Ashot Nadanian - Chess Coach and Second

Chess Coach and Second

After Nadanian graduated from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture in 1994, he became a chess trainer. At 26 he became the youngest Honoured Coach of Armenia. Among his students are Grandmasters Gabriel Sargissian, Varuzhan Akobian and Davit G. Petrosian. He has also occasionally helped GM Tigran L. Petrosian.

"Ashot played an important role in shaping me as a chess player – and not only in that. The level of my play had fallen back considerably when I started to train with him in 1997. I think back with a smile on my face how impatiently after the first lesson I waited for the next session. I got the impression that I had rediscovered our game. Ashot is a born trainer."

From December 1999 until August 2001, Nadanian worked as the National Team Coach of Kuwait. Between 2005 and 2010, he was the National Coach of Singapore Men's Team. In 2007, he was awarded the title of FIDE Trainer.

At the "Full English Breakfast" website (thefeb.com, podcast #7 Part 1), Levon Aronian refers to Nadanian as his friend and second. Unable to accompany Aronian to the 2011 Wijk aan Zee tournament, they maintained daily contact online. During the entire month of February 2011, Nadanian, together with a team of five grandmasters—Wang Hao, Movsesian, Sargissian, Pashikian and Melkumyan—held training camp in Tsaghkadzor, helping Aronian to prepare for the Candidates Tournament of the World Chess Championship 2012 cycle. At the 2011 Crestbook KC-Conference Aronian noted: "Lots of players are involved in my team, but Ashot Nadanian is absolutely irreplaceable. Besides the work he does himself he manages the whole process, while also planning training sessions." During the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2012 in Wijk aan Zee Aronian referred to Nadanian as his permanent assistant.

Nadanian once said in an interview that one of the joyful events of his life was the ending of the Turin Olympiad in 2006, when his student Sargissian became Olympic champion with the Armenian team and his other student Akobian won bronze with the U.S. team. At the next Olympiad in Dresden the story repeated itself: Sargissian won team gold medal and Akobian won team bronze.