FIDE rating card
Profile at ChessGames.com
OlimpBase: Men's Chess Olympiads
Interview at Elista2008.fide.com
Vladimir Akopian (7 December 1971) is an Armenian Grandmaster of chess (1991).He won World Youth Chess Championship (under 16) in 1986, World Youth Chess Championship (under 18) in 1988 and World Junior Chess Championship (under 20) in 1991. In 1999 he made his way through to the final of the FIDE Knock-Out World Chess Championship, but lost to Alexander Khalifman. He also played in the FIDE World Chess Championships of 2000 and 2004. Akopian played in the Chess Olympiads of 1992 (team bronze medal), 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002 (team bronze medal), 2004, 2006 (team gold medal) and 2008 (team gold medal). In 2002 he played in "Russia vs Rest of the World" match in Moscow, representing the World team and in 2004, he played in "Armenia vs. the Rest of the World" match, representing the Armenian team. Akopian also played for Armenia in the World Men's Team Chess Championships of 1993, 1997 (team bronze medal), 2001 (team bronze medal) and 2005 (team bronze medal). In 1986 he won South Caucasus Men's Championship; in 1996 and 1997 he won the Armenian Chess Championship.
Other results include: =1st at Niksic 1991; 3rd at Ubeda 1999; =1st at Dubai 1999; =1st at Philadelphia 1999; =2nd at Calcutta 2000; =5th at Tripoli 2004; =2nd at Amsterdam 2005; =8th at Isle of Man 2006; 1st at Gibraltar 2007; =2nd at Mainz 2009; =2nd at Nalchik 2009.
Akopian has also coaching experience; in 2004 he was Peter Leko's second in his match against Vladimir Kramnik in Brissago and in 2005, he worked in Qatar, helping the country's best chess players, in particular GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki and his wife, former women's world chess champion Zhu Chen.
On the September 2009 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2698, making him number 34 in the world and Armenia's number two.
Akopian was awarded the Khorenatsi medal in 2006 and the title of "Honoured master of sport of the Republic of Armenia" in 2009.
