Akobian shares his skills with kids

Local students attend chess camp

Lindsborg, Kansas

LINDSBORG – Students from throughout the U.S., including several from the McPherson area, are attending a one-week chess camp at the Karpov Chess School in Lindsborg.

Among local area students attending are Sean Bocks, Levi Lawless and Nathan Bray, Galva; Michael Christian and Matt Richert, Hillsboro; Annie Reinert and Paul Masterson, Lindsborg.

Isabella Harvey and Charles Kinzel, McPherson will attend the second camp, which follows the one that is currently under way. The students came to study chess under Varuzhan Akobian, one of the top Grandmasters in America.

“I can’t begin to tell you how fortunate we are to have someone with Varuzhan’s expertise to be our lead instructor,” said Karpov Chess School Director Tom Brownscombe.

The students will spend the better part of their days studying the intricacies of chess, and then take an afternoon swimming break. In the evenings, students will relax by playing a rapid version of chess known as Blitz. Other evenings, they will play another version of chess called Bughouse. Grandmaster Akobian will be assisted by Brownscombe, Marck Cobb, Chris Purdy, and Layton Cobb.

The 25-year-old Akobian, known simply as “Var,” was born in 1983 in Yerevan, Armenia. When he was only 5, his family moved to Mongolia. Because of the severe winters, Var and his sister spent a great deal of time inside. It was then that he learned to play chess and to fall in love with the game that would become his life’s work.

Source: www.mcphersonsentinel.com