3 draws. See USCF rating report for details.

Sep 1, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan won the 2014 Southern California Open Chess Tournament in San Diego, California together with GM Timur Gareyev, GM Enrico Sevillano, IM Dionisio Aladama and USCF Life Master Michael Brown. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 3 wins and 3 draws. See USCF rating report for details.

August 27, 2014 Captain GM Melikset Khachiyan and Coach GM Yury Shulman wrote a nice article on the 2014 World Chess Olympiad concluded in Tromsø, Norway in earlier August. GM Khachiyan's US Women's Team earned the 8th place in the competition. Details ☛

August 15, 2014 The 2014 World Chess Olympiad concluded in Tromsø, Norway. GM Melik Khachiyan led the US Women's Team to earn the 8th place among the teams from 136 countries and regions. The US team was composed of five very strong female players of the country including GM Irina Krush, IM Anna Zatonskih, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, WGM Katerina Nemcova and WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor. More ☛

August 1, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan will participate in 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway as an official US Team Coach. More ☛

July 18, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan have completed an one-week Western Invitational Chess Camp in Tucson, Arizona, organized by Tucson Chess LLC. See WesternChessCamp.com for details.

July 9, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan will teach a one-week chess camp in Los Angeles, California alongside his former student, World #2 Player, GM Levon Aronian, organized by Los Angeles Metro Chess Club. See USCF Announcement for details.

June 23, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan is holding a one-week chess camp for young chess players in Cupertino, California, organized by Bay Area Chess Club. See schedule for details.

June 16, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in National Open Chess Tournament in Las Vegas Nevada last month and scored 4.5-1.5 with three wins, three draws and zero loss. See USCF Rating report for details.

May 26, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan competed in BAYAREA 529 CM AZHAR BESTWEST Championships Tournament in Santa Clara, CA and scored 4.5-1.5 with three wins, three draws and zero loss. See USCF Rating report for details.

May 1, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in 3RD ANNUAL RENO - LARRY EVANS MEMORIAL Chess Tournament in Nevada last month and scored 5.0-1.0 with four wins, two draws and zero loss. See USCF Rating report for details.

April 23, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan will be instructing in the 11th Annual Western Invitational Chess Camp, during 13-17 July 2014 in Tucson, Arizona, together with GM Alejandro Ramirez, GM Julio Sadorra, GM Alexander Yermolinsky, IM John Bartholomew, IM Levon Altounian, IM Danny Rensch, and IM-Elect Robby Adamson. See Camp Site for details.. If you are interested in this camp, please contact GM Khachiyan and make sure you indicate "Western Chess Camp" in the notes.

Mar 9, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in 2014 Western Class Chess Tournament in Agoura Hills, California this weekend and scored 4.0-1.0 with three wins and two draws and zero loss. See USCF Rating report for details.

Feb 18, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan competed in the Recession Buster Chess Tournament in San Diego, California over the President's Day weekend. After winning first two rounds against two local teen masters, GM Khachiyan drew the rest of the games, with zero loss in the event. See USCF Rating report for details.

Jan 21, 2014 GM Melik Khachiyan won the Golden State Open Chess Tournament in Concord, California together with GM Victor Mikhalevski and GM Michael E Roiz at the first major CCA tournament in 2014. In the 4-day, 7-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 4 wins and 3 draws. See CCA report for details.

Jan 1, 2014 GM Khachiyan has completed the work as a US team coach in World Youth Chess Championships for the first time. Here is the final standing for the players the grandmaster guided during the tournament.
Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss Rank Perf
U08 Open Ethan Pau unr 6 0 5 54 1350
U10 Open Alexander Costello unr 6 0 5 69 1626
U12 Open Albert Lu 2062 6 3 2 21 1917
U14 Open Colin Chow 2114 5 4 2 37 1954
U16 Open Bryan Hu 2176 5 2 4 63 2115
U12 Girls Joanna Liu 1758 5 3 3 40 1706
U12 Girls Katherine Davis 1677 5 3 3 42 1488

Dec 25, 2013 GM Khachiyan has been coaching seven players on the US team in 2013 World Youth Chess Championships. Here is a report after eight rounds.
Section Player Rating Win Tie Loss Rank Perf
U08 Open Ethan Pau unr 5 0 3 30 1451
U10 Open Alexander Costello unr 4 0 4 84 1580
U12 Open Albert Lu 2062 3 3 2 76 1784
U14 Open Colin Chow 2114 3 3 0 N/A N/A
U16 Open Bryan Hu 2056 3 2 3 83 2056
U12 Girls Joanna Liu 1758 4 2 0 36 1738
U12 Girls Katherine Davis 1677 3 2 2 69 1414

Dec 16, 2013 GM Khachiyan is taking off to Al Ain, UAE for 2013 World Youth Chess Championships in as one of the coaches for the US Team. See   US Team Roster ☛.

Dec 2, 2013 GM Khachiyan was selected to be one of the coaches for the US Team in 2013 World Youth Chess Championships in Al Ain, UAE from Dec 17 to 29.  Details ☛.

Dec 1, 2013 GM Khachiyan attended the 49th American Open Chess Tournament in Anaheim, California and had a good performance, once again, drawing the 2769 rated GM Gareev.  Details ☛.

Nov 10, 2013 GM Khachiyan took the second place in the Southern California Cross Championships in Los Angeles, California. His performance in the tournament included winning multiple international masters and grandmaster as well as drawing the 2730 rated GM Gareev.  Details ☛.

Oct 24, 2013 GM Khachiyan won the 2013 Western States Tournament in Reno, Nevada together with five other strong players, pushing his rating once again above 2600.  Details ☛.

Oct 12, 2013 On the first day of the 2013 Los Angeles Open Championships, GM Khachiyan's young student Craig Hilby upset 2561 rated GM Enrico Sevillano. Hilby will very likely to break 2300 USCF rating after this tournament. Note: Craig did manage to finish the tournament with 2.5/5 and reached 2317 USCF rating.  Details ☛.

Sep 5, 2013 GM Khachiyan's 17 year-old student ELDON NAKAGAWA tied for first place in Hawaii's State Open Championship last weekend and became a USCF National Master.  Details ☛.

Sep 3, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan won the Southern California Open in San Diego, California during the labor day weekend. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 4 wins and 2 draws. See USCF report for details.

Aug 4, 2013 GM Khachiyan's young student Craig Hilby tied for first place with a score of 5/6 in the US National Junior High School Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin. Hilby is currently ranked in top 10 of 13 years olds in the country.  Details ☛.

July 21, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan and several other strong players such as IM Levon Altounian, IM Danny Rensch, GM Josh Friedel, IM John Bartholomew, GM Alejandro Ramirez, and GM-elect Mac Molner conducted the 2013 Western Invitational Chess Camp in Tucson, Arizona. More Info ☛.

July 10-14, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan taught in the Los Angeles Metro Chess Camp along side with reigning World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. More Info ☛.

June 25, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan attended the 2013 Southern California Closed Championships. He took the second place by scoring 4.5-2.5 with no loss in this round-robin tournament against some local top players with an average rating above 2500. See detailed USCF MSA record of this tournament.

June 18, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan resumed his dominance of chess in the region by winning the southern Class Championships in Irvine, California, with a score of 5.5-0.5. GM Khachiyan's USCF rating is back above 2600 after the tournament. One of his young students NM Craig Hilby also performed well in the tournament with 4-2 in the same section. See detailed USCF MSA record of this tournament.

Jun 6-9, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan is holding free sessions together with GM Henley to analyze tournament games for players, during the 2013 National Open tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. See  Details ☛.

Jun 1, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan won the Best of the West Class Championship in Santa Clara, California last week, together with GM Nick de Firmian and FM Alfredo De La Cruz from the Bay Area California. In the 3-day, 6-round tournament, GM Khachiyan had 3 wins and 3 draws. See detailed  USCF MSA report of this tournament.

May 24, 2013 One of GM Khachiyan's young students Craig Hilby has become USCF National Master this month. Hilby is currently 13 years old and one of the top chess players of his age in the country. In March 2013, he also earned the right to represent the state chess federation to play in the US National Junior High School Invitational tournament.  More Info ☛.

May 13, 2013 GM Khachiyan completed his participation in 2013 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis, MO. After 3 hard losses, he drew the last 2 rounds of the tournament.  More Info ☛.

May 7, 2013 GM Khachiyan continued his journey in 2013 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis, MO. In round 5, he encountered his first loss of this tournament after more than 4 hours of fighting against 2700-rate GM Ray Robson.  More Info ☛.

May 6, 2013 GM Khachiyan had another good game today in 2013 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis, MO. In round 4, he had one more drew against 2667-rate GM GREGORY KAIDANOV.  More Info ☛.

May 5, 2013 GM Khachiyan firmly held his ground again today in 2013 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis, MO. In round 3, he drew with 2638-rated GM Yury Shulman.  More Info ☛.

May 4, 2013 GM Khachiyan played another tough match today in 2013 US Chess Championships in Saint Louis, MO. In round 2, he drew with 2732-rated GM Alexander Onischuk.  More Info ☛.

May 3, 2013 GM Khachiyan started his journey of 2013 US Chess Championships today in Saint Louis, MO. In round 1, he drew with 2693-rated GM Varuzhan Akobian.  More Info ☛.

April 8, 2013 GM Khachiyan has accepted the invitation to the 2013 US Chess Championships held in Saint Louis, MO during the period of May 2 to May 13.  More Info ☛.

April 2, 2013 GM Khachiyan participated in the Larry Evans Memorial Tournament last weekend in Reno Sands Regency, Nevada and scored 4.5-1.5 in the competition with no loss.  More Info ☛.

Mar 11, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan continued his winning streak by topping the Western Class Championships in Agoura, California, in the field of strong players including GM Kaidanov, GM Sevillano and IM Matikozyan. See detailed standing of this tournament.

Mar 5, 2013 In last weekend the California Super States Scholastic Chess Championships were held in Valencia, California. GM Khachiyan's student Craig Hilby won the K-8 championship section and earned the right to represent the state in the National Junior High School Invitational later 2013. Hilby attended the Invitational in 2012 as the alternative player.

Feb 26, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan won the 24th Metropolitan Chess FIDE Inviational in Los Angeles, California, together with IM Molner from Arizona and IM Matikozyan from local California. In the 5-day, 9-round GM Norm tournament, GM Khachiyan had 3 wins, 6 draws and 0 loss. See detailed  USCF MSA report of this tournament.

Feb 20, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan once again proved himself as one of the strongest in California. In the Recession Buster tournament concluded Monday in San Diego CA, GM Khachiyan won clear first with a score of 5/6 against a pool of 2500+ rated players, included a draw with the #1 seeded GM TIMUR GAREEV (2780). After this tournament, GM Khachiyan bumped his USCF rating back above 2600. His students had strong showing in the same tournament. Craig Hilby scored 3.5/6 in the tough open section, with a master level performance. See detailed  USCF MSA report of this tournament.

Jan 31, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan has recently appeared on Armenia media Noyan Tapan in an article on GM Aronian's new book and in an interview as the US Women's Team Coach.

Jan 10, 2013 GM Melik Khachiyan and some of his students will play in the Century West Open in Los Angeles, CA this weekend.  More Info ☛

December 30, 2012 The annual North American Open ends today in Las Vegas, NV. GM Melik Khachiyan's students continue to show strong performance, especially in the U2300 section where all his young trainees faced higher rated competitors and did well.  Standing ☛

December 26, 2012 The annual North American Open starts today in Las Vegas, NV. Several of GM Melik Khachiyan's students including the 2012 World Youth Chess Championships attendees Craig Hilby and Joshua Sheng as well as Colorado youth champion Jackson Chen are participating in this tournament.  More Info ☛

December 23, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan played in a strong tournament of Los Angeles Metropolitan 23rd FIDE Invitational and tied for the first place with chess prodigy Samuel Sevian. See  details ☛

November 26, 2012 The American Open results have been posted. GM Melik Khachiyan had an outstanding score of 6.5/8 and became the sole winner of the tournament. Several of his students also performed well. Craig Hilby scored 4.5/8 and Joshua Sheng earned 5.5/8, both in the U2200 section. See detailed  USCF Report ☛

November 22, 2012 The annual American Open starts today in Anaheim, California. GM Melik Khachiyan and several of his students including the 2012 World Youth Chess Championships attendees Craig Hilby and Joshua Sheng are participating in this tournament.  More Info ☛

November 18, 2012 World Youth Chess Championships 2012 ended today in Maribor, Slovenia. Several players GM Melik Khachiyan had taught did well in this tournament. IM Kayden Troff won the U14 section with 9/11. Craig Hilby scored 7/11 and Joshua Sheng scored 6/11 in the U12 section. Detailed US Team results can be found  here ☛

November 12, 2012 World Youth Chess Championships 2012 has concluded its 5th day competition in Maribor, Slovenia. The US players including GM Melik Khachiyan's students performed strongly. Both Craig Hilby and Joshua Sheng scored 4.5 out 6 in the Under 12 section.  More Info ☛

November 9, 2012 The Women's World Championships begin in Khanty-Mansiysk. Players from US includes one of the top female players Tatev Abrahamyan and reigning US woman champion Irina Krush.  More Info ☛

November 8, 2012 World Youth Chess Championships 2012 started today in Maribor, Slovenia. GM Melik Khachiyan has several students competing in this event, including Craig Hilby who won his round one game and Joshua Sheng who drew his game against Zhao Juncheng from the strong chess country of China.  More Info ☛

October 21, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan scored 4.5-1.5 and won the Western States Chess Championships 2012 held during October 19-21 in Reno, Neveda. Alexander Ivanov, Walter Browne and Tatev Abrahamyan had the same score but lower tiebreaks.  More Info ☛

October 11, 2012 The World Youth Chess Championships 2012 Organizer published a list of participants today. This year's tournament will be held in Maribor, Slovenia. The 1500 players include a big US delegate of 80. GM Melik Khachiyan is actively preparing several young players to compete in this event.  More Info ☛

September 4, 2012 US Chess League started a new season of 2012. GM Melik Khachiyan is leading the LA Vibe Team consisted of strong players such as IM Matikozyan, IM Amanov, IM Kiewra and WGM Abrahamyan.  More Info ☛

August 27, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan will once again coach the US Team together with GM Akobian to compete in the 2012 Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.  More Info ☛

August 9, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan will conduct a top level chess camp with reigning World Chess Champion GM Viswanathan Anand in LA Metro Chess Club.  More Info ☛

July 15-19, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan completed the teaching of Western Invitational Chess Camp in Arizona for some of the finest youth players in US.  More Info ☛

Jun 25-29, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan and several top chess coaches in Southern California including IM Ambartsoumian and IM Matikozyan will hold a ACA for local strong youth players in Southern California.  More Info ☛

Apr 29, 2012 Several young students of GM Melik Khachiyan have performed well in 2012 National Junior High School Championships in San Diego, California, including Experts Craig Hilby and Jackson Chen, both tied for #3 in K8 section.  More Info ☛

Apr 21, 2012 GM Melik Khachiyan participated in the Master-Junior Simul event sponsored by Sean Reader's Fund, together with IM Ambartsoumian, IM Motikozyan, IM Sevillano and 2 dozen active chess juniors in Southern California.  More Info ☛

Apr 3, 2011 GM Melik Khachiyan lectures at ChessPalace starting at 1PM which will be followed by a simultaneous exhibition.  More Info ☛

Jan 20, 2011 GM Melik Khachiyan scored second place in Jimmy Quon Memorial international tournament in Los Angeles, CA with no losses.  More Info ☛

Dec 26, 2010 GM Melik Khachiyan conducted the 14th session of US Chess School in Los Angeles, CA for some of the strongest young players in the country.  More Info ☛

Nov 29, 2010 GM Melik Khachiyan Tied for first place in 46th Annual American Open tournament in Los Angeles, CA.  More Info ☛

Oct 04, 2010 GM Melik Khachiyan led the 2010 US Women's Olympiad Team to capture 5th place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.  More Info ☛

Jul 05, 2010 GM Melik Khachiyan and several other chess masters is holding the Western Chess Camp in Tucson, AZ for some strong scholastic players of the nation.  More Info ☛

Apr 20, 2010 GM Melik Khachiyan has been invited by USCF to play in 2010 US Championships as one of the top players in the nation.  More Info ☛

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