Azerbaijan's men's chess team beats own record in Samarkand Olympiad

Azerbaijan's national chess teams competed at the 46th World Chess Olympiad and Women's Tournament in Samarkand, which came to a close on September 27. The men's team reached the fifth spot in the Olympiad, after Azerbaijani grandmasters defeated Serbia 2.5-1.5 in the final round, reaching their previous best score at the games. 

Mahammad Muradli secured the national men's team’s only win, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Aydin Suleymanli and Eltaj Safarli all achieved a draw in their games.

Azerbaijan finished the tournament with 17 points, sharing fourth to seventh place and taking fifth based on tiebreak criteria. This marks the second time the Azerbaijani men’s team has finished among the top five at a World Chess Olympiad, with the first being at the 2014 Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway.

Uzbekistan won the Olympic title for the second time, having previously claimed gold in 2022, while India took the silver medal and Germany bronze.

Azerbaijan's women's group also competed at the Women's tournament of the Open in Samarkand, which saw 192 teams compete from across the world. They managed to finish in 16th place.

By Nazrin Sadigova