GM Melik Khachiyan is a top player and former chess Olympian. He is also a trainer who has taught many future GMs and has coached the US Women’s national team for many years. Despite his many successes, Melik had never won a US Championship of his own…until this year. In 2023, Melik beat out many higher-rated U.S. legends to comfortably win the U.S. Senior Championship! In our conversation, Melik takes us behind the scenes of the games and opening preparation, and his training regimen during the weeks leading up to the tournament. Melik thinks that he was propelled to victory by a couple of decisions in particular: 1) a focus on physical fitness and 2) his staying active in competitive chess. Melik always has lots of chess knowledge to impart, but his recent successes highlight the importance of perseverance, both at and away from the board. And of course, as GM Levon Aronian’s childhood coach, and a former student of World Champion Tigran Petrosian, Melik always has a few stories to share. You can find timestamps of topics discussed below. 

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Starting Out: The Scotch by Fiona Steil-Antoni and IM Alex Astaneh 

Techniques of Positional Play featuring GM Peter Heine Nielsen 

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My prior interview with Melik: 

Episode 64 with GM Melik Khachiyan

0:00- Melik explains the story behind his last-minute invitation to the U.S. Senior Championship. 

5:00- What did Melik do to change his chess training and fitness routine leading up the tournament? 

Mentioned: Khachiyan-Root 2023

12:00- Patreon mailbag question- “How has Melik’s tournament approach changed over the years?” 

20:00- Did Melik gain an edge over his competitors by continuing to compete?

Mentioned: GM Alex Fishbein 

25:00- Patreon mailbag question:  Has Melik changed his opening repertoire in recent years?

30:00- What was the story behind Melik’s game with Dlugy which began with the unusual sequence 1. Nf3 c5 2. C3 ? Melik also discusses his unusual preparation for GM Patrick Wolff 

Mentioned: Khachiyan-Dlugy 2023, Khachiyan-Wolff 2023

39:00- What  does Melik do to deal with sleep problems that occur during tournaments? 

42:00- What are Melik’s memories of competing in the 1996 Olimpiad in Yerevan, with his then student FM Levon Aronian, also on the Armenian team? 

44:00- In my recent interview with GM Aronian he discussed traveling to tournaments in the cargo department of a plane. What were Melik’s recollections of those rides? What does Melik think Levon learned from growing up so poor? 

Mentioned: Episode 341 with GM Levon Aronian 

50:00- How was World Champion GM Tigran Petrosian’s table tennis game? What did Tigran think of speed chess? 

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