Azerbaijan grandmaster seems headed to Candidates Tournament

Azerbaijan chess grandmaster Teimour Radjabov won the hotly contested FIDE Grand Prix Geneva Tournament recently with a fighting draw against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. Nepomniachtchi required a victory to take sole first place but Radjabov denied his wish with energetic play in the final game of the tournament. The exacting Grand Prix series is being conducted to identify two participants for the impending Candidates Tournament. In photo: Radjabov (left) discusses the game following the encounter. (Photo by Valera Belobeev for World Chess)

Teimour Radjabov, a chess grandmaster from Azerbaijan who is ranked Number 32 in the world, placed first in the recent FIDE Grand Prix in Geneva. He defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final game to win by half-a-point. Radjabov’s victory ended a drought that had plagued the grandmaster for some time and puts him in contention to qualify for a place in the Candidates Tournament. Two persons will qualify for the Candidates based on their performances in the four Grand Prix competitions. One Grand Prix remains to be contested in Spain shortly.