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Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Biography
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is Azerbaijan's leading grandmaster, born 12 April 1985 and awarded the GM title in 2002. He announced himself internationally by winning the World Junior Chess Championship (Under-20) in both 2003 and 2005, and became a fixture on Azerbaijan's Olympiad team from 2000 onward, helping anchor one of the strongest national squads of the era.
Mamedyarov's individual career peaked in the following decade. He won the World Rapid Chess Championship in 2013 with a score of 11½/15, and reached a career-high FIDE rating of 2820 in September 2018. In the 2018 Candidates Tournament in Berlin he finished as runner-up on 8/14, one point behind winner Fabiano Caruana, and later that year won the Biel Chess Festival, defeating Magnus Carlsen along the way.
With Azerbaijan's national team he won an individual gold medal on board three at the 2012 Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, scoring 8½/10, and he has collected three European Team Championship gold medals, in 2009, 2013 and 2017.
Key achievements
- World Junior Champion: 2003 and 2005
- World Rapid Champion, 2013 (11½/15)
- Candidates Tournament runner-up, Berlin 2018
- Individual board gold, 2012 Chess Olympiad (8½/10, board 3)
- European Team Championship gold: 2009, 2013, 2017
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Awarded the grandmaster title | — |
| Sep 2018 | Peak FIDE rating | 2820 |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating | 2720 |
Titles
| Title | Years | Count |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, awarded 2002 | — |
| World Jr. | World Junior (U-20) Champion: 2003, 2005 | 2× |
| Rapid Ch. | World Rapid Champion, 2013 (11½/15) | 1× |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Aeroflot Open | T-1st |
| 2010 | Tal Memorial | T-1st |
| 2016 | Shamkir Chess (Gashimov Memorial) | 1st |
| 2017 | Shamkir Chess (2nd consecutive title) | 1st |
| 2018 | Candidates Tournament, Berlin | 2nd |
| 2018 | Biel Chess Festival (def. Carlsen) | 1st |
| 2021 | Superbet Chess Classic | 1st |
Team Events
| Year | Event (Board) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Chess Olympiad, Istanbul | 4/5 |
| 2002 | Chess Olympiad, Bled — board 2 | 6½/11 |
| 2008 | Chess Olympiad, Dresden — board 2 | 6/10 |
| 2010 | Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk — board 1 | 6½/10 |
| 2012 | Chess Olympiad, Istanbul — board 3 (individual gold) | 8½/10 |
| 2014 | Chess Olympiad, Tromsø — board 1 | 7/10 |
| 2009, 2013, 2017 | European Team Championship (gold) | 3× |
Source: OlimpBase (olimpbase.org) individual Olympiad records, cross-checked with Wikipedia.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.