The seventh round of the ShamkirChess 2018 Super Tournament in the memory of Vugar Hashimov goes on. The Press Service of the Tournament reports that, the Azerbaijani grand masters Shahriyar Mammadyarov and Teimour Radjabov played a draw.

Shahriyar Mammadyarov talked about the hardship of playing against the Azerbaijani players at the press conference: “We have been playing chess with Teimour Rdadjabov since 1993. First time, I played against Radjabov in 1993. That time, I was only started to play chess for four months. Imagine that, I learned chess for four months, and I played against Radjabov. That time, Teimour was already winner of several games and international tournaments among kids and teenagers. Vugar Hashimov and Gadir Huseynov were playing in that game, as well. I still remember. I got the precedence with white pieces, yet at the decisive moment of the game, Teimour offered me a draw. We agreed, and our game ended with a draw. After the game, everyone was asking Teimour the reason of playing a draw.

Generally, we are an opponent in various international tournaments. I should admit that, I cannot play against the Azerbaijani players. It is impossible to compete with all my energy. It is not easy to see your friend and partner in the National Team, like an opponent. Therefore, I do not like to meet the Azerbaijani players in the international tournaments”.

The Azerbaijani grand master said that some of his partners cannot accept the defeat: “It is not good to lose the hope after being defeated. You should prepare for the next game.  I defeated the Ukarnian player Vasily Ivanchuk in the Tournament held China. After the game, Ivanchuk started to cry. When I saw him in tears I was very sad. His fans were also disappointed. Ivanchuk is very an emotional man, therefore he could not keep himself”.

Press Service of the ShamkirChess 2018 Tournament