Gashimov: “I’ve got a will to win”
Vugar Gashimov’s interview for Chess-News after his victory in Reggio Emilia was a vivid reminder of the importance of the human element in chess. He talks about motivation, how not all novelties are found by computers, and how Sofia Rules can lead to less interesting chess.
Update on the Gashimov saga
Perhaps the most significant story in the run-up to this year’s Olympiad was the Azerbaijan team’s decision to leave out Vugar Gashimov. They paid the price at the chess board (finishing 12th), but there were also more problems between the team and captain during the event, and conflict continues to rage now it’s over.
Sergey Shipov previews the Olympiad
With the World Chess Olympiad set to start on Tuesday in Khanty Mansiysk, Grandmaster Sergey Shipov previewed the event at Crestbook, giving his verdict on the favourites, medal contenders and dark horses for both the men’s and women’s events.
Gashimov left out of Azerbaijan team for Olympiad
In an ugly turn of events, Azerbaijan, previously real contenders for a gold medal at the Olympiad, have chosen to leave out Vugar Gashimov, one of their star players. This follows a bitter conflict with the team management and a nationalistic campaign against the 2719-rated player.
Gashimov at Crestbook
Vugar Gashimov recently gave an interesting interview at Crestbook. He goes into detail on what happened at the end of the World Team Championship in Turkey, where quick draws with the US left the Azerbaijan team without medals.
Rauf Mamedov on the Chinese School
Rauf Mamedov lost to a Chinese player in the first round of the World Cup, but was far from singing the praises of Chinese chess.
Highlights from extratime.az’s World Cup coverage
Eljanov on Ukrainian players wanting to abandon their federation and Shirov’s unusual training methods, Gashimov on “incorrect” Chinese chess, and more: the Azerbaijan site was on hand to report a lot of interesting material from the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk.
