Double gold for Azerbaijan at the World Juniors | So Good News

The 2022 World Junior Chess Championship was a success for Azerbaijan, IM Abdulla Gadimbaili won the open section, and WGM Govhar Beidullaeva won gold in the girls’ category. The Under-20 event concluded on Saturday in Sardinia, Italy.

Both Azerbaijani players have confirmed their talent after excellent performances at the European Singles Chess Championship held in Slovenia earlier this year. While Beidullaeva had the best score among all participating women, Gadimbayli got enough points to qualify for the next FIDE World Cup.

At this year’s World Juniors held in the resort town of Cala Gonone, Sardinia, Gadimbaili beat four other players in a tiebreak to win the tournament with 8/11. Hungary’s general Adam Kozak won the silver medal in a somewhat poor tiebreak, while Georgia’s IS Nikolozi Kacharava won the bronze medal.

It was a bitter disappointment for Kozak, who entered the final round with a half-point lead over the field and needed only a tie for the championship, but he was unable to play the following game:

The top spot was already known in the chess world: GM Andrei Yesipenko, who famously beat GM Magnus Carlsen at the 2021 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, was also undefeated in Sardinia, but ended up half a point lower by drawing another game. top group.

His game against Gadimbayli was important as Esipenko won and could have finished it off with good tactics, but he missed it:

Gadimbaili, who received direct GM for his victory, described the 11-round tournament as “tough” and “stressful”. This can also be seen in the length of his games, which averaged 49 walks. Another key game for him came in the ninth round, where he won in a very close match as his opponent, who would have finished in third place, went for the wrong plan:

For Gadimbayli, seeded 18th in the tournament, it was her second world title after winning the under-eight championship 12 years ago. He has another title at the Azerbaijan National Championship, which he won in 2018.

“We did a good job! This is a fantastic result for Azerbaijan” – World Youth Champion Abdullah Gadimbayli.

⬇️ Watch the interview ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/IBgSo1mAXw

– International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 23, 2022

World Cup U20 | Final Table (Top 20)

The victory of Beydullaeva, who was in fourth place in the girls section, was unexpected. Despite losing his last game, he won the tournament on a tiebreak, edging WIM Assel Serikbai of Kazakhstan, both of whom won at 8.5/11. Bronze medal went to another Kazakh player: WIM Meruert Kamalidenova.

“It was my childhood dream to become the world champion,” says Beidullaeva. “Every year I participated in the World Junior Chess Championship, but I didn’t have any medals. The previous two years it was just online, but not in the classical format. I won the world championship there, but online, so it was the first time I became the under-20 world champion. . I am very happy!”

Beydullaeva’s victory in the ninth round, in which both players prepared deeply:

🇦🇿 WGM Govhar Beidullaeva – World champion among girls under 20 years old! 👏

“It was my childhood dream,” says the 19-year-old Azeri player, who learned chess at the age of 4 and gradually went on to represent his country in numerous youth competitions, winning several medals. #Youth Chess
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– International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 22, 2022

Women’s World Cup U20 | Final Table (Top 20)

The World Junior Chess Championship was held on 12-22 October 2022 at the four-star Palmasera resort in Cala Gonone, Sardinia, Italy. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 second increments for each move from the first move. DRaw bids up to 30 steps are not allowed.