Ten year-oldVladimirreceived many congratulations in school on November 26th. He was proud of his father who had just become an Olympiad champion for the second time. On the evening of November 26th Vladimir along with his brothers, 4 year-old Edward and one and a half year-old Sergei, and mother went to the airport to greet their champion father.

At the age of five Vladimir Hakobyan started to play checkers and even though his dad thought he played well, he didn’t consider it a serious game and that the boy needed to play chess.

“I really didn’t like chess that much because naturally it’s a more complex game. But I learnt how to play and they immediately took me to the best chess school in Baku.” There they examined Vladimirand were dumbstruck by his phenomenal memory. His first coach, Aleksandr Aslanov Vova, told his father that he hadn’t yet seen a boy of his age comprehend everything and reproduce it. This is how Vladimir’s chess career got its start. Right from the start Vladimirstarted to rack up victories, one after the other. At the age of eight he became a class one player and at eleven a candidate for master sportsman.

When Vladimir was fourteen the Armenian Chess Federation invited him to Armenia where he continued his winning ways by turning a master of the sport at the age of fifteen. Before arriving in Armenia, Vladimir became the under-sixteen world champ at the age of fourteen in Argentina. In Puerto Rico in 1989 he won the title of under-18 world chess champion and in 1999 he won the world chess champ title. By participating in over thirty international tournaments Vladimir easily conquered the highest titles in the game.

All his teammates on the Armenian national chess squad stress Vladimir’s phenomenal memory. It turns out that his grandfather possessed such a memory as well. “I can reproduce all the moves I made in the tournament I played in when I was eight. Everything registers deeply in me. This is why such card games such as ’blot’ and ‘durak’ lose their interest and meaning for me. I simply memorize them. This is why the game appeals to me, the moves are never repeated and the situations are always different. There is always room to create. Chess is a game of fantasy and intuition,” states Vladimir.

Vladimir speaks of his dazzling mental capacities with much modesty and stresses that as a chess player he doesn’t teach chess to any of his three sons since he knows what tremendous efforts it takes to reach the heights in the game. “If they become chess players it will only be one the first level. Today, I am not ranked as one of the top ten players in the world and being in the second group of top ten isn’t much comfort.”
Vladimir sadly notes that the guys on the Armenian team can’t play as well in individual tournaments. “If Gaby were able to produce the same results in individual play he’d be in the top ten list and even the top three. The same goes for me and the other guys,” Vladimir says.

Vladimir, a modest and unassuming person, nevertheless is pretty animated when in the company of friends. “Vova is a really good guy, well balanced and good natured. It takes him a while to warm up to strangers but he really is a good friend,” states teammate Gabriel (Gaby) Sargsyan.

Vladimir plays in Russian, Spanish and French clubs. In addition, he’s involved in training others and all his students are grandmasters themselves. Tigran Petrosyan has already become a Olympiad champion.
Vova frequently entertains friends by singing and playing the guitar. At the age of sic he expressed a desire to play the guitar and attended classes for a few years. “My teacher at the time told me that he’d make a great player out of me in three years and that I’d be able to perform on stages throughout the world and be a great success. But I merely wanted to play and sing for myself and nothing more.” Vladimir loves to sing Vysotsky and Ruben Hakhverdyan songs for his friends but he doesn’t take his guitar along with him when he travels. “I don’t take it with me but if someone were to offer me a guitar I’d always play it,” states the champ.

Vladimir Hakobyan says that from an early age he has always dealt with defeats in stride and that rather than getting him down defeats have always served as a source of strength. “After a defeat I always come back and play a better organized game.”

The pervading team spirit that experts point to as the reason for the Armenian squad’s Olympiad victory has really had a big impact on all the guys. “I don’t understand it myself. There you are in front of the chess board, playing your game, but when you glance over and see your three friends standing at your side you get a different type of vibe. We sincerely feel for each other, whether joy or sadness. When I felt the presence of Lyova, Gaby and Tigran at my side I felt all the more stronger even though at times my game went astray when I followed their games,” explains Vladimir.

“Two years ago when we became champions in Turin, the feeling of joy was certainly greater. This time around it was somewhat routine. In addition, this year none of us were as overjoyed as Garen was in 2006 when he really shook with glee. I watched him and was flabbergasted at how he could wrap himself in the Armenian flag all day long and celebrate. No one was that emotional this time. It was really amazing how we became champs for a second time. It was even improbable given that our points weren’t the highest, confesses Vladimir and adds, in actuality I know why we won. Garen was with us. Throughout the entire tournament Garen was standing by us, imparting all his energy to us and giving us the strength we needed. We were victorious because of him.”

God should only grant that the spirit of Garen is always with our boys and that his spirit of victory always envelops them.