"SHAH" ON THE THRONE

Dedicated to the memory of the famous chess player Vuqar Hasimov, the Shamkir [Samkir in Azeri] Chess 2016 tournament, unlike previous years, kept everyone in suspense until the very end. If in 2014 and 2015 world champion Magnus Carlsen confidently defeated all rivals, this year several players got the chance to compete for the cup. In the absence of Carlsen, the hard struggle of Fabiano Caruana (USA), Sergey Karjakin (Russia), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Sahriyar Mammadyarov (Azerbaijan) and others kept the fans in suspense until the last round.

Until the sixth round of the Shamkir tournament, which was attended by 10 chess players from 7 countries, the chess player of Italian descent Fabiano Caruana, who represented the United States, was in the lead. Demonstrating excellent performance against colleagues, Fabiano proved that he was rightly called the rating favourite of the tournament. But when many had almost no doubt about his victory, there was a turning point. In the seventh round, Fabiano drew with Anish Giri and in the eighth round, he lost to Sahriyar Mammadyarov. Playing with white pieces, he made two mistakes Mammadyarov skillfully took advantage of. After this victory, the fate of Sahriyar, who was behind the leader by only half a point, was in his own hands.

The culmination of the competition in memory of Vuqar Hasimov was the last round. Fabiano Caruana tied with the challenger for the chess crown, Sergey Karjakin, and scored six points in the end. Sahriyar Mammadyarov managed to beat Anish Giri and also scored six points. According to the regulations, the winner had to be defined in a tie-break. In the first two games, Caruana and Mammadyarov gained one victory each. And in the blitz, the leader of the Azerbaijan national team was stronger - 2.5:1.5, and as a result, Sahriyar Mammadyarov won the title of Shamkir tournament winner for the first time.

Mammadyarov's victory is significant due to a number of factors. So far, none of the domestic chess players has won a 20th category super-tournament. The second factor is the fact that the competition is dedicated to the memory of Sahriyar's teammate Vuqar Hasimov. The late grandmaster always wished good luck to his teammates. Therefore, Mammadyarov's success is doubly important for himself and for Azerbaijani chess.

In an interview with R+ at the end of the competition, Shamkir Chess 2016 winner Sahriyar Mammadyarov said that he believed in the victory after the 8th round: "The situation changed after the victory over Fabiano Caruana in the eighth round. Caruana is a very strong chess player. In the FIDE rating, he takes 2nd or 3rd place. Playing with black pieces against him was not easy. Beating Caruana in the eighth round, I believed in myself even more. It was necessary to beat Anish Giri in the final round. And I achieved this goal. Since Caruana and I had an equal number of points, a tie-break was inevitable. It is like a penalty shootout in soccer. Nevertheless, I won, having succeeded in the tie-break."

Mammadyarov also said that the Shamkir tournament takes a special place in his life: "Now I won't say any more that competitions in Azerbaijan are unsuccessful for me. Before Shamkir, I always lost in the rankings at competitions in our country. Shamkir Chess 2016 showed that my opinion was wrong. On the other hand, until now Azerbaijani chess players have not had the joy of championship in a 20th category super-tournament. This is also the first time. Teymur Racabov and I have won a number of competitions. Sometimes we shared the first and second places in Wijk aan Zee or in another tournament. But there was no championship. In this sense, the victory in Shamkir was extremely important for us," the tournament winner said.

"In the competition in Shamkir there is one name that unites all: Vuqar Hasimov. The organizers, participants and guests all gather for the sake of this name. Vuqar always dreamed about the victory of Azerbaijani chess. Often we tried for success together. After the victory in Shamkir, I remembered the days when Vuqar and I won the European Championship in Serbia for the first time. Vuqar is always with us. Therefore, I dedicate my victory to Vuqar Hasimov," he said.

The director of the Shamkir Chess 2016 tournament, Farid Huseynov, said in an interview with R+ that local chess fans greeted the victory of Sahriyar Mammadyarov with tears of joy in their eyes: "I said before the tournament that I wish the Azerbaijani chess player to win in Shamkir. In the first two tournaments, Magnus Carlsen of Norway was in the lead. This time in Shamkir, a real thriller took place before us. Fabiano Caruana demonstrated performance of the highest class from the first round. In all games with rivals, he waged an uncompromising struggle. Along with Anish Giri, Sergey Karjakin, who claimed the title of world champion, also tried to compete with Caruana. After the victory over Eltac Safarli in the seventh round, Sahriyar said that the results could only be judged only at the end. After these words, each of us believed in him even more. But the main work is done by a chess player himself. First Sahriyar beat Caruana and Anish Giri, and then in a tie-break he defeated the chess player representing the United States again. In the last game he was supported by the whole of Shamkir. Imagine: at the Heydar Aliyev Centre, Mammadyarov was supported by everyone - from the guard to every official guest and young chess fans. After the last move, you could see tears of joy in the hall," Huseynov said.

Mammadyarov received 15,000 euros for his victory in the Shamkir Chess 2016 tournament with a prize fund of 73,000 euros.