Two Top Chess Players on Tour in Armenia, the First Country in the World to Make Chess a Part of School Curriculum

Acronis®, the global leader in new generation data protection, and the charitable foundation Initiatives for Development of Armenia invited the reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen to join second top player in the world Levon Aronian in Armenia on June 22-24 to promote logical and creative thinking as well highlight opportunities in Armenia for IT leaders.

The Norwegian grandmaster, ranked number one by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rating, will spend three days touring the country with the second top player in the world, Levon Aronian. Aronian won the Chess World Cup 2005 and led the Armenian national team to win three gold medals in the Chess Olympics. The two best chess players will show their skills by competing in 10 simultaneous matches each at Tatev Monstery. They will also meet with students at Yerevan State University and discuss chess with Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan, who is also the President of the Armenian Chess Federation.

As Armenia's IT industry rapidly grows, the organizers of the tour, Acronis and IDeA, invited top IT leaders to join the chess tour and explore opportunities in Armenia. Acronis Founder and CEO Serg Bell, Almaz Capital Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner Alexander Galitsky, Chair of Nanophysics and Photonics at the University of Southampton Alexander Kavokin, Aide to Tatarstan President for Economic Affairs Ayrat Khayrullin, and Parellels Inc. CEO Birger Steen will host a round table during the tour. They will discuss challenges facing business in the IT sphere and describe how Armenian companies can improve their competitiveness through collaboration with international partners.

"Acronis is the leader in new generation data protection, and to be a leader in IT one should be creative and excel at logical thinking. Chess helps to develop these skills. That is why many IT leaders love chess, as we at Acronis do. In addition, to be a leader, one should collaborate with leaders, and we are bringing the number one chess player to the number one chess country. Armenia loves chess and has high potential in IT, and we are joining forces in promoting chess, logical and creative thinking and IT in this wonderful country," said Serg Bell, Acronis CEO.

"IDeA Foundation focuses on fostering international recognition of national, spiritual and historical heritage of Armenia and implements projects targeting education, knowledge and cultural enrichment of the nation," said Artak Melkonyan, IDEA CEO. "This visit organically addresses all these aspects as Armenia is uniquely introduced to the world through its successes in both chess and IT field."

The IDeA Foundation (Initiatives for Development of Armenia) implements strategic charitable initiatives for Armenia, Artsakh and Armenian Diaspora. The projects are aimed at preservation, rebirth and international recognition of national, spiritual and historical heritage, development of education, cultural enrichment and enhancement of competitiveness of the nation. IDeA was set up by RVVZ Foundation which was co-founded by Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend.

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