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Gashimov Memorial



Numero Uno strikes. Again and again!

And yes, you can lose two games in a row, yet win a 10-rounder super-tournament with a whole point on the second. All you need is to be Magnus Carlsen.
The Gashimov Memorial has been a rollercoaster ride, with Magnus' winning the first two rounds, and all of us  already head down, calculating how many wins he needed to break the 2900 barrier. Then, the unthinkable happens: Magnus, after a draw with Karjakin in round 3, loses two games in a row! Caruana and Radjabov score against the Norwegian genius, and Radjabov takes the sole lead. What is happening to Magnus? So, is he a human being, after all? Wrong! The World Champion, in the second part of the tournament, gives a master class in chess, winning 3 games out of 5. Entering the last round, Magnus and Fabiano lead with 5.5 points. The tiebreaks would favor Carlsen, who needs a draw to win the tournament. But one becomes a World Champion for a reason, right? Magnus chooses an unusual kingside fianchetto line, without the move c2-c4, against Fabiano's King's Indian Defense. To Caruana's 4...c5, Magnus replies with 5.c3. They're out of book, which is Magnus' favored territory, upon which he is able to demonstrate his remarkable talent for the game. Magnus wins in beautiful style, and here we are, celebrating once again the former wonderboy - today superman - who comes from the North.

ICC has followed the event with live broadcast, stream to the ICC TV, TRIVIA and Game Of the Day service. 

 



Vugar Gashimov sadly passed away early this year. The Azeri Grandmaster was only 27. He's remembered by his friends and colleagues as a very dear person, who loved life and beauty. GM Teimour Radjabov said in an interview: "If I say that this is a big loss for us, I won't be saying anything. Vugar was a very dear person to all of us. We all hoped that he would recover and come back to chess. It's very difficult when you lose such a close friend."  Vugar's long-time friend GM Mamedyarov said that he "stopped preparing for the Candidates' Tournament, as I can't think about anything else".
Vugar, during the final press conference at the 2009 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, after losing to Ponomariov, revealed with few incisive words his way to be: "I won't say I am a fatalist. I just think that nothing accidental happens in life. It seems to me that a person can change a few details of his fate, but can't change anything in the bigger picture. wins and losses are also written in our destiny. you can sometimes prolong this pleasure more, sometimes less, but in the final analysis nothing changes. Life goes on. It's wonderful. So we have to keep living." Moving and somewhat prophetic words, now that we know he's not with us anymore.

In order to honor the memory of Vugar Gashimov, Synergy Group has organized a super-tournament in Shamkir. It is a double round robin, starting April the 20th, which presents a rather impressive line-up: #1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway - 2881), #5 Fabiano Caruana (Italy - 2783), #7 Sergey Karjakin (Russia - 2772), #9 Hikaru Nakamura (USA - 2772), #10 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan - 2760), #33 Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan - 2713). The average rating is 2780, category XXII.


 


BROADCAST SCHEDULE

April

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
20
21
22
23
24
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
26
27
28
29
30

GAME OF THE DAY

Round Date Host Play PGN
1 April 20   GM Alex Yermolinsky
  Sweere
2 April 21   GM David Smerdon
  smurfo
3 April 22   GM Miguel Illescas
  Illescas
4 April 23   GM Gawain Jones
  VerdeNotte
5 April 24   GM Jonathan Speelman
  Speelman
6 April 26   GM Alex Yermolinsky
  Sweere
7 April 27   GM John Fedorowicz
  bronxbattler
8 April 28   GM Miguel Illescas
  Illescas
9 April 29   GM Larry Christiansen
  LarryC
10 April 30   GM Lars Bo Hansen
  DonCorleone

TRIVIA WINNERS

Round Date 1 month 3 months GOTD
1 Apr 20 oldtimer TheEye Qui
2 Apr 21 agent-n053 Corocotta kaku
3 Apr 22 MikeAngelo agent-n053 Iml
4 Apr 23 TheEye KingHarvest canpawn
5 Apr 24 Ando Leijona Eccebombo
6 Apr 26 MorningRunner PantomimeHorse aptchess
7 Apr 27 bdubois chesschallenged Frankygolucky
8 Apr 28 Abel corocotta STICK
9 Apr 29 agent-n053 Abel bereolos
10 Apr 30 TKnight16 Alexei JDTinNC

Comments

Bournakas Alexis commented on 2014 04 18

It’s very sad when people die in such a young age ...

Especially when they seem to have so special capabilities like Vugar Gashimov.

Have a nice trip ...

Kenneth calitri commented on 2014 04 18

A stellar line and fitting lineup for this first memorial tournament. A wonderful followup would be for Quality Chess Books to publish a book of the tournament with an annotated collection
of Gashimov,s 64 best games. hardcover of course. Is Mr. Aagard listening by chance?

Amaresh Goswami commented on 2014 04 19

I express my great sorrow for untimely death of Gashimov. May his heavenly abode soul be in peace.

fedloan commented on 2017 12 13

so pitty about vugar

fedloan commented on 2017 12 13

A stellar line and fitting lineup for this first memorial tournament. A wonderful followup would be for Quality Chess Books to publish a book of the tournament with an annotated collection
of Gashimov,s 64 best games. hardcover of course. Is Mr. Aagard listening by chance?
I clearly suggest that the biography of VUGAR should be included in the google scholars .
google scholar