World chess champion wins super tournament in Azerbaijan
Magnus Carlsen, the 27-year-old world chess champion and grandmaster from Norway, has won the super tournament in Azerbaijan for the third time. The tournament, which took place in Shamkir in the west of Azerbaijan, was held in memory of Azerbaijani grandmaster Vugar Gashimov.
Ten grandmasters took part in the tournament. Dean Lizhen from China took second place and was only half a point behind the champion. Shahriyar Mammadyarov, one of three contenders from Azerbaijan, did the best among his countrymen and took fourth place. He looked slightly tired after a previous difficult tournament for the world chess crown in Berlin where he took second place.
“The tournament was very tough. This time my game was far from ideal, but I eventually managed to win when it mattered,” said Carlsen to azerisport.com.
The Shamkir tournament ranks 21st in complexity (out of 22), and took place for the fifth time. It was attended by almost all of the world’s strongest grandmasters, with the exception of Fabiano Caruana, the contender for the title of American champion, and Levon Aronian, an Armenian chess Grandmaster.
Azerbaijani Grandmaster Vugar Gashimov was one of the strongest chess players in the world, ranking sixth worldwide. He died at the age of 27 at the peak of his career.
