Sport24.az
Teymur Rajabov, the captain of the Azerbaijani national chess team and winner of the World Cup, gave an interview to the official website of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation. Sport24.az reports that the famous chess player spoke about the Azerbaijani team winning a silver medal at the European Championship and his first success as a captain.
- Our male chess players won a medal at the continental championship after 8 years. First of all, we are interested in your opinion about the final result...
- According to the rating, Azerbaijan was the fourth team in the tournament. During the championship, we fought for the gold medal and eventually won the silver medal. I think the result is an absolute success for our national team.
- What did the Azerbaijani team, the three-time European champions, lack to win the gold medal?
- On the eve of the last round, the Azerbaijani and Ukrainian teams had 13 points each. We were optimistic about the situation and aimed to win against Serbia. If the Ukrainian team won, we would need a big win in our match to take first place based on tie-breaks. The chess players were in a fighting mood and took more risks than in other matches to fight for the gold medal. At the beginning of the match, the situation seemed quite equal, there were some opening problems in certain games, and pressure was visible on other boards as well. The Ukrainian team played their game confidently and won, so even if we won the last round with a small margin, we would win the silver medal. Everyone fought to the end, and I think luck was not on our side in the last round.
- Teymur Rajabov won his first award as a captain. How does it feel to be the captain of the team you have played for for many years?
- I think that my support as a captain to the national team chess players fully justified itself in this championship. We tried to compete at the highest level, and as a friendly team, we managed to create the right environment. I have known many of the chess players for years, and therefore it was very pleasant to work together in the interests of our national team.
- What do you think about the performance of the new members of the national team, Aydin Suleymanli and Muhammad Muradli?
- Both Aydin Suleymanli and Muhammad Muradli are strong chess players, they are combative and eager to prove themselves, they showed that they are ready to play in every match, no matter how difficult. It is easy to communicate with them. Both of them should continue training. By continuing intense training and working hard, they have a chance to raise their ratings to 2700. But this intense preparation should start from today, not tomorrow or the day after. I believe in them and I am watching them very closely. They have a great future ahead and their determination will directly affect the results of the national team in the future.
- Which is more difficult - to fight as a chess player or to be a captain?
- My main goal has always been to live up to the expectations of our people, the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, who provided great support to chess and to me personally, and our esteemed President Ilham Aliyev, who devotes a lot of time to chess and chess players and follows all our successes. Under the leadership of the head of state, World Cups, Olympiads, World Championships and other important competitions have been held in our country. Azerbaijan has won countless victories in individual and team competitions. The main goal as a chess player or captain is to win. Of course, the captain has more responsibility.
- Finally, what would you like to say to chess fans, fans of the national team?
- I would like to express my deep gratitude to the chess fans for their support to our team and to me personally. I also apologize for not being able to respond to a large number of messages. I try to read them all. We are very grateful for the support of the fans. Play chess and love this incredible game.
