IT'S EARLY DAYS YET

The participation of Azerbaijani grandmasters in the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk was unsuccessful. Sahriyar Mammadyarov and Teymur Racabov, the main favourites in the contest, were knocked out in the early stages. To some extent, this is due to the knockout system used whereby the class of leading players is sometimes reduced to zero.

Could we make a bid?

During the contest, almost all leading grandmasters thought that Sahriyar Mammadyarov would be one of the main favourites. Not only his second ranking among the participants, but also his attacking tactics, which have become his trademark, spoke in favour of our countryman. If Mammadyarov had taken a break in his schedule of contests and arrived in Khanty-Mansiysk after the break, he would have been able to make a bid for the highest placing. However, in this situation when he had to struggle not just with his opponent, but also with his weariness, he would not have been able to achieve great success in the tournament. If in the first two rounds - against Egyptian Khaled Abdel Raziq and Croatian Zdenko Kozul - Sahriyar managed to win by his class, this trick failed in the 1/16 finals against Ivan Cheparinov.

The ambitious Bulgarian is making quick progress, and he has an example to follow. Ivan is an aide to the former world champion, Veselin Topalov, and his solo career got off to a good start. In any case, Sahriyar had a good chance to knock his rival out of the 1/8 finals. However, playing with the black pieces in the first game, he chose the wrong position to strike and lost, while he "yawned" several times in the second game, after which Cheparinov was close to making his famous rival surrender. However, he accepted the draw offered by Sahriyar and moved forward on the basis of the results of the two games.

Mammadyarov said at a news conference that he had a hunch that he would not do well in Khanty-Mansiysk. "After Mikhail Tal's memorial where I annoyingly lost the leadership, having lost to Gata Kamskiy and Vladimir Kramnik, I realized that there was a different Sahriyar at the chess board. I made mistakes that were not typical of me, and with this quality of play, I would not be able to count on a high place in the World Cup," the grandmaster stressed. He said that he had not set himself specific goals in Khanty-Mansiysk, but took it one round at a time. "Of course, the season was quite tiring. After all, you cannot play so much if you want to achieve a specific result. I have never played so much before," Sahriyar said in conclusion.

Teymur Racabov, one of the most experienced participants in contests, laid down his arms, i.e. chessmen, in the 1/32 finals. It was his fifth contest, including the years when the World Cup was called the world championship. Whereas in 2004 he won a bronze in Libya, now he could not even come close to his own achievement, losing to Poland's Bartlomiej Macieja. Teymur had enough power to beat his rival, however, one false move, which he made in the second game, brought all his hopes to naught. We have to say that our grandmaster had thoroughly prepared for the tournament and missed Mikhail Tal's memorial in Moscow for that reason.

According to Silvio Danailov, manager of the former world champion Veselin Topalov, the guys were simply too "exhausted". "In such contests, strong nerves are the priority - don't exhaust yourself and play calmly. Just play your game and don't think about the result. Sahriyar is a very strong grandmaster. He can beat anyone, which he has repeatedly proved. He has beaten Veselin Topalov several times, and his play has always caused many problems for his rivals. I think if it were not for the tough schedule of the contest, there would have been uncompromising games," Danailov observed.

Despite their failure in Khanty-Mansiysk, Mammadyarov and Racabov may make a bid for the world chess crown at the Grand Prix contests initiated by FIDE from next year. The new idea of the international chess federation is that the winner of this stage will participate in a match for the title of champion with the winner of the World Cup beginning in 2009. This means that our sportsmen will have another chance to fight for the highest title. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who visited the World Cup, pointed out that in recent years, Azerbaijani chess players have grown noticeably from a professional point of view. "In general, there has appeared a whole number of young talents who have won international recognition in a short time. They are Magnus Karlsen, Dmitriy Yakovenko, Levon Aronyan, who is still very young, and of course, Sahriyar and Teymur," Ilyumzhinov said.

He also touched on the holding of Grand Prix tournaments beginning from next year, which will attract a lot of attention. "Within two years, there will be six contests in these series, and what is more, every leading grandmaster is free to choose only four stages in which he will be able to participate. The system has already been approved and endorsed at a FIDE congress and will take effect beginning next year," Ilyumzhinov stressed.

There is a chance

It is already known that the grandmaster who loses the match for the champion's crown between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, and the sportsman who loses the match for the title of champion will have the chance to participate in the contest. It could be Veselin Topalov or the holder of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiyks who is yet to be decided. Chess players who make it into the semi-finals in the World Cup will also get a chance to participate in the Grand Prix contest. Of course, the selection will be carried out on the basis of FIDE rankings, which means that Mammadyarov and Racabov will have a wonderful opportunity to try their luck in the prestigious contest.

Returning to the knockout system of the World Cup, which has been criticized by some specialists, the FIDE president said that it has justified itself very well. "In these matches, it is not only the skill, but also the psychological stamina of the players which is prioritized. The winner is the player who is better prepared for the knockout duel," Ilyumzhinov thinks. The FIDE president also stressed that the organization will give up the practice of return matches. "The match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik will be the last one of these matches. After that, this practice will be ended and only the world champion and the holder of the World Cup will meet in the match for the chess crown," Ilyumzhinov said.

The high level of the play of the Azerbaijani grandmasters and the development of chess in the country were also acknowledged by the press secretary of FIDE, Berik Balgabayev. "I would like to note the attitude to chess in Azerbaijan separately, which FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov mentioned at a recent FIDE conference in Turkey. As we know, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has issued an instruction to draw up a state chess development programme for 2008-2014. It is no accident in view of the latest success of your grandmasters - Teymur Racabov, Sahriyar Mammadyarov, Vuqar Hasimov and Rauf Mammadov. These young guys have brilliant prospects, as also proved by their participation in the European team championship, where they took third place. So this is a very powerful force. On the other hand, it is pleasing that Azerbaijan has started paying closer attention to women's chess, taking account of the international tournament in Baku which received a brilliant response. It is clear that your country has a very thoughtful, responsible and respectful attitude towards chess, which bears fruit. Now Racabov and Mammadyarov are among the top 10 players of FIDE. Apart from Azerbaijan, only Russia can boast such representation in the higher echelons of the rating list," Balgabayev said.

He also said that only great tournaments increase the popularity of chess. "Beginning from next year, the Grand Prix series will start, and personally I am surprised that Azerbaijan has not applied for it yet. With such an attitude and attention to chess, Baku should definitely be one of the cities to take part in the Grand Prix. The issue of organizing world championships and chess Olympiads in Baku is also important, especially as we know that the Azerbaijani capital has joined the race to host the summer Olympic Games of 2016, and the organization of chess Olympiads would be a great help in this direction," Balgabayev said.