Nonna Karakashyan

Nonna M. Karakashyan (née Nonna M. Avanesova; Նոննա Կարակաշյան; born February 13, 1940) was the first Armenian woman awarded with FIDE title of International Arbiter (1992). She is a chess player and coach. Her last name may also be spelled as Karakashian.

Nonna Karakashyan was a student of Honoured Trainer Suren Abramian. She was three-time women chess champion of Azerbaijan (1961,1963,1964) and national team member in 1955–1964. She earned a Bachelor in Engineering degree.

In 1979 Karakashyan founded "Trudovye Reservy" chess club in Baku, Azerbaijan, the very first chess club in the USSR for students of vocational technical schools.

In 1991–1992 Nonna Karakashyan held a position of a Deputy Director of Executive Committee of Armenian Chess Federation.

Nonna Karakashyan was Chief Arbiter of the finale tournament of the 51st USSR Women Open Championship (Lviv, Ukraine, 1991), arbiter of the Women World Candidate Tournament (Tskhaltubo, Republic of Georgia, 1988), the World Chess Olympiads (Moscow, Russia, 1994 and Yerevan, Armenia, 1996) and several Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournaments (1984–1991, Armenia).

At present, Nonna Karakashyan teaches chess classes in Edison, New Jersey (USA).

Her daughter, Narine Karakashian, is a chess Woman International Master, currently and has a psychology doctorate. Both mother and daughter were awarded with international chess titles (IA and WIM respectively) at the 1992 FIDE Congress in Manila, Philippines.

Publications

 * «Trainer who was a Role Model…» (2000), memoirs about Suren Abramian originally published at КasparovChess.ru  /in Russian/
 * Շախմատաին Հայաստան / «Шахматная Армения» / Chess in Armenia magazine – articles (1983—1992) /in Armenian and Russian/
 * «Голос Армении» / Voice of Armenia newspaper – chess columnist (1983–1992) /in Russian/.