In second round of Vugar Hashimov memorial organized in Shamkir, our representative  Shahriyar Mammadyarov drew with Russian representative Sergey Karjajkin. Karjajkin has responded to the questions of the journalists after game. Russian representative has spoken about Shahriyar both as chess player and a coach:” We had a few draws. But as I know Shahriyar very well, I always play to the victory. I pay attention to his movies. He doesn’t make mistakes, he plays very carefully. Shahriyar has played in my team in World championship contender’s tournament in 2016.  He helped me as a coach. Our joint preparation had a good result. We were playing blitz during the training. Even at that time, we didn’t give each other time to think. Shahriyar is a wonderful person, always faithful to his friend. He had advantage  in the World Cup in Baku. Then the situation equalized, and draw was recorded. As a result, in the end I win and went onto the next stage. I am one of those who wish success to Shahriyar. Of course, when you are opponents, friendship is temporarily forgotten.”

Expressing positive opinions about tournament organized by “Synergy Group”, Karjakin said that he will watch "Real"-"Barselona" match in Spain championship.:” First of all, I am grateful to the organizers. It is a great tournament. Here I feel myself as at home. We think only  about chess. Tomorrow we plan to watch football together. Who will I cheer for? If Carlsen cheers for “Real,  I will cheer for “Barsa””.