BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. Azerbaijan is a great chess power with its own traditions, Ukrainian grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk told Trend on the sidelines on the World Chess Cup in Baku.
Ivanchuk reminded his several visits to Baku and shared great impressions of the current World Cup's organization.
"Azerbaijan has many strong chess players, and it's important to see young players coming up. It's no doubt that Azerbaijan is a chess country, and Baku is a city of chess," he said.
Discussing the tie-break in the fourth round, the grandmaster highlighted that it was a challenging game.
"In rapid chess, outcomes can vary, sometimes they are good. To be fair, the game's quality might not have been at its highest, but I did my best," the chess player added.
Speaking about his recovery after games, Ivanchuk mentioned that walks and sleep help him.
In the fifth round of the World Chess Cup (1/8 finals among men), which started on August 12, Ivanchuk's opponent is the Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.
The starting list of the World Chess Cup of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Baku included 206 chess players in the open section and 103 in the women's section.
For the second time, Azerbaijan is hosting the Chess World Cup. For the first time, the top three competitors from the open and women's categories will earn a spot in the 2024 Men's Candidates Tournament and Women's Candidates Tournament, respectively.
On the competition's official website, matches from the FIDE World Cup-2023 are broadcast in both Azerbaijani and English.
Up through August 25th, competitions will be held. The winning prize stands at $2.5 million.
The World Chess Cup is being held at Marriott Boulevard in Baku.
Azerbaijan is represented by team of 17 chess players, including Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Gunay Mammadzade, Rauf Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov, Vasif Durarbayli, Nijat Abbasov, Abdulla Gadimbayli, Misratdin Isgandarov, Muhammad Muradli, Vugar Asadli, Riad Samadov, Aydin Suleymanli, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Gulnar Mammadova, Khanim Balajayeva, and Govhar Beydullayeva.