Idman.biz
Azerbaijani grandmaster Aydın Suleymanli is performing quite confidently at the traditional "Tata Steel Challengers" chess tournament held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
According to Idman.Biz, with two rounds to go until the finish, he is in third place with eight points, half a point behind the leading American chess player Andy Woodward.
Suleymanli was advancing with a series of three consecutive victories, but lost to Vasili Ivanchuk in the 11th round. However, our compatriot still maintains good chances in the fight for first place.
Aydın admitted that even the victorious games he won in Wijk aan Zee went through different scenarios for him. He cited the meeting with Daniil Yuffa, who represents Spain, as an example.
"At one point, I could have even lost, because I had mixed up the lines. But my opponent couldn't find the optimal moves, and as a result, I got a chance. But the position was clearly dangerous for me. I had to resort to non-standard moves, otherwise defeat was inevitable," said A. Suleymanli.
The Azerbaijani chess player added that he tries to play as fast as possible in the Wijk aan Zee tournament.
"I was trying to play fast. Both in the game with Yuffa and in other games. Because the time factor is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, when I don't like the position on the board, I try to speed up the game. I didn't apply such a strategy before, but after losing points in a number of meetings in Wijk aan Zee, I decided to change tactics," Suleymanli said in a statement to the official channel of the Tata Steel Challengers.
He also touched upon the regulations of the competition. According to the regulations, the tournament provides for two rest days between rounds.
"In fact, one rest day is quite enough for such a competition. Because when the tournament is interrupted twice, the participants seem to lose their rhythm. I have also spoken to other chess players and some admit that they get more tired on the rest day than on the game days. In Wijk aan Zee, there is game tension, adrenaline, and you don't feel tired. But it is during the rest days that this comes out and then you realize how tired you are," Suleymanli emphasized.
Let us add that Aydın faced defeat by losing to Vasili Ivanchuk after the second rest day. Now he has two rounds left to improve his position in the tournament table.
