Nonna Karakashyan

Nonna M. Karakashyan^[a] (née Nonna M. Avanesova; Armenian: Նոննա Կարակաշյան; born February 13, 1940) is an Armenian chess player and coach. She was awarded the FIDE title of International Arbiter in 1992, becoming the first woman from Armenia to do so.

Nonna Karakashyan
Karakashyan in 2011
Full name	Նոննա Կարակաշյան
Country	USSR Armenia United States
Born	(1940-02-13) February 13, 1940 (age 85) Baku, USSR
Title	International Arbiter (chess) (1992)

Karakashyan was a student of Honoured Trainer Suren Abramian. She is a three-time Women's Chess Champion of Azerbaijan (1961, 1963, 1964) and national team member in 1955–1964. She holds a bachelor's degree in engineering.

In 1979, Karakashyan founded the "Trudovye Reservy" chess club in Baku, Azerbaijan, the first chess club in the USSR for students of vocational technical schools.

In 1991–1992, Karakashyan held the position of Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Armenian Chess Federation.

Karakashyan was Chief Arbiter of the finale tournament of the 51st USSR Women Open Championship (Lviv, Ukraine, 1991), arbiter of the Women World Candidate Tournament (Tskaltubo, Republic of Georgia, 1988), the World Chess Olympiads (Moscow, Russia, 1994 and Yerevan, Armenia, 1996) and several Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournaments (1984–1991, Armenia).

Karakashyan teaches chess classes in Edison, New Jersey.

Her daughter, Narine Karakashian, is also a chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master. Both mother and daughter were awarded with international chess titles (IA and WIM respectively) at the 1992 FIDE Congress in Manila, Philippines.

Notes

1. Her last name may also be spelled as Karakashian.

Publications

• «Trainer who was a Role Model…» (2000), memoirs about Suren Abramian originally published at КasparovChess.ru /in Russian/
• Շախմատաին Հայաստան / «Шахматная Армения» / Chess in Armenia magazine – articles (1983–1992) /in Armenian and Russian/
• «Голос Армении» / Voice of Armenia newspaper – chess columnist (1983–1992) /in Russian/.

External links

• Nonna Karakashyan rating card at FIDE
• Chess classes in New Jersey — website of Nonna Karakashyan
• School Plus – Sunday school in New Jersey
• The History of Chess in Azerbaijan /in Russian/
• «Armenian Stars of Baku Sport» — Noev Kovcheg magazine, 2008, # 8 (131) /in Russian/.
• «The Dream of My Life» – interview with Nonna Karakashyan /in Russian/.
• «When we were young…» – interview with Nonna Karakashyan about Woman International Grandmaster Tatiana Zatulovskaya /in Russian/.
• «First Chess Teacher of Levon Aronian» – Nonna Karakashyan's article about Ludmila Finareva Noev Kovcheg magazine, 2013, # 14 (220) /in Russian/.
• «From New Year Mail», about chess classes of Nonna Karakashyan in New Jersey /in Russian/.
• «For the 80th anniversary of Nona Gaprindashvili» - Nonna Karakashyan's article /in Russian/.
• Alexander Sarychev, "Nice Debut", "Proftekhobrazovanie" magazine (USSR), 1981, # 3 (430), p. 54 /in Russian/.
• Nonna Karakashyan interview for Chess Retro YouTube channel (in Russian) – June 22, 2021.