The opening ceremony of the IX "Vugar Gashimov Memorial" has been held at the Heydar Aliyev Congress Center in Gabala.
According to Idman.biz, the event has been attended by public representatives as well as official guests.
The head of the Gabala Region Executive Power Sabuhi Abdullayev said that the chess tournament will attract more visitors to Gabala. He expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the tournament, the National Chess Federation, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Vugar Gashimov Foundation for the trust shown to the region: "The day before, the Collegium of the Ministry of Youth and Sports declared Gabala the "Sports Capital of 2025", so we accept "Vugar Gashimov Memorial" in a new quality.
Then Mahir Mammadov, the president of the Chess Federation, vice-president of FIDE, made a speech. He said that the tournament has a special place in the World Calendar: "Vugar, who left us prematurely, left a great chess legacy. Even today, his legacy continues to be studied." Pointing out that Gabala hosted the chess tournament for the first time, the president of the federation added that all conditions will be created for the competition to be held at a high level.
Then the head of the Organizing Committee of the Gashimov Memorial, Gasim Gashimov, made a speech. He thanked the participants for commemorating the memory of Vugar, the father of the well-known grandmaster. "I especially want to thank world chess luminary Boris Gelfand. I will never forget how he helped Vugar during the Grand Prix in Astrakhan. I wish success to all participants."
Later, the artistic part of the program has been started.
It should be noted that Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi (both India), Richard Rapport (Romania), Jorden Van Foreest (Netherlands), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Teymur Rajabov, Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Nijat Abasov, Rauf Mammadov and Aydin Suleymanli will participate. The first three days of the tournament will be rapid, and on the last day - December 11, there will be blitz games. The head judge of "Vugar Gashimov Memorial" is the international grandmaster Ilaha Gadimova. All matches will be broadcasted on the official website of the tournament. Murad Gashimov and Kanan Garayev will comment on the parties.
Idman.biz
