Vugar Gashimov – Azerbaijani Chess Grandmaster

Vugar Gashimov is a Chess Grandmaster from Azerbaijan with Elo ratings exceeding 2200 from FIDE, making him one of the best Azerbaijani chess players of all time.

Full Name: Vugar Gashimov

Title: Grandmaster (2002)

Place of birth: Baku, Azerbaijan SSR

Born: July 24, 1986

Federation: Azerbaijan

Ratings

World ranking: N/A

Rapid: 2445

Blitz: 2224

Classical: 2348

Peak rating: 2761 (January 2012)

Profiles

• FIDE
• Chessgames.com

Most Frequently Played Openings

With the White pieces

• Sicilian Defense
• Ruy Lopez
• Ruy Lopez, Closed

With the Black pieces

• Sicilian
• Modern Benoni
• Nimzo Indian

Biography

Gashimov was an Azerbaijan chess Grandmaster born on July 24, 1986, in Baku. Gashimov was the son of a former military colonel who worked for Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry. Gashimov enjoyed football, table tennis, and pool. In addition, Gashimov was also a huge fan of Jackie Chan films. His older brother Sarkhan, an IT manager and professional chess player was in charge of him. Gashimov died on January 11, 2014, aged 27 in Heidelberg Germany.

The Beginning

Gashimov represented Azerbaijan in the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 Chess Olympiads. Gashimov was a member of the Azerbaijani team that won gold at the 2009 European Team Chess Tournament in Novi Sad, together with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Rauf Mammadov, and Gadir Guseinov, after the earlier victory of bronze in 2007. Nevertheless, because of a dispute with the national chess federation and former team coach Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Gashimov did not play for his nation at the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Gashimov was well-known for his blitz chess skills. At the high point of his chess career, Gashimov revitalized the earnings of the Modern Benoni, an opening that had fallen out of favor at the best stage of chess, and utilized it to obtain excellent results against potent grandmasters, including the time’s top player, Alexander Grischuk.

Notable Achievements

• In 2010, Gashimov won the Reggio Emilia chess tournament.
• In 2005, Gashimov won the Athens International Acropolis International, and in 2007, he shared first at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open, which he won on a tie-break in 2008.
• In 2010-11, Gashimov won the strong and traditional invitation championship at Reggio Emilia on a deciding set over Francisco Vallejo Pons.

Notable Games

Vugar Gashimov vs Alexander Grischuk – Baku Grand Prix – Baku AZE – May 4, 2008

Vugar Gashimov vs Boris Gelfand – LIII TCh-ESP CECLUB Gp1 – Lugo ESP, September 22, 2009

Vugar Gashimov vs Bogdan Lalic – Cappelle la Grande – Cappelle la Grande FRA, March 9, 2007

Did you enjoy reading about Vugar Gashimov? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Hans Niemann, Bobby Fischer, and Rey Enigma.

Sources

1. http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=13400630
2. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6931
3. http://www.olimpbase.org/players/j3tplzzf.html
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20110726224211/http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/gold-for-azerbaijan-and-russia-in-novi-sad/
5. http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=13400657
6. http://chess-news.ru/en/node/14391
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20140114224814/http://www.news.az/articles/official/85712
8. https://www.chess.com/news/vugar-gashimov-memorial-to-start-sunday-2973