Idman.biz
Azerbaijani grandmaster Aydın Süleymanlı is performing quite confidently at the traditional "Tata Steel Challengers" chess tournament held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
According to İdman.Biz, with two rounds left to finish, he is in third place with eight points, half a point behind the leading American chess player Andy Woodward.
Suleymanli was progressing 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 the victorious games he won in Wijk aan Zee also took place for him with different scenarios. He cited the meeting with Daniil Yuffa, who represents Spain, as an example.
"At one point, I could have even lost, because I 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 more and more 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 "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 day of rest is quite enough for such a competition. Because when the tournament takes a break 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 day of rest than on the days of the game. In Wijk aan Zee, there is game tension, adrenaline, and you don't feel tired. But it is during the days of rest that this comes out and then you realize how tired you are," Suleymanli emphasized.
Let's add that Aydın faced defeat after losing to Vasili Ivanchuk after the second rest day. Now he has two rounds left to improve his position in the tournament table.
