Student Finishes 4th in National Chess Playoffs

A Hollywood student returned to campus this week after finishing fourth in the National High School Chess Championships held in Knoxville, Tenn., in which 1,000 players competed.

Harutyan Akopyan, a senior at Arshag Dickranian High School, said he was “proud, but a little disappointed” in his final match Sunday when he lost to Marcel Martinez of Miami.

Akopyan began playing the game at age 5 in his native Armenia, which has produced many chess grand masters. His chess heroes include former world champions Tigran Petrosian and Bobby Fisher.

Akopyan said that he hopes to become a chess grand master someday. To do so, he needs to earn a rating of 2,600 or higher. Currently, his rating is 2,370, just 30 points shy of being rated a senior master.

At Dickranian High, Akopyan teaches chess to several other students after regular classes.

“I just like to play because I have a lot of fun with the competition and the challenge,” he said.