Idman.biz
Azerbaijani chess player Teymur Rajabov will participate in a tournament dedicated to the anniversary of Anatoly Karpov. The competition will be held in Moscow on May 21-23 and will be the scene of the struggle of eight grandmasters.
Idman.Biz reports that, along with the Azerbaijani chess player, Nodirbek Yakubboev from Uzbekistan, Russians Yan Nepomniashchy, Daniil Dubov, Andrey Esipenko, Vladislav Artemyev, Alexander Grischuk and Ernesto Inarkiev will also perform at the tournament.
On the eve of A. Karpov's 75th anniversary, grandmasters talked about how the world champion's playing style influenced their formation. T. Rajabov was also among those who shared their memories.
"I have had many games with Anatoly Yevgenyevich. I remember well that I held my first serious grandmaster tournament with him in Buenos Aires. At that time, the team was very strong: Karpov, Korchnoi, Short, Polgar. At that time, they were all at the top of world chess. When Karpov visited Baku, I also played a mini-match with him. I managed to win that match in rapid chess. Undoubtedly, he is an outstanding chess player and it is a great honor for me to participate in the tournament organized in his honor," the Organizing Committee of the tournament quoted T. Rajabov as saying.
He also recalled his most unusual meeting with the famous chess master:
"Most likely, this happened in 2002 at the Russia-World team match. I was still a very young chess player at that time and I had the opportunity to participate in such a magnificent event and play with Karpov. We played many games in rapid and blitz, and we also met at world championships. In classical chess, I especially remember the game in Wijk aan Zee. It was a very long game. At that time, a complex situation arose on the board: a rook and a bishop against a rook. In the seventh hour of the game, Anatoly Yevgenyevich jokingly said to me, "Aren't you ashamed to play such a position?" I was trying to get the maximum result, because at a high level such positions are often played to a win. Later, when we remembered that incident, we laughed together. In general, our relationship has always been good and sincere," said Teymur.
Rajabov also spoke about the advice he received from the world champion: "I had the opportunity to communicate a lot with Anatoly Yevgenyevich. Hearing his comments on the most important chess positions and structures was a great support for improving my game. At the same time, I understood that in order to maintain this communication, it is necessary to constantly participate in the highest level tournaments, because where else can you see such masters?
I must note that Karpov has always been a very correct and open person. He was always ready to share his chess knowledge. I have never seen him hide anything. On the contrary, he was always open to dialogue.
To be honest, I learned a lot by looking at his games. Accurate strategic decisions, moves, capturing lines, coordination between pieces, the seventh and second horizons... He was a brilliant chess player. Our generation grew up with his games. For me, Karpov is one of the three greatest chess players in history. His books were textbooks for us. Karpov has been my absentee teacher throughout my life, whose games I have analyzed and thanks to whom I have become stronger," T. Rajabov concluded.
