Ashot Anastasian was an Armenian chess Grandmaster. He was born on July 16, 1964, in Yerevan, and passed away on February 26, 2016. Anastasian had a successful chess career, having won the Armenian Chess Championship six times (1983, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, and 2005). He also represented his country in the Chess Olympiad seven times.
Anastasian became an International Master in 1992 and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1997 by FIDE, the global chess organization. He has won multiple international tournaments, including ones in Belgrade (1992) and Moscow (1998).
One of his greatest achievements was his win against Vladimir Seliverstov in 1997 with the unusual Bird's Opening, where he defeated Seliverstov in just 24 moves.
Anastasian died on February 26, 2016, at the age of 51. His sudden passing was confirmed by his family, although they did not disclose the cause of his death.