Teimour Radjabov

Full name	Teymur Rəcəbov
Country	Azerbaijan
Born	March 12, 1987 (1987-03-12) (age 20) Baku, Azerbaijan
Title	Grandmaster
FIDE rating	2742 (No. 8 on the October 2007 FIDE ratings list)
Peak rating	2747 (April 2007)

Teimour Radjabov, also spelled Teymur Rajabov, (Azerbaijani: Teymur Rəcəbov; born March 12, 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijan) is a leading chess player from Azerbaijan. On the July 2007 FIDE list, Radjabov had an Elo rating of 2746, ranking ninth in the world and second in his native Azerbaijan. Radjabov earned the title of International Grandmaster in March 2001 at the age of 14, making him the second youngest grandmaster in history at the time[1]. Radjabov's playing style has been described as attacking and tactically influenced[2][3]. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (621x1043, 96 KB) en: Teimour Radjabov – Azerbaijani ()grandmaster. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Azerbaijan. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Coordinates: , Country Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - City 260 km²  (100. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Chess Go The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess and Go. ... Chess Go The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess and Go. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Coordinates: , Country Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - City 260 km²  (100. ... This article is about the Western board game. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The ELO rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess and Go. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ...

Radjabov and Kasparov

Radjabov's name is often mentioned in conjunction with that of former world champion Garry Kasparov. Both are from Baku, Azerbaijan and both men have Jewish fathers[4] (Kasparov's mother is Armenian). Radjabov's lifetime score against Kasparov at standard time controls is 1 win, 3 draws and no losses.[5] (Kasparov's only win was in Rapid chess.[6]) Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: ) (born April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Coordinates: , Country Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - City 260 km²  (100. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Blitz chess (also known as speed chess or blitzkrieg chess) is a game of chess where each side is given very little time to make all of their moves. ...

At the 2003 Linares chess tournament, Radjabov, who was 15 at the time, famously defeated Kasparov with the black pieces in a wild tactical affair out of the French Defense, thus becoming the youngest player ever to defeat the world's number one player in tournament play. The game was later voted the most beautiful game of the tournament, generating an angry outburst from Kasparov[7]. The game is reproduced below (moves given in Algebraic chess notation). The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held. ... Chessboard notation Algebraic chess notation is used to record and describe the moves in a game of chess. ...

In this position Radjabov surprises Kasparov by sacrificing a knight for the initiative.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. a3 Qb6 10. Ne2 c4 11. g4 h5 12. gxh5 Rxh5 13. Ng3 Rh8 14. f5 exf5 15. Nxf5 Nf6 16. Ng3 Ng4 17. Bf4 Be6 18. c3 Be7 19. Ng5 O-O-O 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Be2 (Diagram)

21...Ngxe5!?

Radjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the waters to throw you off track. He is very good at finding disconcerting moves. Here he unbalances Kasparov completely, disturbing his rhythm of play. The move probably caused the Great Player to fall off his chair." Continued Short, "Instead of simply allowing Kasparov to grind him down he unbalanced the game with his knight sacrifice, and six moves later Kasparov had blundered. That was the point of Radjabov's sacrifice -- it was not sound but it gave him these practical chances."[8] Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... 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Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... 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Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Nigel Short MBE (born June 1, 1965 in Leigh, Lancashire) is widely regarded as the strongest British chess player of the 20th century. ...

22. Qe3 Nd7 23. Qxe6 Bh4 24. Qg4 g5 25. Bd2 Rde8 26. O-O-O Na5 27. Rdf1

Considered to be the decisive mistake

27...Nb3+ 28. Kd1 Bxg3

White cannot recapture the bishop due to the immediate threat of Qg6

29. Rf7 Rd8 30. Bxg5 Qg6 31. Qf5 Qxf5 32. Rxf5 Rdf8 33. Rxf8+ Nxf8 34. Bf3 Bh4 35. Be3 Nd7 36. Bxd5 Re8 37. Bh6 Ndc5 38. Bf7 Re7 39. Bh5 Nd3 0-1.

Radjabov became the first player born since Kasparov first became World Chess Champion in 1985 to defeat him. It is also believed that Radjabov became the youngest player in history to defeat a reigning world #1 in a game at tournament time controls.^{[citation needed]} The 1984 World Chess Championship was between Anatoly Karpov (left) and Garry Kasparov (right). ...

Other Career Highlights

Radjabov is the youngest player ever to make the FIDE Top 100 Players list. His rating of 2599 in January 2002 ranked 93rd in the world while he was still 14 years old[9].

In 2003, Radjabov defeated Viswanathan Anand and Ruslan Ponomariov with the black pieces. He is probably the first player ever to beat three former and reigning FIDE World Chess Champions with the black pieces in one year.^{[citation needed]} This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukrainian: ; Russian: ) (born October 11, 1983) is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE world champion. ...

Radjabov reached the semi-finals (earning a bronze medal) at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. The FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13. ...

On February 22, 2006, Teimour defeated FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov (rated 2801) with the black pieces [10] and subsequently won the second prize at the Linares Super GM Tournament in Morelia, Mexico. [11] Veselin Topalov (IPA: ; Bulgarian: ) (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. ...

Radjabov represented his native Azerbaijan at the 37th Chess Olympiad in May and June 2006, playing board one for the Azeri team[12]. The 37th Chess Olympiad took place from 20 May to 6 June 2006 in Turin, (Italy). ...

In an interview [13] given on October 2006, Radjabov said that he will challenge the winner of Topalov-Kramnik unification match to a World Championship match under the rules of FIDE.

In November 2006, Radjabov won strong Cap d'Agde tournament, advancing from second place of round robin to the elimination phase. He then went on to win the final against Sergey Karjakin Sergey Karjakin (Ukrainian: Сергій Карякін; Russian: Сергей Карякин) (born January 12, 1990 in Kramatorsk) of Ukraine became the youngest chess grandmaster in history at the age of 12 years and 7 months. ...

On 3rd December 2006, during the Creativity Festival [14] in Florence(Tuscany, Italy), Radjabov played [15] against Deep Junior, the chess engine that won the Turin World Computer Chess Championship. The match was won by Deep Junior.

In January 2007, Radjabov finished in joint first place at the Category 19 Corus Chess Tournament along with Veselin Topalov and Levon Aronian[16]. The Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijkin the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. ... Levon Aronian (born October 6, 1982) is an Armenian chess player. ...

Radjabov was also to play the Morelia/Linares Tournament 2007, but due to a robbery of some of his material at Mexico, he withdrew from the tournament. His position was taken by Vassily Ivanchuk[17] Vassily Ivanchuk (Васи́лий Ива́нчук), born March 18, 1969 in Berejiany, Ukraine, is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. ...

To a question on how he felt about playing against the Armenian team, Teimour Radjabov, answered "..enemy is the enemy. We all hate them". He later issued a clarification, saying statements were sometimes attributed to him "in a supernormal form", and that while "we do not have simple relations with Armenia", he would "never stoop to pathological nationalism".^[1] Many types of sports are played in Armenia, among the most popular being football, chess, boxing, basketball, hockey and volleyball [1]. Armenias mountainous terrain gives the opportunity for certain sports such as skiing and climbing to be practised. ...

Life Outside of Chess

On May 11, 2006 he was appointed as the UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador for Azerbaijan. Teimour said he will advocate for the cause of the universal salt iodization in the country. UNICEF Representative in Azerbaijan Hanaa Singer stated that they were very pleased to have Teimour in the work to improve the lives of children and young people in Azerbaijan. They were confident that Teimour would become an outspoken and active advocate for the cause, using his great talents to inspire young people. [18] is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... UNICEF Flag The United Nations Childrens Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the UN... This is a list of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, who work on behalf of the United Nations Childrens Fund. ...

References

1. ^ Teymur Rajabov: The enemy is the enemy, we all hate Armenians, Chessbase, 12-11-2007

ChessBase is the dominant commercial database program for storing and searching records of games of chess. ...

External links

• FIDE rating card for Teimour Radjabov
• Teimour Radjabov at ChessGames.com
• Kasparov vs Radjabov, 0-1 (requires Java plugin)