"The FIDE rating is very important. There, when you are in the top 10, you get invited to most competitions."
This was said by Fikret Sideifzade, the international chess master and coach of the Azerbaijan national team, who was a guest of the Idman Bizde program.
The experienced specialist commented on the recent unsuccessful performance of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov, one of the strongest chess players of Azerbaijan. He said that it is impossible for Teimour to return to his previous position: "Radjabov is fed up with chess. He plays little by little. It is impossible to return to the top 10 in the rating. It is relatively easy to get into the top 10, but it is difficult to stay there. When you go down, it takes a lot of strength to do it again."
Sideifzade emphasized that Mamedyarov's style of play created difficulties for him: "Chess has become very young. Mamedyarov will be 40 years old. Shakhriyar's style of play was based on very large option counts. He was taking risks and looking for options to win the game. This style of play also makes a chess player grow old quickly. The coefficient is of great importance to chess players. When you're not in the top 10, it's not practical to play with elite athletes and you get weaker and weaker. This is a natural process. Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov stood together."
It should be noted that according to the latest FIDE rating, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is 17th with 2733 points, and Teimour Radjabov is 28th with 2723 points.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz
