KINGS GATHER IN BAKU

The first stage of the FIDE Grand Prix is testing its strength in Baku. The first rounds of the competition are already over and have produced some interesting results. The opening ceremony for the tournament, which marks the 85th birthday of national leader Heydar Aliyev, was held in the Muslum Magomayev State Philharmonia. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov made an interesting announcement that the International Chess Federation intends to subsidize construction of a Palace of Chess in Baku, which will include an academy and museum. This project will be carried out in the near future. Ilyumzhinov highlighted the role of the state in developing sport in Azerbaijan, especially chess. "Today Teymur Racabov and Saxriyar Mammadyarov are near the top of the FIDE rankings, while the Azerbaijani team is the youngest in the world. All this success by your chess players would have been impossible without the support of the state. And a state programme to develop chess is being drawn up in Azerbaijan at the moment," Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said.

He also highlighted Heydar Aliyev's contribution to the development of chess, saying that he helped the sport to develop not only in Azerbaijan but in the world. "I think that were it not for Heydar Aliyev, the chess world would probably never have had the champion Garry Kasparov," Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said.

The FIDE chief went on to make several interesting observations about the development of chess in Azerbaijan. "Kirsan Ilyumzhinov shared not only the idea of building a Palace of Chess in Baku, which will probably have regional significance, but he also suggested holding the women's world championship in Baku," Azerbaijani Youth and Sports Minister Azad Rahimov said after the start of the first round. "To be honest, the proposal came as something of a surprise, as the tournament is due to begin soon. That's why we're not ready just yet to give a definite answer." 

As for the first round, Saxriyar Mammadyarov and Petr Svidler were first to finish their game and they ended with a draw. The sides reached agreement after 25 moves with the Azerbaijani grandmaster playing white. The competition is being held under the Sofia rules, which do not allow agreed draws, but the position was declared to be a tie by FIDE special expert Zurab Azmayparashvili after the position was repeated three times. At the post-match press conference, Svidler admitted that after the fourth move he was "free floating". "The position was very tricky and after Sax played e4, then f4, I felt quite uncomfortable. Then I managed to get out if it," the favourite said. Saxriyar Mammadyarov said that he was generally satisfied with the result. And a draw against Petr Svidler was not a bad outcome. 

Another Azerbaijani chess player, Teymur Racabov, also began the tournament with a draw, this time against Michael Adams. "Of course, I wanted to play for a win and my position was not bad. But Adams is a quality player who might make an unusual move at any moment. This is what happened during the game - I would seem to have an advantage, but one mistake could bring it all to nothing. It has never been easy for me to play Adams, he beat me at the World Championship in Tripoli after all. So I think that a draw is not a bad result," Teymur said. 

He said that it was very difficult to switch from one tournament to another, but everyone has to play under this tough regime. "At the Russian team championship in Dagomys recently it was especially tough as every point won was important for the teams chasing the gold medals. And when we lost one of the matches mid-tournament, the trainers decided that I should play the first board for Ural without a break. I have already played a lot of games this year - 13 rounds in Wijk aan Zee, 14 in Morelia/Linares and now the Grand Prix," Teymur Racabov said.

The Baku tournament has the highest coefficient of all six stages of the Grand Prix. There is plenty to watch here, as the tournament has attracted Norwegian Wunderkind Magnus Karlsen, World Cup winner Gata Kamsky and many other famous chess players. And the hosts are represented by three grandmasters - Vugar Hasimov, who drew against Frenchman Etienne Bacrot, is also playing, as well as Mammadyarov and Racabov. Hasimov's game was the longest of the first round and the players agreed to draw after the 58th move. Since agreed draws are banned here, chess lovers have seen some uncompromising contests. This is no exaggeration. The FIDE Grand Prix will continue until 5 May.