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Azerbaijani Junior Chess Players Win World Championship in Italy

By Ilham Karimli October 24, 2022

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Govhar Beydullayeva won the gold medal in the girls section of the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship / FIDE

Two Azerbaijani chess players were crowned as winners at the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship, which were hosted on the Italian island of Sardinia last week.

Abdulla Gadimbayli and Govhar Beydullayeva from the country claimed on Saturday gold medals in the open and girl sections of the tournament, respectively.

Gadimbayli’s final tie with his compatriot Mahammad Muradli ended in a draw, giving him a slight superiority over Adam Kozak from Hungary in the final standings with 8 points. Kozak lost his last game against Luke Leon Mendonca from India, depriving himself of a chance to top the 10-men ranking.

With his victory in Italy, Gadimbayli added another international trophy to his collection, which includes gold medals in the U8 European Chess Championship in 2009 and 2010, as well as a silver medal in U10 World Chess Championship in 2011.

Gadimbayli described the result as "fantastic" for Azerbaijan.

“It was quite difficult, but I did it. I took first place. I did my best to win,” he added.

Meanwhile, for her part, Beydullayeva claimed the title even before the final encounter with Assel Serikbay from Kazakhstan on Saturday as she secured a full-point cushion and better tiebreaks over her rival. With 8.5 points, the Azerbaijani female chess master came in at the highest place in the 10-player standing.

The double win by the Azerbaijani chess players at the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship was a milestone moment in the chess history of the country.

The tournament took place October 11-23 in Sardinia's Cala Ganone city. A total of 20 male and female chess players under the age of 20 participated in the world’s major junior chess competition.