• GM Akobian wins Silver Medal at the World team Championship with USA Team (2010)
• GM Akobian wins 2009 North American Open in Las Vegas!
• GM Akobian wins 2009 National Open in Las Vegas!
• GM Akobian Qualifies to the 2009 World Cup from US Championship
• GM Akobian won first place at 2nd Spice Cup!

"In 2009, I began to seriously train with GM Varuzhan Akobian, and as a result, my rating jumped from 1999 to 2200 in one year! Var put an emphasis on "playing like a grandmaster" and spent time during lessons to go over top-level games to force me to find moves that strong grandmasters had played before me. He taught me many concrete themes and motifs for various types of positions, and this allowed me to strengthen my playing ability right away and be creative over the board. I highly recommend Var for players of all strengths." -- Kostya Kavutskiy USCF 2213