Aravindh is the last minute replacement of Vidit Gujrathi
The defending champion - Vidit Gujrathi was slated to play in this event. However, he would not be able to play as he got to know after reaching Baku that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will be felicitating the Indian team. Hence, he made a special request to the organizer - Sarkhan Gashimov, late GM Vugar Gashimov's elder brother. Sarkhan made everything possible for Aravindh to arrive and play this prestigious tournament in a very short time.
Players
The tournament features three of the Azerbaijan's best players along with five world-class players around the globe. They are - three-time World Championship Challenger - Ian Nepomniachtchi, World no. 30 - Vladislav Artemiev, World no.6 - Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), Winner of 9th Gashimov Memorial Blitz 2023 and Ding Liren's second at the last World Championship - Richard Rapport (HUN), World Rapid 2013 champion and World no.17 - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE), three-time Azerbaijan champion and Azerbaijan no.3 - Rauf Mamedov, Winner of 9th Gashimov Memorial Rapid 2023 - Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) and India's first and only triple crown champion - Aravindh Chithambaram.
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 eight players. The Rapid event will take place on 26th and 27th September, the first round starts at 3:30 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. On the last day, Saturday 29th September, a total of 14 rounds of Blitz games will be played starting from 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 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.
Photo Gallery
On the way from Baku to Shusha, players and the organizing team halted at Hemdem Club Restaurant for lunch.
For more photos, please click here.
We will bring you detailed coverage of the event as I, myself, am present on location for this iconic tournament.
Starting list of players in Rapid
| No. | Name | FideID | FED | Rtg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 4168119 | FID | 2752 |
| 1 | GM | Artemiev, Vladislav | 24101605 | FID | 2740 |
| 2 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 14204118 | UZB | 2723 |
| 5 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 738590 | HUN | 2704 |
| 3 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 13401319 | AZE | 2683 |
| 4 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 13401653 | AZE | 2617 |
| 6 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | 13413937 | AZE | 2565 |
| 8 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 5072786 | IND | 2543 |
Links
Gashimov Chess Memorial: fb page, twitter, instagram and youtube
