Azerbaijani teen wins Aeroflot Open chess championship

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Aydin Suleymanli, 14-year-old Azerbaijani chess player has become the sensational winner of the Aeroflot Open held in Moscow on February 28.

The teenager finished the Aeroflot Open in the first rank with the rating of 2,474.

Another Azerbaijani grandmaster Rauf Mamedov who was leading the tournament from its opening day, secured the third place.  

At the beginning of the tournament, Aydin beat grandmaster Alexander Indjic and drew with grandmasters Mustafa Yilmaz, Praggnanandhaa R, Mikhail Kobalia, and Haik Martirosyan. All these games were a superb start for the 14-year-old chess player.

In next games, Aydin Suleymanli managed to catch a row of victories, winning three grandmasters Vasif Durarbayli, Ilia Smirin and Parham Maghsoodloo.

Both Rinat Jumabayev (Kazakhstan) and Aravindh Chithambaram (India) could win with white pieces, who shared the first place with Aydin Suleymanli and Rauf Mamedov, meaning all four getting 6.5 points gained 9,750 euros. But Aydin’s rating (2474) made him a champion.

Aydin Suleymanli had become famous at youth tournaments after winning gold medals at the 2013 European Youth Championship U8, the 2017 European Youth Championship U12, and the 2019 World Youth Championship U14.

The Aeroflot Open took place February 19-28 in Hotel Cosmos in Moscow, Russia. The A group had 97 players from 21 federations, including 63 grandmasters.

Organized for the 18th time, the Aeroflot Open held up a long tradition that started in the legendary 3182-room hotel Russia (demolished in 2006) before it moved to the Izmailovo complex. It has been hosted by the Cosmos Hotel in recent years.