Career
She is a chess player and coach. Her last name may also be spelled as Karakashian. Nonna Karakashyan was a student of Honoured Trainer Suren Abramian.
She earned a Bachelor in Engineering degree.
In 1979 Karakashyan founded "Trudovye Reservy" chess club in Baku, Azerbaijan, the very first chess club in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics for students of vocational technical schools. In 1991–1992 Nonna Karakashyan held a position of a Deputy Director of Executive Committee of Armenian Chess Federation.
Nonna Karakashyan was Chief Arbiter of the finale tournament of the 51st Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Women Open Championship (Lviv, Ukraine, 1991), arbiter of the Women World Candidate Tournament (Tskhaltubo, Republic of Georgia, 1988), the World Chess Olympiads (Moscow, Russia, 1994 and Yerevan, Armenia, 1996) and several Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournaments (1984–1991, Armenia). At present, Nonna Karakashyan teaches chess classes in Edison, New Jersey (United States of America).
Her daughter, Narine Karakashian, is a chess Woman International Master, currently and has a psychology doctorate.