AYDIN: BEATING THE LEGEND

Two significant events took place in the first month of summer. The Azerbaijan national team’s performance at the World Rapid and Blitz Club Team Championships in Hong Kong proved to be truly sensational news.

Odlar Yurdu, the club representing the country and comprising mainly young chess players, made a name for itself. One of the team’s leaders, the experienced grandmaster Aydin Suleymanli, took centre stage by defeating the world number one, Magnus Carlsen. This success played a key role in Odlar Yurdu’s match against one of the tournament’s main favourites—the WR Chess team. The match ended with a score of 3.5-2.5 in favour of the Azerbaijani team.

At the end of the competition, Odlar Yurdu finished joint 7th-12th in the rapid tournament. In the blitz tournament, the team reached the round of 16. Another representative of the club—Vugar Manafov—achieved an outstanding individual result. Playing on board six, he recorded the best result of all participants and was awarded a gold medal.

When dreams come true

Suleymanli's success is worthy of recognition, despite not securing a place on the prize-winning podium. A single victory can have a greater impact than the outcome of the entire tournament and go down in history forever. The Azerbaijani grandmaster's victory over the world chess legend, Magnus Carlsen, was a definitive win.

Having watched the Norwegian's phenomenal play since childhood, Aydin had always dreamed of facing him at the chessboard. In Hong Kong, that dream became a reality.

Before the start of the championship, Suleymanli asked team captain Rauf Mammadov to place him on board one, where the strongest players compete. "I wanted to face world champion Magnus Carlsen. Every chess player dreams of playing against him. My dream came true, and I won," he said afterwards.

Carlsen has now suffered four consecutive defeats at the hands of Suleymanli in the tournament.

The young grandmaster stated that this success had completely changed his mental attitude ahead of his next games. Any chess player will tell you that getting the better of Carlsen is a special achievement and one of the most memorable moments of their career.

"Magnus is a great chess player. There's no question that beating him seems impossible to many. I used to think the same way. I will always remember that game and that moment. Carlsen is without question the strongest chess player in history. Playing against him is incredibly difficult, especially in rapid chess, when time is running out fast. This victory has reinforced my belief in my abilities. Since the game against Magnus, I view my next opponents in a completely different light and rate my own chances much higher," Suleymanli stated confidently.

A glorious path to victory

Aydin Suleymanli showed an interest in chess from early childhood, and his first significant successes came fairly quickly.

He began competing in international tournaments at the age of six. In 2013, in Budva (Montenegro), he became European champion among eight-year-old chess players, and a few months later he won a bronze medal at the World Championship in the same age category, held in Al Ain (UAE).

In 2014, the young Azerbaijani won two titles at once at the European Championship, coming top among boys under ten in both blitz and rapid chess.

In 2017, at the European Championships in Mamaia, Romania, Suleymanli scored 7.5 points out of a possible 9 and was crowned European champion in the under-12 boys’ category.

The year 2019 proved particularly successful for him. At the World Championship in Mumbai, India, Aydin scored 9 points from 11 games, enabling him to become World Champion in the under-14 boys’ category. In the same year, as part of the Azerbaijan junior national team, he won the World Chess Olympiad for players aged 16 and under, held in Corum, Türkiye.

In 2023, Suleymanli was awarded the title of International Grandmaster and became one of the leading players in the Azerbaijan national team. His consistent results, both in individual tournaments and as part of the national team, suggest that even greater successes lie ahead.

 The victory over Magnus Carlsen will undoubtedly serve as a powerful incentive for the young chess player to achieve further successes.

Gold in Montesilvano

Azerbaijani chess fans received more good news from the Italian town of Montesilvano. The town hosted the World Youth Chess Championships for boys and girls in the under-14, under-16 and under-18 age groups. Azerbaijan's representatives stormed to victory, claiming two gold medals.

In the under-14 girls' tournament, Zahra Allahverdi confidently maintained her lead and drew with the Turkish player Tuana Abak in the final, eleventh round. She was crowned world champion with 9 points.

Hagan Ahmed won Azerbaijan's second gold medal in the under-16 category. He defeated FIDE representative Gleb Shcheglov in the final round, finishing the championship with 9.5 points out of 11 and was crowned world champion for the first time in his career.

The world championship saw more than 750 chess players from 83 countries take part. Azerbaijani players climbed to the top step of the podium on two occasions, and the Azerbaijani national anthem was played in their honour.

The championship titles won by Zahra Allahverdi and Hagan Ahmed marked a historic achievement for independent Azerbaijan. It is official: this is the first time the country has won gold medals at the World Championships for girls under 14 and boys under 16.