9th Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid R4-6: Aydin sensational against Shakh, joins three-way lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 09/12/2023

When the fifth round of 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 concluded, all ten players had lost at least one game each. The gap between the leaders and the players in the third point group is only of one point. Three players are at 7/12, followed by four players at 6/12 and three at 5/12. Arjun Erigaisi, Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) and Nijat Abasov (AZE) are the three leaders. Aydin defeated one of his idols - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) in the sixth round to join the lead. Last year also, he had the exact same result at the very same event, only the color was different. It goes without saying that the competition is extremely close. It is absolutely unpredictable on who is going to win. Only three more rounds of Rapid games left. No single player has a complete edge over the rest, as evident by the points table. Round 7 starts tomorrow from 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Extremely exciting, incredibly close competition

The organizers have done a fantastic job in selecting a field where the competition is so close. It is difficult to recall when was the last time all ten players in a super tournament lost at least one game by the fifth round. The gap of one point between the leaders and the players at the bottom of the table means, no one's position is safe. Someone can 5/12 can make rapid strides towards the top.

Nijat Abasov scored 2.5/3 to emerge as an early sole leader

Round 4: Radjabov and Mamedov score

Teimour Radjabov (AZE, 2691) and Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2622) were the only two victors in the fifth round. They defeated Arjun Erigaisi (2654) and Jorden van Foreest (2655) respectively.

Jorden van Foreest's (NED) blunder cost him the game in 25 moves against Rauf Mamedov (AZE)

Arjun - Radjabov

Position after 22.Kh2??

22.Kh2?? is a blunder. Radjabov spotted the beautiful combination. Try to find it.

Arjun Erigaisi walked right into a deadly combination by Teimour Radjabov (AZE)

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) had a hard-fought draw against Richard Rapport (ROU)

Gelfand - Vidit: 0.5-0.5

It has been over four years since Vidit Gujrathi (2691) faced Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2622) in a rated game. In a tumultuous position, Vidit went for an active play. It worked out practically. However, his opponent, the legend missed the winning plan.

Position after 29...f4?

29...f4? is a good practical decision. However, there is one tiny problem. 30.exf4 Rxf4 now White has 31.Bf5 which completely shuts the rook's return path. Instead of Bf5, White played 31.Rf5 and the game meandered into a draw.

55-year-old Boris Gelfand vs Candidate Vidit Gujrathi | Video: ChessBase India

Vidit Gujrathi had a shaky start on the second day against the legend - Boris Gelfand

Round 5: Black wins four

GM Arjun Erigaisi (2654), GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2715), GM Richard Rapport (ROU, 2735) and GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2655) scored wins against GM Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2554), GM Vidit Gujrathi (2691), GM Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2622) and GM Teimour Radjabov (AZE, 2691) respectively.

Arjun Erigaisi won a back and forth game against Nijat Abasov (AZE)

Vidit Gujrathi faltered in a complex rook and minor piece endgame against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) maintained a firm ground against the legend - Boris Gelfand (ISR)

Radjabov - Jorden

Position after 24.Rdc2?

GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2655) arguably executed the most beautiful combination of the tournament so far. Black was already winning. 24.Rdc2? just accelerated things for Black. Find out the winning continuation which Jorden played in the game in his own typical attacking style.

Jorden's beautiful combination against Radjabov | Video: ChessBase India

Jorden van Foreest (NED) defeated Teimour Radjabov (AZE) employing a beautiful combination in his own signature style

Round 6: Aydin beats Shakh, Rapport makes a miraculous escape against Radjabov

GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2622) and GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2517) scored the only two wins of the round against GM Rauf Mamedov (AZE, 2622) and GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2715).

Richard Rapport (ROU) made an almost miraculous escape against Teimour Radjabov (AZE), after being lost for the better part of the endgame

Boris Gelfand (ISR) scored his first win of the event against his rating twin - Rauf Mamedov (AZE)

Shakhriyar - Aydin

Position after 19...e4

18-year-old GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2517) took the attack to his opponent, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2715). The teenager played like 'Shakh', launching brutal attack 17...f5 followed by 19...e4. He arrived at a winning queen and knight vs queen and rook endgame. However, he needed to watch out for some deadly checks. Aydin steered clear of that and won the game to join the lead.

It's a good feeling to win against one of my idols - Aydin Suleymanli on his win against Mamedyarov | Video: ChessBase India

18-year-old stuns Mamedyarov - Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Aydin Suleymanli joined the lead in a fantastic fashion by beating one of his idols - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)

Vidit Gujrathi will have to wait a little bit longer to avenge his FIDE World Cup 2023 elimination by Nijat Abasov (AZE)

Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, made the ceremonial first move of the fourth round on Nijat Abasov (AZE) and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's (AZE) board

Replay live stream

Replay 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid Round 4-6 live stream Part 1 | Video: Gashimov Chess Memorial

Replay 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid Round 4-6 live stream Part 2 | Video: Gashimov Chess Memorial

Replay 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid Round 4-6 live stream Part 3 | Video: Gashimov Chess Memorial

Replay Round 4-6 games

Schedule

The Rapid tournament will be held in a Round-Robin system and the Blitz tournament will be played in a Double Round-Robin system with ten players. The Rapid event will take place from 8th to 10th December, the first round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. On the last day, Monday 11th December, a total of 18 rounds of Blitz games will be played starting from 2 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST).

Time Control

The Rapid tournament will be played in 15 minutes + 10 seconds increment. The Blitz event will have 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.

Scoring

Rapid: Win 2 points, Draw 1 point and Loss 0.

Blitz: Win 1 point, Draw 0.5 point and Loss 0.

Tie-break rules

The final standings will be determined according to sum of points of both Rapid and Blitz events.

Round 4-6 results

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
Round 4 on 2023/12/09 at 15:00
1	10	2654	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	0 - 1	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	2691	7
2	8	2655	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	0 - 1	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	2622	6
3	9	2735	GM	Rapport, Richard	½ - ½	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	2517	5
4	1	2622	GM	Gelfand, Boris	½ - ½	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2691	4
5	2	2715	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	½ - ½	GM	Abasov, Nijat	2554	3
Round 5 on 2023/12/09 at 16:15
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	2554	GM	Abasov, Nijat	0 - 1	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2654	10
2	4	2691	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	0 - 1	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	2715	2
3	5	2517	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	½ - ½	GM	Gelfand, Boris	2622	1
4	6	2622	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	0 - 1	GM	Rapport, Richard	2735	9
5	7	2691	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	0 - 1	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	2655	8
Round 6 on 2023/12/09 at 17:30
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	2654	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	½ - ½	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	2655	8
2	9	2735	GM	Rapport, Richard	½ - ½	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	2691	7
3	1	2622	GM	Gelfand, Boris	1 - 0	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	2622	6
4	2	2715	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	0 - 1	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	2517	5
5	3	2554	GM	Abasov, Nijat	½ - ½	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2691	4

Details

Standings after Round 6

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB2	TB3
1	10	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	IND	2654	3,5	2	10,50
2	5	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	AZE	2517	3,5	2	9,50
3	3	GM	Abasov, Nijat	AZE	2554	3,5	2	9,25
4	6	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	AZE	2622	3	2	9,25
5	2	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2715	3	2	8,50
6	7	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2691	3	1	9,50
7	4	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2691	3	1	8,25
8	1	GM	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2622	2,5	1	8,00
	8	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	NED	2655	2,5	1	8,00
10	9	GM	Rapport, Richard	ROU	2735	2,5	1	7,75

Details

Round 7-9 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
Round 7 on 2023/12/10 at 15:00
1	4	2691	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2654	10
2	5	2517	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin		GM	Abasov, Nijat	2554	3
3	6	2622	GM	Mamedov, Rauf		GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	2715	2
4	7	2691	GM	Radjabov, Teimour		GM	Gelfand, Boris	2622	1
5	8	2655	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden		GM	Rapport, Richard	2735	9
Round 8 on 2023/12/10 at 16:15
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	10	2654	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun		GM	Rapport, Richard	2735	9
2	1	2622	GM	Gelfand, Boris		GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	2655	8
3	2	2715	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar		GM	Radjabov, Teimour	2691	7
4	3	2554	GM	Abasov, Nijat		GM	Mamedov, Rauf	2622	6
5	4	2691	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	2517	5
Round 9 on 2023/12/10 at 17:30
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	2517	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin		GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2654	10
2	6	2622	GM	Mamedov, Rauf		GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2691	4
3	7	2691	GM	Radjabov, Teimour		GM	Abasov, Nijat	2554	3
4	8	2655	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden		GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	2715	2
5	9	2735	GM	Rapport, Richard		GM	Gelfand, Boris	2622	1

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations

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