World Chess Olympiad: Azerbaijani team's rivals named

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani team's rivals at World Chess Olympiad (WCO) have been announced.

The chess team will compete in Group B in the Top Division.The team's rivals include Hungary, South Africa, Ukraine, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Norway, France, and the Netherlands.

The virtual chess tournament in the top division will start on August 19.

Ches players Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Gunay Mammadzade, Gulnar Mammadova, Vugar Asadli, and Ms. Balacayeva will represent Azerbaijan.

Rauf Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov, Turkan Mammadyarova, Ulviya Fataliyeva, Aydin Suleymanli, and Govhar Beydullayeva have been included in the list of reserve players by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation.

The team captains include Eltaj Safarli and Rahim Gasimov. The World Chess Olympiad will end on August 30.

The International Chess Federation has announced the FIDE Online Olympiad, a new major team competition to be held online from July 22 till August 30th, 2020. 

However, the main 2020 Chess Olympiad, scheduled for August 5-17, has been moved to 2021 amid coronavirus pandemic.

The event consists of two main stages: a division stage and a playoff stage.

The top division features five seeded teams, five nominated teams, and 15 teams that qualified from the second division. Divided into four pools, the top three teams of each pool qualify for the playoff stage.

The 44th Chess Olympiad will take place in Moscow, Russia. Moscow is set to become the first city to host the Chess Olympiad three times. (1956 and 1994).