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The organisers of the tenth anniversary tournament are the Vugar Gashimov Chess Foundation, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Azerbaijani Chess Federation. Sarkhan Gashimov, Vugar Gashimov's brother, is the chief organiser on the ground, making sure that everything runs smoothly.
The tournament is a combined rapid and blitz tournament. On the first two days a rapid chess tournament will be played (15+10), followed by a blitz tournament (3+2) on the third and final day. The rapid chess tournament is a round robin, the blitz tournament a double round robin. A win in the rapid tournament counts 2 points, a draw 1 point and a loss 0 points while the results of the blitz tournament are counted as normal. The overall winner will be determined by the results of both tournaments.
Eight top players take part: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladislav Artemiev, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Richard Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Rauf Mamedov, Aydin Suleymanli and Aravindh Chithambaram, who replaced Vidit Gujrathi at short notice.
Vidit, the winner of last year's Vugar Gashimov Memorial, had cancelled his participation because the Indian Chess Olympiad gold medallists had been invited to a reception with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Participants
| Rk. | Name | Elo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Artemiev, Vladislav | 2740 |
| 2 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2723 |
| 3 | GM | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 2683 |
| 4 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | 2617 |
| 5 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2704 |
| 6 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | 2565 |
| 7 | GM | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2752 |
| 8 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 2543 |
The first round starts at 15.30 local time (= 13.30 CEST). On the two following days the action starts at 15.00 local time (=13.00 CEST).
After arriving in Baku, the players visited the memorial and grave of Vugar Gashimov. They laid flowers at the opening ceremony.
Vugar Gashimov, who died of a brain tumour on 11 January 2014, is revered as a national hero in Azerbaijan. Along with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov, he formed the backbone of the Azerbaijan national team in his youth and enjoyed many successes. Gashimov reached his peak in 2009, when he was ranked sixth in the world.
