"Since FIDE established the Candidates Tournament, Azerbaijani chess players have competed in the majority of tournaments"
Idman.biz reports that Mahir Mammadov, president of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF), said this.
He told the official website of the ACF that Nijat Abasov deserved to be in the Challengers' Tournament: " Teymur Rajabov and Shahriyar Mammadyarov competed in the Candidates Tournament frequently and nearly won. Shahriyar finished in second place, just missing out on the Berlin victory. Teymur placed third at the end of the Madrid tournament. Magnus Carlsen declined to defend his world championship following this match, and the top two chess players from the Challengers Tournament squared off for the title. The chess player from Azerbaijan will return to the Candidates Tournament this year. Nijat Abasov's World Cup performance demonstrated his deservingness of a spot in the esteemed competition. Even before Magnus Carlsen refused, I thought that Nijat deserved to participate in this competition. If you remember, in the first game of the match for the third place in the World Cup, Nijat won Fabiano, then he could not keep up the pressure and stopped one step away from the third place."
According to Mammadov, a special program has been prepared for Nijat Abasov's training: "A training plan has been drawn up together with the Azerbaijan Chess Federation. All the work is being done according to the program so that Nijat can properly prepare for the competition."
It should be noted that the Candidates Tournament will be held on April 2-25 in Toronto, Canada.
Idman.biz
