My family and Education
I’m a born and raised Chicagoan, still living in the same neighborhood that I grew up in on the north side of Chicago where I attended elementary and high school. I have been happily married for over 11 years to my wife Yana and we have two beautiful daughters aged 8 and 3 named Kassandra-Caroline (Kassy) and Jessica-Renee (Jessie), respectively. We also have a fluffy snow white Persian cat named Caissa (go figure). I completed my Bachelors and Masters degrees at Roosevelt University in Telecommunications and Information Systems respectively. I completed approximately 30 credit hours past my MS degree in a variety of subjects such as Organizational Behavior, International Leadership, and E-commerce.
My Non-Chess Professional experience
I’ve been in the Information Technology arena for my entire career working internally for organizations in an IT capacity, consulting / professional services, and working for software/hardware technology firms. I’ve held positions in the past with organizations such as Ameritech (a baby Bell), Zurich Financial Services where I was a Sr. Internal Auditor for 5 years, and Symantec. I began working at KACE Networks in June of 2008 which was a start-up and then we were acquired by Dell. You can see more information by clicking here to view my LinkedIn profile.
Furthermore, I have taught in a number of universities such as Roosevelt, Lewis, and most recently Northwestern University. For over 10 years at these universities I instructed graduate and undergraduate courses in Telecommunications, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems, and Information Security. These courses were in the undergraduate and graduate programs of Information Systems and the graduate program of Medical Informatics.
My Chess Experience
I am a chess player, but not currently very active over the board (though you can catch me blitzing online). I am a USCF Senior Tournament Director. Additionally I hold the titles of International Organizer and International Arbiter. Regarding the latter, I am the only Class B International Arbiter in the United States (having been Chief or Deputy of a minimum of two World Championship events). I am also a member of Rules and Tournament Regulations Commission of FIDE, along with being on the following sub-committees of the FIDE Arbiters Commission: Arbiters Commission Website, Arbiters Commission Handbook, and the Internet-based Arbiters Seminar. I organized the first ever Arbiter seminar in the United States and also spearheaded the creation of the Internet-based Arbiters Seminar, giving the opportunity to fulfill the seminar requirement for aspiring arbiters by using standard web-based communications technology.
In 2010 I was the Chief Organizer and Arbiter of the World Amateur Chess Championships held in Skokie, IL and the Deputy Chief Arbiter in Turkey for the World School Individual Championships. I also attended the 39th Olympiad and FIDE Congress in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, where I provided meeting by meeting updates to those back here in the US.
I have organized tournaments for scholastic, amateur, and professional players through my USCF Gold Affiliate – the North American Chess Association. Many of you may recognize my name as associated with the organization of tournaments that provide the opportunity for players to achieve FIDE titles. A sample of players who have achieved norms at my events: Pascal Charbonneau, Ray Robson, Ben Finegold, Alisa Melekhina, Mackenzie Molner, Robby Adamson, and many more. As a brief synopsis of events I have organized:
- Multiple State Championship in Illinois;
- 26 FIDE title norm tournaments;
- 6 National Championships (US G/60 and US G/30 for 3 years);
- 2010 World Amateur Chess Championships; and
- 2011 Continental America’s Amateur Chess Championships
Recently I have also opened up the North Shore Chess Center in Skokie, IL, which I am hoping will be the first of 4 chess centers in the Chicagoland area. Additionally I have been on of the driving forces behind the Chicago Blaze US Chess League franchise.
The ongoings of my chess endeavors can be followed in variety of ways such as our website, our Twitter feed, and our Facebook Fan page.
Best Regards,
Sevan A. Muradian