IM Lilit Galojan

Professional Chess Player
♔ International Master (IM) & ♕ Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
FIDE Peak Rating: 📈 2402 (Classical)

🎓 Associate Professor of Pedagogy

I was a member of the Armenian Women’s National Team for over 12 years
and represented Armenia in five Chess Olympiads,
six European Team Championships,
and three World Team Championships.

I’ve been playing chess for most of my life, and I still enjoy discovering new ideas on the board.
I especially enjoy sharing my experience with students and seeing how differently each person thinks about chess.

Some of My Best Results:

5th place with the Armenian Women’s National Team at the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø
Best individual result by points at the 2005 European Women’s Team Championship in Gothenburg
3rd place with MIKA Yerevan at the 2010 European Club Cup, with the best individual result on Board 4
3rd-best individual result on Board 3 at the 2010 European Women’s Team Championship in Novi Sad
2nd place in the 2026 Israeli Women’s League, with the second-best individual result on Board 1
10th place individually at the 2009 World Women’s Team Championship
Two-time Armenian Women’s Champion (2008 and 2009), with five additional 2nd- or 3rd-place finishes

Early Chess Achievements
Multiple-time Armenian Girls’ Champion in the U12–U18 age categories
Yerevan Girls’ U18 Champion at the age of 12
Yerevan Women’s Champion at the age of 15
Three-time Women's Champion of the Central Chess House of Armenia

Teaching Experience

I have been teaching chess at university level since 2007, first at the Polytechnic University and currently at NUACA (National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia).

The university teams I have worked with have won several medals in inter-university competitions in Armenia and Russia. My work with students and their achievements contributed to my becoming an Associate Professor of Pedagogy.

For many years, I mainly worked with stron g university-level chess players. In recent years, I have expanded my coaching and now work with players of different ages and levels, both individually and in groups.

I enjoy working with ambitious players, but you don’t need to be a strong player to start lessons with me. What matters most is your interest in chess and your desire to improve.

Outside chess, I have a background in sports journalism and studied at the Academy of Television and Radio.
I also work at NUACA as a university lecturer and Head of the Department of Physical Education and Sports.

Best Skills in Chess and Teaching
I especially enjoy game analysis and calculation. I help students build a clear thinking process: finding candidate moves, looking for forcing and tempo moves, and understanding the tactical and positional possibilities of a position.

I can also help with:
choosing openings that suit your playing style
improving piece development and strategic planning
developing calculation discipline
recognizing tactical and positional opportunities
analyzing your games and understanding why mistakes happen, not just where they happen

Whenever possible,
I also follow my students’ tournament games online. It helps me understand their decisions, habits, and playing style much better.

Teaching Methodology

There is no single teaching method that works for everyone. Each student needs an individual approach.

I analyze my students’ games, identify their weaknesses, and work on the areas that need improvement. But I don’t believe a student should focus only on weaknesses — that can make learning difficult and eventually boring.

It is equally important to develop a student’s strengths, give them opportunities to play the kind of chess they enjoy, and keep their enthusiasm for the game.

My goal is to help my students improve while making sure they continue to enjoy chess.