SHAHRIYAR INTENDS TO WIN OVER BERLIN

The rising star of the world chess Shahriyar Mammadyarov is warming up for the most important competition in his career, the tournament of applicants, the Berlin Candidates Tournament, which will be held in March 2018. He has previously represented Azerbaijan in this competition. His recent performance however, has never been as confident and vivid as now.

Currently, the second-best player in the world with a personal rating of 2814, the grandmaster from Sumgayit has set a double record and stepped into a new, “elite” stage of his career. His main objective now is to preserve the position, stability and progress even further.

At the first competition of the new year, the traditional tournament in the Dutch Wijk aan Zee, Mamedyarov significantly improved the rating. After a draw with American Wesley So (2792), Shahriyar achieved his first victory over the Chinese grandmaster Hou Yifan (2680) in the second round. Two consecutive draws with Russian grandmasters Maxim Matlakov (2718) and Sergey Karyakin (2753)  did not stop Mammadyarov from winning over Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2811), Baskaran Adhiban (India, 2655), and Wei Yi (China, 2743 ). Ahead of his closest rival by 1.5 points, our fellow compatriot has suddenly become the most likely winner of the super tournament.

Just imagine – 5.5 points in seven rounds! Even the most optimistic fan could not foresee such a result! However, Anish Giri (Holland, 2752) interrupted the victorious march of our chess player. But this defeat has not broken Mammadyarov's spirit. On the contrary, leaving the game with the ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2768) with a half point, Shahriyar defeated Peter Svidler (Russia, 2768).

The time of dual authority has come three rounds before the end of the super tournament. But Mammadyarov lagged behind both Giri and Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2834) by additional coefficients. At the same time, two of the last three rivals were elite chess players. The draw with the current owner of the chess crown was quite understandable. And Gawaine Jones (England, 2640) had to be defeated. However, the unexpected happened and on the 12^th move, a draw became inevitable. Shahriyar changed his habitual risky performance on the 12^th move. A draw in the last round with Vishy Anand (India, 2767) has secured the fourth place after Shahriyar...

We asked Mamedyarov's father, his first coach Hamid Mammadyarov, to evaluate his performance. “I have been to Wijk aan Zee several times. It was the first time that the difference between the first and fourth places was only 0.5 points. The winners have always finished the tournament with a margin of 1-2 points. This year the competition was extremely tense. I have really enjoyed Shahriyar performance. Most importantly, he has demonstrated a top-notch game. I was dissatisfied only with his game with Giri. Chess players usually set to score by the end of the game. However, I think Zeynab or Turkan (Shahriyar’s sisters, R+) would fight until the very end. After all, the opponent can make a mistake on any move. His quick surrender surprised me. Shahriyar shows this habit sometimes. Only after the game, he sees that he could finish it with a draw. But sometimes he fights to the end, as he did with Anand. In fact, Shahriyar had a very slight advantage. But to turn his advantage into a victory, perhaps, it was necessary to make many moves. As for the super quick game with Gawaine Jones, let us not forget that the opponent was not an ordinary chess player. Sometimes a desire of the opponent to play is important for the victory. If he does not want to play, it is difficult to win. Shahriyar is quick-tempered. Sometimes he plays to win in a no-man's position, and this ends in his defeat. In general, after becoming the second-best player in the FIDE ranking, he has stepped into a new page in his career. His main target now is the Candidates Tournament. It is necessary to win there. He has a high potential. If Shahriyar plays his game, no opponent will cope with him,” said the mentor and father of the grandmaster.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) decided to hold the World Cup 2018 in November in London, UK. The match for the title of the world champion will be held on November 9-28. The current world champion is the 26-year-old Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who has been holding the chess crown since 2013. The opponent of Carlsen will be the winner of the Candidates Tournament, which will be held on March 10-28 in Berlin. Eight grandmasters will take part in the tournament: ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), the previous nominee Sergey Karyakin (Russia), Alexander Grishchuk (Russia), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Wesley So (USA), Shahriyar Mammadyarov (Azerbaijan), Ding Liren (China), and Levon Aroyan (Armenia).

Shahriyar Mammadyarov completed 2017 with bright victories. The first place at the Vugar Hashimov Memorial was followed by victories at the FIDE Grand Prix, the Russian Club Championship, the European Cup, as well as with a gold medal for the Azerbaijani national team at the European Championship.

Now the main objective of our chess player is to win the Candidates Tournament in Germany. Mammadyarov will go there with his coaches and complete the training program in Berlin in early March. Like most of his rivals, Shahriyar does not want to disclose the training program and the names of his coaches.

In his interview with R+, Mammadyarov has just briefly mentioned his intention to win the upcoming tournament. “I have already began preparations. I think only about the Candidates Tournament. All my thoughts are in Berlin. I analyze the opponents before the competition. I try to have some rest after Wijk aan Zee. You will probably understand my position. I think my performance in the Netherlands was successful. I have raised my personal rating. I thank my people for support,” said the Azerbaijani grandmaster.