Answers.Body: <p><a href="http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Sports/Chess/GrandMasters-per-million">NationMaster compiled a list</a> of countries in order of GMs per capita, in 2006. In their study, Iceland and Andorra top Armenia.</p>
  
  <p>This is still the case, as Iceland currently <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=g&amp;other_title=&amp;country=ISL&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">boasts 13 GMs</a>, and a population totaling a mere <a href="http://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Ibuar/Ibuar__mannfjoldi__1_yfirlit__yfirlit_mannfjolda/MAN00000.px/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=2a632b0a-5bf6-4395-abd8-04ad987d408c">332,529</a> as of January 1. Per capita 0.0000391.</p>
  
  <p>Andorra still holds its place above Armenia as well; <a href="http://www.estadistica.ad/serveiestudis/web/banc_dades4.asp?tipus_grafic=&amp;bGrafic=&amp;formules=inici&amp;any1=01/01/2000&amp;any2=01/01/2015&amp;codi_divisio=8&amp;lang=1&amp;codi_subtemes=8&amp;codi_tema=2&amp;chkseries=">its population is 78,014 as of 2015</a>, and it <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=g&amp;other_title=&amp;country=AND&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">boasts two GMs</a>, <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=400106">David Norwood</a> and <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=6900224">Oscar De La Riva Aguado</a>. That results in a per capita of 0.0000256 GMs.</p>
  
  <p>These countries are successful in this stat just because the population is so low. In a small country, one GM makes a very big statistical difference.</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.armstat.am/file/article/bnakch_01.10.14.pdf">Armenia estimates</a> it has 3,013,900 inhabitants as of 2014, and FIDE shows <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=g&amp;other_title=&amp;country=ARM&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">36 GMS</a>, which puts their per capita at 0.0000119, less than half Andorra's per capita total.</p>
  
  <p>I checked into the top ten countries in NationMaster's list, to find whether any other country had crept above Armenia within the 10 years since NationMaster's study, but it appears that Armenia holds its 3rd place position pretty securely.</p>
  
  <p>I wouldn't read too much into these data. Iceland actually has fewer IMs than GMs (<a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=m&amp;other_title=&amp;country=ISL&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">11</a> vs. 13), and so does Armenia (<a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=m&amp;other_title=&amp;country=ARM&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">29</a> vs. 36). (Andorra has <a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=m&amp;other_title=&amp;country=AND&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">2 IMs</a>). Also, Armenia places 7th in <a href="http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Sports/Chess/International-Masters-per-million">NationMaster's IM study</a>. There are, on average, 2.31 IMs per GM (<a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=m&amp;other_title=&amp;country=%25&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">3519</a>/<a href="https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&amp;name=&amp;title=g&amp;other_title=&amp;country=%25&amp;sex=&amp;srating=0&amp;erating=3000&amp;birthday=&amp;radio=name&amp;line=asc">1522</a>), so Iceland, Andorra, and Armenia's combined total of 42 IMs (instead of the expected average of 118) indicates a very large margin of error. I guess most of the influx of GMs is a statistical fluctuation that will resolve somewhat over time (say, in a generation).</p>
  
  <p>That said, <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/armenia_introduces_chess_as_mandatory_school_subject/24333249.html">chess is a mandatory school subject</a> in Armenia as of 2011. Rather than a cause (as no current GMs would have been affected by this ruling), this move might be a symptom of chess proclivity in Armenia's culture, which would explain its popularity in the country. As far as I could tell, Iceland has no special chess program, but when you take a random sample as small as 300,000, some samples will contain no GMs and some will have 13 (or more). That kind of statistical "noise" doesn't necessarily mean anything. </p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Daniel
Answers.Body: <p>It's from 2010 but you might look at</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://pogonina.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=154" rel="nofollow">http://pogonina.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=154</a></p>
  
  <p>where as expected Iceland is number 1, and Armenia is number 3. Number 2 might surprise you!</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Hmmm, that said I can't see the country I come from (UK) listed which suggests it isn't complete. Or maybe we voted ourselves out of it, idiots that we are.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ian Bush
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Answers.Text: I have no idea why I forgot Iceland! Thanks for the list. What factors help make Iceland so successful?
Answers.UserDisplayName: David
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Answers.Text: @IanBush There is no UK FIDE-affiliated federation and never has been. Instead there are separate federations for England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey, etc. I find it a little bit shocking that somebody with an ECF (English Chess Federation) grading of 142 in their late 40's is so ignorant of whom they pay their £22 a year to. I'm also rather shocked that such virtue-signalling ignorance should be entrusted with teaching at Magdalen College School, one of England's better public schools. (Public school = private school, for the benefit of Americans)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
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Answers.Text: I couldn't find England either, and I don 't teach at MCS! Rather I dispense ignorance to graduates at the local university. But I take your point :)
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Answers.Text: @David What makes Iceland successful? The legacy of Fischer v. Spassky, Reykjavík, 1972. It's also why I learnt chess in the first place.
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Body: <p>Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia?</p>
  
  <p>If not which country is the closest? What are the some of the reasons for Armenian success in the chess world with its relatively small population?</p>
  
  <p>Are there best practices from chess education in Armenia that can be utilized in other countries hoping to raise more strong Grandmasters?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-24T22:44:34.320Z
Comments.Text: Surely Iceland with 13 grandmasters out of a population of 320 000 beats Armenia who "only" have 37 grandmasters out of 3 million people,
Comments.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
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Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-26T15:30:17.610Z
Comments.Text: Add explosions to chess and the USA would have more GMs than anyone, by any measure!
Comments.UserDisplayName: Tony Ennis
Tags: <grandmaster>
Title: Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia?
ThreadText: # Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-24)
  
  Does any country have as many GM's per capita as Armenia?
  
  If not which country is the closest? What are the some of the reasons for Armenian success in the chess world with its relatively small population?
  
  Are there best practices from chess education in Armenia that can be utilized in other countries hoping to raise more strong Grandmasters?
  
  **Tags:** grandmaster
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Surely Iceland with 13 grandmasters out of a population of 320 000 beats Armenia who "only" have 37 grandmasters out of 3 million people,  
  > **username_2**: Add explosions to chess and the USA would have more GMs than anyone, by any measure!  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2016-06-25. Score: 9 | Accepted answer
  
  It's from 2010 but you might look at
  
  <http://pogonina.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=154>
  
  where as expected Iceland is number 1, and Armenia is number 3. Number 2 might surprise you!
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_4**: Hmmm, that said I can't see the country I come from (UK) listed which suggests it isn't complete. Or maybe we voted ourselves out of it, idiots that we are.  
  > **username_0**: I have no idea why I forgot Iceland! Thanks for the list. What factors help make Iceland so successful?  
  > **username_5**: @username_4 There is no UK FIDE-affiliated federation and never has been. Instead there are separate federations for England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey, etc. I find it a little bit shocking that somebody with an ECF (English Chess Federation) grading of 142 in their late 40's is so ignorant of whom they pay their £22 a year to. I'm also rather shocked that such virtue-signalling ignorance should be entrusted with teaching at Magdalen College School, one of England's better public schools. (Public school = private school, for the benefit of Americans)  
  > **username_4**: I couldn't find England either, and I don 't teach at MCS! Rather I dispense ignorance to graduates at the local university. But I take your point :)  
  > **username_4**: @username_0 What makes Iceland successful? The legacy of Fischer v. Spassky, Reykjavík, 1972. It's also why I learnt chess in the first place.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2016-06-25. Score: 7
  
  [NationMaster compiled a list](http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Sports/Chess/GrandMasters-per-million) of countries in order of GMs per capita, in 2006. In their study, Iceland and Andorra top Armenia.
  
  This is still the case, as Iceland currently [boasts 13 GMs](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=g&other_title=&country=ISL&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc), and a population totaling a mere [332,529](http://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Ibuar/Ibuar__mannfjoldi__1_yfirlit__yfirlit_mannfjolda/MAN00000.px/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=2a632b0a-5bf6-4395-abd8-04ad987d408c) as of January 1. Per capita 0.0000391.
  
  Andorra still holds its place above Armenia as well; [its population is 78,014 as of 2015](http://www.estadistica.ad/serveiestudis/web/banc_dades4.asp?tipus_grafic=&bGrafic=&formules=inici&any1=01/01/2000&any2=01/01/2015&codi_divisio=8&lang=1&codi_subtemes=8&codi_tema=2&chkseries=), and it [boasts two GMs](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=g&other_title=&country=AND&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc), [username_0 Norwood](https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=400106) and [Oscar De La Riva Aguado](https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=6900224). That results in a per capita of 0.0000256 GMs.
  
  These countries are successful in this stat just because the population is so low. In a small country, one GM makes a very big statistical difference.
  
  [Armenia estimates](http://www.armstat.am/file/article/bnakch_01.10.14.pdf) it has 3,013,900 inhabitants as of 2014, and FIDE shows [36 GMS](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=g&other_title=&country=ARM&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc), which puts their per capita at 0.0000119, less than half Andorra's per capita total.
  
  I checked into the top ten countries in NationMaster's list, to find whether any other country had crept above Armenia within the 10 years since NationMaster's study, but it appears that Armenia holds its 3rd place position pretty securely.
  
  I wouldn't read too much into these data. Iceland actually has fewer IMs than GMs ([11](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=m&other_title=&country=ISL&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc) vs. 13), and so does Armenia ([29](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=m&other_title=&country=ARM&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc) vs. 36). (Andorra has [2 IMs](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=m&other_title=&country=AND&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc)). Also, Armenia places 7th in [NationMaster's IM study](http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Sports/Chess/International-Masters-per-million). There are, on average, 2.31 IMs per GM ([3519](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=m&other_title=&country=%25&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc)/[1522](https://ratings.fide.com/advaction.phtml?idcode=&name=&title=g&other_title=&country=%25&sex=&srating=0&erating=3000&birthday=&radio=name&line=asc)), so Iceland, Andorra, and Armenia's combined total of 42 IMs (instead of the expected average of 118) indicates a very large margin of error. I guess most of the influx of GMs is a statistical fluctuation that will resolve somewhat over time (say, in a generation).
  
  That said, [chess is a mandatory school subject](http://www.rferl.org/content/armenia_introduces_chess_as_mandatory_school_subject/24333249.html) in Armenia as of 2011. Rather than a cause (as no current GMs would have been affected by this ruling), this move might be a symptom of chess proclivity in Armenia's culture, which would explain its popularity in the country. As far as I could tell, Iceland has no special chess program, but when you take a random sample as small as 300,000, some samples will contain no GMs and some will have 13 (or more). That kind of statistical "noise" doesn't necessarily mean anything.
  
  
  ---
  
  