After finishing the rapid section in shared second place, Vidit Gujrathi tied for first in the blitz to claim overall first place at the Gashimov Memorial. Vidit managed to keep his ½-point lead over Arjun Erigaisi by winning his final game in Gabala Arjun also scored a full point in the 18th round of blitz and grabbed clear second place. Richard Rapport, who had struggled in the rapid but obtained as many points as Vidit in the blitz, finished third. | Photo: Mukhtar Ahmad
The youngest and lowest-rated participant prevailed in the rapid section of the Gashimov Memorial. 18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli played fearlessly on day 3 of the rapid to collect two wins and a loss, and go into Monday’s 18 rounds of blitz as the sole leader in Gabala. Sharing second place, one point behind, are Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and the top scorer in the final three rounds of rapid, Jorden van Foreest. | Photos: Official website
The first three rounds of rapid chess at the Gashimov Memorial ended with Nijat Abasov as the sole leader in the standings. Abasov, who is likely to play in the Candidates Tournament next year, beat Boris Gelfand and Richard Rapport in consecutive rounds to finish the day with 5/6 points (wins are worth 2 points in the rapid section). Sharing second place on 4/6 scores are Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Rauf Mamedov. | Photo: Official website
No player has managed to remain undefeated after six rounds at the Gashimov Memorial in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Rounds 4-6 were played on Saturday and featured a number of entertaining encounters. Three players emerged as co-leaders, with Arjun Erigaisi and Aydin Suleymanli (pictured) joining early leader Nijat Abasov at the top of the standings, all with plus-one scores. A very closed competition, all remaining seven participants have either fifty-percent or minus-one scores. | Photos: Official website
The Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2023 is taking place in Gabala, Azerbaijan, on December 8-11. Ten strong grandmasters compete in a combined rapid chess and blitz tournament. The event is held in memory of grandmaster Vugar Gashimov, who sadly died of a brain tumour in January 2014, at the age of 27. | Follow the games live with computer-assisted analysis starting at 15.00 local time (12.00 CET, 6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)