The European Chess Championship, held in Petrovač, Montenegro, proved remarkable for Azerbaijan’s chess scene. Rauf Mammadov secured a spot in the top 20, qualifying for the World Cup, while 10 Azerbaijani players made it to the Top 100 rankings.
The championship featured 388 players from 42 countries, including 119 grandmasters and 3 women grandmasters. Azerbaijan, represented by 22 players, was the fourth-largest delegation after Turkiye (41), Serbia (24), and Poland (23). Among Azerbaijan’s representatives were 9 grandmasters and 1 woman grandmaster.
The tournament’s highest-rated participant, Slovenia’s Vladimir Fedoseev (ranked 27th in the FIDE rankings), finished in 14th place.
The winner was Serbia’s Aleksandar Indjić, ranked 33rd in the participant list but outside the FIDE Top 100. Indjić dominated the tournament with 9 points, leading from the start.
Rauf Mammadov was Azerbaijan’s standout performer, finishing 14th with 7.5 points and earning a World Cup spot.
Azerbaijan excelled in the Top 100, with 10 players making the cut—more than any other country:
Mahammad Muradli (22nd), Eltaj Safari (29th), Vasif Durarbayli (31st), and Misratdin Iskandarov (35th).
Aydin Suleymanli (53rd), Khazar Babazada (74th), Riad Samadov (81st), Vugar Asadli (82nd), and Ahmad Ahmadzada (90th).
Among the countries, the next highest productivity is in Armenia (8), Germany (7), Turkiye (6) and Romania (6).
The Top 100 included 12 players under 18. Ukraine’s Ihor Samunenkov achieved the best result among them, finishing 34th. Azerbaijan’s Riad Səmədov, ranked 81st overall, placed 11th among players under 18.
Of Azerbaijan’s 22 participants, 13 exceeded their pre-tournament rankings. Notably: Misratdin Iskandarov, ranked 100th, finished 35th.
Orxan Abdulov, ranked 191st, finished 281st.
The championship impacted players’ FIDE ratings:
Umid Aslanov (+27.20 points), Shahin Valiyev (+24.20), and Ayan Allahverdiyeva (+19.80).
Orkhan Baghirov (-97.60 points), finishing with just 2 points.
In the previous year’s championship, Azerbaijan fielded 19 players, with 5 making it into the Top 100. This year’s results mark a notable improvement, with double the number of Top 100 representatives and a World Cup qualification.
Vugar Mammadov
Idman.biz
