The organizers of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial put together a very attractive lineup for the ninth edition of the event. A 10-player rapid and blitz tournament, the contest includes four former World Championship Candidates and two players who are set to participate in the next edition of the prelude to the match for the crown in Toronto.
As for the former Candidates, the lineup includes Boris Gelfand (who played a Candidates Tournament for the first time in 1991), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (who had his last participation in 2018), Teimour Radjabov and Richard Rapport (who both played at the latest edition in Madrid 2022).
Joining them are Vidit Gujrathi, who qualified to the 2024 edition by spectacularly winning the FIDE Grand Swiss a month ago, and Nijat Abasov, who is likely to play in the 8-player event after finishing fourth in the FIDE World Cup — the 28-year-old from Baku will be confirmed as a participant if Magnus Carlsen withdraws from the competition, as he has announced repeatedly.
The competition features three days of rapid chess — with wins worth 2 points and draws worth 1 point — and a day of blitz. After the first day of action, Abasov emerged as the sole leader, as he first drew Jorden van Foreest and then collected back-to-back victories over Rapport and Gelfand, respectively.
Sharing second place with 4/6 points are Vidit, Arjun Erigaisi and Rauf Mamedov.
Vidit Gujrathi
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Richard Rapport and Nijat Abasov
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
