Samuel Sevian Wins 7th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2026, Nihal Sarin Finishes Third
Samuel Sevian scored an unbeaten 5.5/9 points to win the 7th Stepan Avagyan Memorial Round Robin Chess Tournament 2026. This was Sam's second time winning this event. In the final round, he defeated the defending champion, Aravindh Chithambaram, to clinch the title. Sam Sevian and Vladislav Artemiev scored 5.5/9 to finish in 1st and 2nd place according to the tiebreak score. Nihal Sarin scored 5/9 points to finish in 3rd place. Photo: Official website
Rock Solid Chess
It was a 10-player round robin event that took place from 28 May to 6 June 2026 in Jermuk, Armenia. It was organised by the Chess Academy of Armenia in collaboration with the Jermuk Ashkhar Health Centre. Nihal Sarin remained unbeaten and drew 8 of his games and won 1 game against Alexander Donchenko in the 6th round.
Can you spot the winning move from the white side??
The tournament once again honored the memory of Stepan Avagyan and reaffirmed Armenia’s place on the international chess calendar by bringing world-class players to Jermuk.
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Final Ranking
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | K | rtg+/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | GM | 2696 | 5,5 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 4,7 | |||
2 | 6 | GM | 2641 | 5,5 | 23,25 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 12,2 | |||
3 | 4 | GM | 2723 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | -4,1 | |||
4 | 1 | GM | 2653 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 5,5 | |||
5 | 8 | GM | 2644 | 4,5 | 20,25 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 1,9 | |||
6 | 5 | GM | 2635 | 4,5 | 19,5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | |||
7 | 10 | GM | 2629 | 4 | 18,75 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | -1,1 | |||
8 | 2 | GM | 2645 | 4 | 18,75 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | -3,2 | |||
9 | 3 | GM | 2692 | 3,5 | 15,25 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | -14,9 | |||
10 | 9 | GM | 2613 | 3,5 | 14,75 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | -4 |
Important Links
Stepan Avagyan Memorial: Official site
Chess Academy of Armenia: Facebook, YouTube, Photos