2023 Chess Educator of the Year

Melik Khachiyan To Be Honored as Chess Educator of the Year

Grandmaster Melik Khachiyan (above with the U.S. Olympiad Women’s Chess Team), a U.S. chess educator and trainer, has been named the 2023 University of Texas at Dallas Chess Educator of the Year by the UT Dallas Chess Program. He will be honored at an event on February 21, where he will speak on the topic of Coaching a Women’s Chess Team.

The Chess Educator of the Year event is free. A reception with refreshments will be held at 6:15 p.m. in the UT Dallas Jindal School of Management executive dining room and the awards ceremony and talk will be held from 7-8 p.m. (CST). The hybrid ceremony can be viewed either in person at the Jindal School or online. To reserve a spot – either online or in person — please contact the director of the UT Dallas Chess Program, Jim Stallings, by Feb. 20.

“I am thrilled to be recognized by The University of Texas at Dallas, which is known for its strong chess program,” said Khachiyan. “My first coach was wonderful and I pleased that I am able to help other chess players achieve great things.”

Based out of Los Angeles, Khachiyan is known for a coaching career that spans more than 30 years, including his impact on US Chess’ next generation since 2001. His impressive roster of past students includes Grandmaster (GM) Levon Aronian, GM Steven Zierk, GM Kayden Troff, GM Tigran Gharamian, Women’s Grandmaster, International Master (IM) Almira Skripchenko, GM Arman Pashikian as well as IM Craig Hilby, who played on the UT Dallas chess team.

More recently he has coached IM Annie Wang, who won the women-under-16 and Pan Am under 20 age groups, and Ruiyang Yan, who previously was the #1 ranked girl in the country.

In 2021, the FIDE Trainers’ Commission recognized Khachiyan, an Armenian-American Grandmaster, as the 2020-21 recipient of the Liu Wenzhe Award. Khachiyan became a Soviet national champion in 1986 and an International Master in 1994, then earned his GM title in 2005 after emigrating to the United States.

Khachiyan has been the head coach of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team since 2010 and also is the team captain. He has been working for the FIDE Trainer Commission since 2018, is the Commission Consular for the North America region, and is a FIDE Senior Trainer.

He said that even as he coaches, he continues to play in various tournaments, so he won’t lose “practical strength.”

Khachiyan teaches in person, online and at chess.com. More information on Khachiyan can be found on his website.