Azerbaijan's Honored Coach receives Mark Dvoretsky Award

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced the names of the top trainers for 2023.

Azerbaijan's international grandmaster and Honored Coach Jahangir Agharahimov was awarded with the Mark Dvoretsky Award for the best performance by trainers in junior competitions, Azernews reports.

Jahangir Agharahimov holds the Grandmaster title since February 2014, fulfilling norms at the Baku Open in August 2010, where he won against the Grandmasters Natalia Zhukova and Davit Jojua amongst others, and at a double-round rating tournament in Alushta in June 2013.

He is one of the few chess players who became Grandmaster without holding the title International Master before.

As a chess player he is inactive. His last tournament was a tournament in Rustavi in January 2014. Baku.

Chess for centuries has been a popular game in Azerbaijan with ancient roots closely related to traditions. The country could preserve these traditions as the chess remains to be a crucially popular sports for now.

The first references to chess in Azerbaijan can be found in the works of 12th century such great poets as Khaqani and Nizami as well as in the works of one of the nation’s most respected literary personalities Fuzuli.

To popularize this original game Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who is also the chairman of the National Olympic Committee, signed in 2009 an executive order initiating a state-supported chess development program, covering the years 2009-2014.

Azerbaijan Chess Federation was founded in 1920. Elman Rustamov is the President of National Chess Federation since 2007.

The national chess players have always been taking high places at top-ranked tournaments.

The 42nd Chess Olympiad, which will take place in Baku, is indeed an excellent example of great attention paid to the development of chess game in the country.

The first World Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan was arranged at the Baku Crystal Hall, a multipurpose sports and concert arena. The chess tournament gathered about 2,000 chess masters from 175 countries.

FIDE World Chess Cup 2023 in Baku managed to captivate chess enthusiasts with its high-level competition and thrilling encounters.

With a highly competitive field of players, the World Cup offered an exciting platform for showcasing the immense talent and strategic prowess of top chess players.

The tournament gathered around 206 players in the open section and 103 in the women's competition.

Azerbaijani team included 17 chess players, including Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Gunay Mammadzade, Rauf Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov, Vasif Durarbayli, Nijat Abasov, Abdulla Gadimbayli, Misratdin Isgandarov, Muhammad Muradli, Vugar Asadli, Riad Samadov, Aydin Suleymanli, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Gulnar Mammadova, Khanim Balajayeva, and Govhar Beydullayeva.

The top three players from both the open and women's sections were qualified for the first time in the Men Candidates Tournament and the Women Candidates Tournament 2024.