18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli tops 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid with a 2740 performance

by Shahid Ahmed - 11/12/2023

18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) started the final day of 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid with a blazing win over Nijat Abasov (AZE). The teenager lost the penultimate round game against Vidit Gujrathi. However, he managed to bounce back in the final round to beat Arjun Erigaisi. Thus, Aydin became the top finisher of the Rapid segment with 11/18. Arjun, Jorden van Foreest (NED) and Vidit Gujrathi are close on his heels at 10/18. A full point going into the Blitz event can be the difference maker. Despite losing the first round and being the lowest rated player in the field, Aydin delivered a 2740 performance which is remarkable. 18 rounds of Blitz will be played today. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. All photos are by Shahid Ahmed unless specified otherwise.

From the lowest rated to the top

The tournament is a very close and exciting one. How do we know? Except Vidit Gujrathi (lost only one game in Rapid), all remaining nine players have lost at least two games out of nine, including Aydin Suleymanli (AZE). That is an astounding statistic.

Aydin Suleymanli set the tone for the day when he defeated one of his coleaders, Nijat Abasov in a fiery battle

18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli tops 9th Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid with a 2740 performance | Video: ChessBase India

Round 7: Aydin Suleymanli wins a cracker against Nijat Abasov

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2517), Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2622) and Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2655) won their respective games against Nijat Abasov (AZE, 2554), Teimour Radjabov (AZE, 2691) and Richard Rapport (ROU, 2735).

Vidit - Arjun: 0.5-0.5

The last rated rapid game between Vidit and Arjun took place a little over three months ago at Tata Steel Chess India 2023. Arjun won that game. However, this time, it was him who faltered first.

Position after 16.Rd6!

15...Qb6?? allowed White to run an interference 16.Rd6! Nxe4 17.Rxb6 axb6 18.Ne5 Be6 and the game eventually went on to a draw after an exciting battle which White could have won.

Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi did not have the start they wanted on the final day of Rapid

Suleymanli - Abasov: 1-0

The last decisive rated game between Aydin Suleymanli and Nijat Abasov took place last year in National Blitz championship. Abasov won that game. They both had only three decisive rated games. White won in all three of them.

Position after 19...Rb8

20.Bxb7 Rxb7 21.Ne4 Qh5 22.Nxd6+ and White is completely winning Kf8 23.Nxb7 Nxb6 24.axb6 f3 25.Qf2 he managed to thwart all potential attacks on the kingside and won the game in another eight moves.

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) set the board on fire against Nijat Abasov (AZE)

Boris Gelfand (ISR) scored his second consecutive win of the event, against Teimour Radjabov (AZE) in Round 7

Jorden van Foreest (NED) - Richard Rapport (ROU): 1-0

Round 8: Arjun and Vidit score

GM Arjun Erigaisi (2654) and GM Vidit Gujrathi (2691) were the only two victors of the penultimate round.

Arjun - Rapport: 1-0

Arjun Erigaisi played only two rated games against Richard Rapport (ROU, 2735). Both ended decisively. Arjun won the first one at World Rapid 2022, while the second one was won by Rapport at 85th Tata Steel A at the beginning of this year. It was time for Arjun to gain the upper hand on the head-to-head score.

Position after 33...a4?

33...a4? trapped Black's rook 34.Ne2 Rxb3 35.axb3 axb3 36.Nc3 b2 thanks to the passed b-pawn, it is still not over. However, soon Black sidelined his king and bishop on the h-file. Arjun displayed fine technique to win the game.

Arjun Erigaisi scored a nice technical win against Richard Rapport (ROU)

Vidit - Suleymanli

Position after 15...0-0-0?

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2517) made a questionable decision to castle on the queenside, rendering his more susceptible to White's onslaughts. 15...0-0-0? 16.Qa4 a5 17.Rfc1+ Nc5 18.b4 axb4 19.Qa7 Bc7 20.Nc4 things fell apart in a hurry for Black. White won the game in another ten moves.

Vidit Gujrathi halted Aydin Suleymanli's fantastic run in the penultimate round

Round 9: Aydin beats Arjun to top the Rapid event

GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE, 2517), GM Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2655) and GM Richard Rapport (ROU, 2735) scored wins over GM Arjun Erigaisi (2654), GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2715) and GM Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2622).

Aydin - Arjun: 1-0

Previously, Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) faced Arjun Erigaisi only once in a rated game at World Blitz 2022. It ended in a draw. In Frence Defence, both players were playing on different flanks - White on the kingside, while Black on the queenside.

Position after 27...Nd3

27...Nd3 fork is not a big concern for White as he has one of his own 28.Nxe6 Qb8 29.Qd2 Nxf4 30.Qxf4. Although computer will say the position is balanced, it is certainly not easy for a human to play as Black. 30...Bxe2 31.Rf2 Bd3 32.Nxf8 and eventually the position liquidated into a rook and opposite color bishop endgame where White displayed fine technique to convert his practical chances into a win.

Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) scored an emphatic victory against Arjun Erigaisi to finish at the top of the Rapid event

Rauf - Vidit

Position after 53.Kg1

Vidit missed a win in the above position. Try to find out what he should have done. He kept giving a few checks and eventually White managed to get a photographic draw.

A win in the last round would have given Vidit an extra point, which could turn out to be crucial in Blitz

Jorden van Foreest (NED) defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) to finish third in the Rapid event

Gasim Gashimov, Father of Late GM Vugar Gashimov, made the ceremonial first move of the seventh round on Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi's board | Photo: Mukhtar Ahmad / Gashimov Chess

Round 9 in progress

9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Venue Tour | Video: ChessBase India

Replay live stream

Replay 9th Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 Rapid Round 7-9 live stream | Video: Gashimov Chess Memorial

Replay Round 7-9 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 7-9 results

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

Details

Standings after Rapid Round 9

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	5	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	AZE	2517	5,5	0	4	24,25
2	10	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	IND	2654	5	1	3	21,25
3	8	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	NED	2655	5	1	3	20,75
4	4	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2691	5	1	2	22,50
5	6	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	AZE	2622	4,5	0,5	2	21,75
6	3	GM	Abasov, Nijat	AZE	2554	4,5	0,5	2	18,75
7	2	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2715	4	1,5	2	17,25
8	1	GM	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2622	4	1	2	18,75
9	7	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2691	4	0,5	1	18,50
10	9	GM	Rapport, Richard	ROU	2735	3,5	0	2	15,25

Details

Blitz Round 1 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name		Name	Rtg	No.
Round 1 on 2023/12/11 at 14:00
1	1	2604	GM	Gelfand, Boris	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2729	10
2	2	2716	GM	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	GM	Rapport, Richard	2748	9
3	3	2561	GM	Abasov, Nijat	GM	Van Foreest, Jorden	2664	8
4	4	2642	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	GM	Radjabov, Teimour	2664	7
5	5	2553	GM	Suleymanli, Aydin	GM	Mamedov, Rauf	2635	6

Complete Blitz pairings

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations

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