Aydin Suleymanli, both the youngest and the lowest-rated player in the field of the Gashimov Memorial, scored five wins and two draws throughout the nine rounds of rapid chess to go into the blitz section as the sole leader of the event. On day 3, Suleymanli beat former co-leaders Nijat Abasov and Arjun Erigaisi and lost to Vidit Gujrathi to finish the rapid section with 11/18 points (a win is worth 2 points in the rapid).
Three players are sharing second place: Arjun, Vidit and Jorden van Foreest. The latter was the top scorer on Sunday, as he grabbed wins over Richard Rapport and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov besides holding Boris Gelfand to a draw with the black pieces.
The final day of action will see the ten participants playing 18 rounds of blitz (time control: 3 minutes plus 2-second increments) to decide the winner of the event. In the blitz section, the normal scoring system, with 1 point for a win and ½ point for a draw, will be in place.
Surely stamina will play a role in the blitz marathon, which might favour the younger players in the field. The risky approach used by Suleymanli throughout the rapid section might easily backfire, though, as the highest-rated participants in the field certainly know how to punish a tilted player in games with quick time controls.
Nijat Abasov signing autographs
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
The playing hall
