Shamkir Chess
Shamkir Chess is a chess super tournament played in Shamkir, in memory of Vugar Gashimov (1986–2014).[1]
Shamkir Chess 2014
The Gashimov Memorial 2014 took place in the Haydar Aliev Centre in Shamkir City from 16 April to 30 April 2014, consisting of two tournaments, with invited players Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Sergey Karjakin, Fabiano Caruana, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Teimour Radjabov making up the A Tournament. The Elo average for the tournament was 2780, making it a Category 22 event and one of the highest rated tournaments of all time.
The A Tournament was held as a double round robin, with each player facing the other with both colours, while the B Tournament was held as a single round robin.
The total prize fund for the A tournament was €100,000 euros,[2] while the prize fund for the B tournament was €30,000 euros.[3]
In the A Tournament, in spite of losing consecutive games early on,[4]Magnus Carlsen won after a last round White win over Fabiano Caruana who finished second.
In the B Tournament, Pavel Eljanov won two and drew one of his last three games to take first place.
Winners
| # | Year | Tournament | Avg. Elo | Winner | Rounds | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | A | 2780 |  Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 10 | 6.5 |
| 1 | 2014 | B | 2663 |  Pavel Eljanov (UKR) | 9 | 6 |
Results
Group A, cat. XXII (2780) # Player Rating Points Wins 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2881 6½ 2 
Fabiano Caruana (ITA) 2783 5½ 3 
Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2772 5 2 4 
Teimour Radjabov (AZE) 2713 5 1 5 
Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2772 5 0 6 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2760 3 Group B, cat. XVII (2663) # Player Rating Points Wins SB 1 Pavel Eljanov (UKR) 2732 6 2 Alexander Motylev (RUS) 2685 5½ 3 
Étienne Bacrot (FRA) 2722 5 3 4 
Wang Hao (CHN) 2734 5 2 5 
Radosław Wojtaszek (POL) 2716 4½ 6 Rauf Mamedov (AZE) 2660 4 2 18,00 7 Qadir Huseynov (AZE) 2621 4 2 16,25 8 Vasif Durarbayli (AZE) 2584 4 1 9 Nijat Abasov (AZE) 2516 4 0 10 Eltaj Safarli (AZE) 2656 3
Shamkir Chess 2015
The second edition of Shamkir Chess is scheduled for April 16-26, 2015.
For the first time, three world champions - the current world champion Magnus Carlsen, former world champion Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik will compete in the tournament in Azerbaijan, as well as Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Michael Adams, and the Azerbaijan Champion Rauf Mamedov will take part in the tournament.
The tournament’s total prize fund is €100,000.
Magnus Carlsen won the event with a score of 7/9 (+5-0=4).
Winners
| # | Year | Tournament | Avg. Elo | Winner | Rounds | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | A | 2773 | Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 9 | 7 |
Results
Group A, cat. XXII (2773) # Player Rating Points Wins 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2863 7 5 2 
Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2791 6 3 3 Wesley So (USA) 2788 5 3 4 Fabiano Caruana (ITA) 2802 5 2 5 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2783 4 2 6 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2754 4 1 7 
Michael Adams (ENG) 2746 3.5 1 8 
Anish Giri (NED) 2790 3.5 0 9 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2762 3.5 0 10 Rauf Mamedov (AZE) 2651 3.5 0
References
- ↑ "Vugar Gashimov Memorial – Press Release". www.chessdom.com. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ Tournament A regulations Accessed 20 July 2014
- ↑ Tournament B regulations. Accessed 20 July 2014
- ↑ Radjabov Also Beats Carlsen, Grabs Sole Lead In Shamkir Chess.com Retrieved 20 July 2014