Birth of Henrik Kasparian (February 27, 1910)

There are chess players who are noted for their work in chess theory. Among them Henrik Kasparian was one of the greatest composers of chess endgame studies.    

Henrik Kasparian was born in Tiflis (Tbilisi) on February 27, 1910. His parents were born in Artsakh. He developed his interest in chess from a young age. He studied in the Polytechnical Institute of Tiflis (1926-1931) and, in 1929, when he shared 4th-5th place in the championship of Tiflis, he had already published several dozens of chess compositions. He moved to Yerevan in 1936 and became the first national master of Armenia in the same year. He participated in the Second World War in 1941-1945.  

He was a very strong chess player, winning the championship of Armenia ten times between 1934 and 1956, including two ties with Tigran Petrosian, the future world championship, as well as the Tiflis championship three times (1931, 1937, 1945). He reached the Soviet Championship finals four times in 1931, 1937, 1947, and 1953, but did not rise above the tenth place. 

He was one of the first recipients of the title of international master created by the International Federation of Chess (FIDE) in 1950. In 1956, he retired from over-the-board chess and, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of Armenian chess, he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sport of Armenia.   

Kasparian is best known for his compositions. He started with chess problems and soon discovered that his forte was in endgame studies. In 1956, he was awarded the title of International Judge of Chess Compositions and in 1972, he would become the first chess composer to receive the title of International Grandmaster of Chess Compositions from the FIDE. He won the USSR Composing Championship several times. 

He wrote about two dozen books and collections published in six languages, including English, and composed about 600 studies, many on the theme of domination, winning 57 first prizes. He passed away on December 27, 1995, in Yerevan. In 2005, the Olympic school of chess and checkers of Yerevan was named after Henrik Kasparian.