Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

Shakhriyar Hamid oglu Mammadyarov (Azerbaijani: Şəhriyar Həmid oğlu Məmmədyarov; born 12 April 1985), also known as Shah and Shak, is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster.
Mamedyarov is a two-time World Junior Champion, and gold-medallist at the 2012 Chess Olympiad and European Team Championships in 2009 and 2013.
He also competed in the FIDE Candidates Matches in 2011, won Tal Memorial on two occasions and won the World Rapid Championship in 2013.

Biography

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was born on April 12, 1985 in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

In 2003 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. He repeated his victory in 2005 (thus becoming the only two-time champion), achieving a 2953 performance rating after eight rounds. This gained him an invitation to the Essent Tournament 2006 in Hoogeveen, and by winning this one and the 2007 edition, Mamedyarov achieved world fame.

In 2005 Mamedyarov competed at the European Club Cup and had the second highest performance rating (2913) among all of the participants (Vassily Ivanchuk had the highest).

Mamedyarov attained joint first place at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow in February 2006, with a score of 6½/9. In October 2006, he won the closed Essent Chess Tournament in Hoogeveen with 4½/6, beating Judit Polgár on Sonneborn-Berger.

At the Chess World Cup 2007 Mamedyarov reached the third round where he was knocked out by Ivan Cheparinov.

He was the best player at the World Team Chess Championships 2009.

In 2010, he tied for first place with Vladimir Kramnik and Gata Kamsky at the President's Cup in Baku, followed by joint first in the Tal Memorial.

In May 2011, Mamedyarov was the tournament organisers' nominee, qualifying him for the Candidates tournament for the World Chess Championship 2012, where he lost to Boris Gelfand in the quarterfinal.

In June 2013, Mamedyarov won the World Rapid Chess Championship, scoring 11½/15.

In November 2014, he won the Tal Memorial for the second time.

In June 2016, Mamedyarov won the 3rd Shamkir Chess Tournament, the Vugar Gashimov Memorial. He defeated both top seeds Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri in the last two rounds, which put him in a tiebreak situation with Caruana. He defeated Caruana in the tiebreak, thus giving him tournament victory.

Playing style

Mamedyarov has an aggressive style of play. He is known for experimenting with unusual openings, such as the Alekhine Defence and the Budapest Gambit.

Team competitions

Mamedyarov with the Azerbaijani chess team that won the European Team Chess Championship in 2007

He played for Azerbaijan at the Chess Olympiads of 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. In 2009 and 2013, he won the team gold medal for Azerbaijan at the European Team Chess Championship, having won the bronze medal in 2007 and silver in 2011.

Controversies

Mamedyarov caused controversy during the Aeroflot Open tournament that took place in Moscow between 17 and 26 February 2009. After losing to lower rated Igor Kurnosov in 21 moves, he voiced suspicions of cheating behaviour on the part of his Russian opponent, citing Kurnosov's wanderings outside the playing hall after each move, the refusal to agree to a draw on move 14, and the unusually strong moves played by a 2600+ GM. The arbiters were unable to discover any evidence implicating Kurnosov and Mamedyarov withdrew from the tournament in protest.

At the 2012 European Individual Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, he was involved in two controversial incidents. In round 8, he was forfeited against the Georgian IM Shota Azaladze for arriving less than 2 minutes late (10 seconds late, according to Mamedyarov). In the next round, he agreed a draw on move 19 against the Spanish IM Alvar Alonso Rossell. The tournament rules forbade draws by agreement before move 40, so the arbiters ruled the game a double loss by forfeit. Another Azeri GM, Eltaj Safarli, and his opponent, Tal Baron, were also double defaulted for an early draw. Both Azeri GM's withdrew from the tournament in protest.

Personal life

His personal trainer is his father, who is a former boxer. Mamedyarov has two sisters, Zeinab Mamedyarova and Turkan Mamedyarova, who are Woman Grandmasters.

Notable tournament victories

• 2016 Gashimov Memorial (3rd annual Shamkir Chess tournament)
• 2014 Tal Memorial, 1st
• 2013 Beijing FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013, 1st
• 2013 Geneva Chess Masters, 1st
• 2013 World Rapid Chess Championship Khanty-Mansiysk, 1st
• 2012 Chess Olympiad Turkey, 1st
• 2010 Tal Memorial, joint 1st
• 2010 The President's Cup, joint 1st
• 2009 Chess Classic, Mainz, 1st
• 2008 Rapid Tournament, Corsica, 1st
• 2007 Rapid Tournament, Czech Republic, 1st
• 2006 Hoogeveen Essent Tournament, 1st
• 2006 Ordix Open, joint 1st
• 2006 Aeroflot Open, Moscow, Russia, joint 1st
• 2006 Reykjavík Open, joint 1st
• 2006 The President's Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan 1st
• 2004 Dubai Open, Dubai, 1st
• 2003 Winner of Under-18 World Championship
• 2003 Winner of World Junior Championship, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan

• Мамедъяров выиграл Мемориал Таля (in Russian). Retrieved 14 November 2014. 
• "Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the winner of Beijing FIDE Grand Prix". Retrieved 16 July 2013. 
• Мамедъяров выиграл турнир в Женеве (ОБНОВЛЕНО). azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 30 June 2013. 
• "Tal Memorial Aronian and Karjakin win the title". ChessBase.com. 2010-11-14. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
• Crowther, Mark (2010-05-03). "The Week in Chess: President's Cup Baku 2010". Chess.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
• "Achievements of Shah". Mamedyarov.com. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
• "Mamedyarov and Kasparov win in Corsica". ChessBase.com. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
• "Essent Kroongroep 2006". FIDE. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
• "Chess Classic Kasimdzhanov wins the Ordix Open". ChessBase.com. 2006-08-22. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
• "Aeroflot Open 2006 A1". FIDE. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
• "Reykjavik Open 2006". Chess-Results.com. 2006-03-20. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
• Crowther, Mark (2006-05-15). "TWIC 601: President's Cup". London Chess Center. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
• "Mamedyarov wins Dubai, Carlsen his GM title". ChessBase. 2004-04-29. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
• "World Junior Champ. Boys". FIDE. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
• "World Junior Championship: Mamedyarov Earns the Title". JeremySilman.com. 2003-07-03. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 

Notable games

• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Gata Kamsky, Mtel Masters 2007, Slav Defense: General (D10), 1-0
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Vassily Ivanchuk, Tal Memorial 2007, Semi-Slav Defense: General (D43), 1-0
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Magnus Carlsen, Baku Grand Prix 2008, Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto, Kramnik Variation (E17), 1-0
• Vladimir Kramnik vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Amber Tournament (Rapid) 2008, Budapest Defense: General (A52), 0-1

References