Young chess players may achieve surprising results in the Azerbaijan championship.
This was stated by Honored Coach Fikret Sideifzade in an interview with "Report" while talking about the national championship.
He stated that the Azerbaijan championship has been organized at a high level for the last two years:
"For the last two years, the Azerbaijan championship has been organized at a high level. When financial support is good, the competition is also interesting. Almost all experienced chess players in Azerbaijan participate in the tournament. Previously, due to financial issues, strong chess players did not want to participate in the national championship. Today, the situation has changed and financial support is sufficient. Young chess players are also growing up. It is a great experience for them to face Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Rauf Mammadov and other strong chess players. If such competitions are held frequently, young people's interest in chess will increase even more."
F.Sideifzade spoke about the chess players considered favorites:
"Undoubtedly, the favorites are chess players like Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Rauf Mammadov, and Eltaj Safarli. But sensational results have always added interest to the national championship. Surprise results can be expected from young chess players like Aydin Suleymanli and Muhammad Muradli. Although the probability is low, any result is possible in sports. For example, last year Rauf Mammadov's victory over Teymur Rajabov and Shahriyar Mammadyarov surprised many."
It should be noted that 46 chess players participated in the Azerbaijan championship. The tournament, which started on February 6, will end on the 22nd. 30 male and 16 female participants are competing.
The prize fund of the competition is 92 thousand manats. Of this amount, 62 thousand manats belong to the men's championship and 30 thousand manats to the women's championship.