(MENAFN- AzerNews)
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has released its
updated ratings for September, Azernews
reports.
The ranking shows who are the best chess players in the world
according to the Elo rating system. Through this system, the
performances of chess players in tournaments are assigned a numeric
value based on the ratings of their opponents.
Among the brightest stars of Azerbaijani chess players is
Grandmaster Shahriyar Mammadyarov. The 39-year-old chess player
holds a rating of 2, 733 points, which has allowed him to secure
17th place in the ranking.
Teymur Rajabov (2,700) advanced to the 31st place compared to
the last ranking. With 2,637 Rauf Mammadov has re-entered the Top
100th position.
In the realm of women's chess, Azerbaijani players are making
their mark as well.
Azerbaijani women's chess players Gunay Mammadzade (2433) 33,
Govhar Beydullayeva (2395) 53, Khanim Balajayeva (2384) 62nd,
Ulviyat Fataliyeva (2378) were ranked 68th.
For centuries, chess has been a popular game in Azerbaijan, with
ancient roots closely related to traditions. The country could
preserve these traditions, as chess remains a crucially popular
sport for now.
The first references to chess in Azerbaijan can be found in the
works of 12th-century great poets such as Khaqani Shirvani and
Nizami Ganavi, as well as in the works of one of the nation's most
respected literary personalities, Muhammed Fuzuli.
To popularise this original game, Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, who is also the chairman of the National Olympic Committee,
signed in 2009 an executive order initiating a state-supported
chess development program, covering the years 2009-2014.
The Azerbaijan Chess Federation was founded in 1920. Elman
Rustamov has been president of the National Chess Federation since
2007.
The first World Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan was arranged at the
Baku Crystal Hall, a multipurpose sports and concert arena. The
chess tournament gathered about 2,000 chess masters from 175
countries.
The FIDE World Chess Cup 2023 in Baku also managed to captivate
chess enthusiasts with its high-level competition and thrilling
encounters.
With a highly competitive field of players, the World Cup
offered an exciting platform for showcasing the immense talent and
strategic prowess of top chess players.
The tournament gathered around 206 players in the open section
and 103 in the women's competition.
The Azerbaijani team included 17 chess players, including
Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Gunay Mammadzade, Rauf
Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov, Vasif Durarbayli, Nijat Abasov, Abdulla
Gadimbayli, Misratdin Isgandarov, Muhammad Muradli, Vugar Asadli,
Riad Samadov, Aydin Suleymanli, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Gulnar
Mammadova, Khanim Balajayeva, and Govhar Beydullayeva.
The top three players from both the open and women's sections
qualified for the first time in the Men Candidates Tournament and
the Women Candidates Tournament 2024.
The national chess players have always taken high places at
top-ranked tournaments.
Shahriyar Mammadyarov is a three-fold European Team Champion
(2009, 2013, and 2017) and gold medalist at the 2012 Chess Olympiad
on the third board.
He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2003 and repeated
his victory in 2005, becoming the only two-time champion, achieving
a 2,953 performance rating after eight rounds.
After winning the Essent Tournament in 2006, Shahriyar achieved
world fame.
In June 2016, Mammadyarov won the 3rd Vugar Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir Chess Tournament.
He defeated Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri in the last two
rounds, which put him in a tie-break situation with Caruana. He
defeated Caruana in the tiebreak, thus giving him a tournament
victory.
In 2021, Mammadyarov defeated the 13-time world champion, Garry
Kasparov, at the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, Croatia.
Teymur Rajabov earned the title of grandmaster at the age of 14,
making him the second-youngest grandmaster in history at the time.
He defeated Kasparov back in 2003.
He also won the European Team Chess Championship with Azerbaijan
in 2009, 2013, and 2017.
His major individual achievements include joint first place at
the 2008 Elista Grand Prix, the 2017 Geneva Grand Prix, and the
2019 FIDE World Cup.
Govhar Beydullayeva has gone down in history as the first woman
grandmaster to become the world champion among 20-year-olds in the
history of Azerbaijani chess.
Beydullayeva drew with Zala Urh (Slovenia) and Laman Hajiyeva
with Livia Jarocka (Poland) at World Junior Chess Championship U20.
She secured a gold medal in the world championship of under-20
chess players.
Govhar Beydullayeva repeatedly represented Azerbaijan at the
European Youth Chess Championships and World Youth Chess
Championships in different age groups, where she won three medals
and two silver.
In 2021, she won a silver medal among women in Serbia Open
Masters tournament held in Belgrade, Serbia.
Ulviyya Fataliyeva went down in history as the first female
Azerbaijani chess player to win a gold medal at the European Open
and Women's Individual Chess Championships.
She defeated the top-seeded player from Georgia, Nino
Batsiashvili, to claim the championship title and scored 8.5/10
points.
Ulviyya Fataliyeva played for Azerbaijan in the 42nd Chess
Olympiad in Baku (2016), the World Women's Team Chess Championship
in Khanty-Mansiysk (2017) and two European Women's Team Chess
Championships (2015, 2017).
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr
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