YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan continues successful performance at the chess tournament held in Varna.

Gabuzyan has scored 2 points after two rounds and is leading together with four other participants at the open in Varna, Bulgaria. As reports “Armenpress” Armchess website, Armenian GM Hrant Melkumyan has scored 6,5 points after seven rounds and is solely leading at the open in Teplice, Czech Republic.

Hrant Melkumyan is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and European Blitz Champion in 2011. He won the international Internet championship organized by the ICC chess Internet portal. In 2006, he won the U18 silver medal at the World Youth Chess Championship. In 2009, he tied for 1st–5th with Sergey Volkov, Andrey Rychagov, Andrei Deviatkin and Zhou Weiqi in the Chigorin Memorial. In 2010, tied for 1st–8th with Sergey Volkov,Viorel Iordachescu, Eduardo Iturrizaga, Gadir Guseinov, David Arutinian, Aleksej Aleksandrov and Tornike Sanikidze in the 12th Dubai Open. In 2011, he tied for 2nd–4th with Borki Predojević and Mircea Pârligras in 41st International Bosna Tournament in Sarajevo; tied for 1st–2nd with Baadur Jobava in the Lake Sevan tournament in Martuni and finished second on tie-break; tied for 3rd–15th in the open section of the 15th Corsican Circuit. In December 2011 Melkumyan tied for 1st–3rd with Alexei Dreev and Radoslaw Wojtaszek in the European Blitz Chess Championship and won the event on tie-break. In January 2012 he won the 2nd Armenian Chess960 Championship and in February 2012 tied for 4th–8th with Alexander Khalifman, Maxim Rodshtein, Fabiano Caruana and Dmitry Andreikin in the 11thAeroflot Open. In 2013 he tied for 1st–8th with Alexander Moiseenko, Evgeny Romanov, Alexander G Beliavsky,Constantin Lupulescu, Francisco Vallejo Pons, Sergei Movsesian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexey Dreev and Evgeny Alekseev in the European Individual Chess Championship.

On the November 2011 FIDE World Rankings his Elo rating is 2615. His handle on the Internet Chess Club is "Pchyolka".

On February 21, 2014, Melkumyan won the Casino Graz International held in Graz, Austria.