Baku Open-2025 International Chess Festival wrapped up, Azernews reports. The closing ceremony was organized by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The event was attended by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of the IDEA Public Union Leyla Aliyeva, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Anar Alakbarov, Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov, 6th President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF) Mahir Mammadov, and other officials.
The ceremony began with the screening of a video dedicated to the unforgettable moments in the history of Azerbaijani chess. Then, Mahir Mammadov delivered a speech, stating that Azerbaijan is also recognized worldwide as a chess country. On behalf of the chess players, the ACF president expressed deep gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the attention and care shown.
Following this, a short video overview of Baku Open 2025 was presented.
FIDE's 6th President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov emphasized that Azerbaijani chess players consistently achieve success in prestigious tournaments. He recalled that the world's first State Program for the development of chess was signed in Azerbaijan, and noted that the achievements of the country's chess players are the result of the care shown by President Ilham Aliyev. He also stated that the 2016 World Chess Olympiad held in Baku was the best in the history of chess Olympiads.
Next, the final results of the tournament were announced. In the under-8 girls' category, Nazli Rustamli claimed first place, while Daniel Konovalov took the top spot among boys. In the under-10 category, Yang Youping (China) and Yusif Aghadzade stood on the top of the podium. In the under-12 category, Esnad Bakhshizade and Akbar Mirzayev emerged as the winners.
In Group B, Dinara Huseynova led among women, and Nikolaz Chikalidze (Georgia) scored the highest among the boys. In the U-16 category, Roman Shoqdziyev (FIDE) was awarded a prize. In Group A of the "Baku Open," Ayan Allahverdiyeva and Aleksandar Indjić (Serbia) claimed the title of tournament winners.
As part of Baku Open 2025, the Azerbaijani Championship among veteran chess players was also held. Vugar Bayramov became the national champion. Asaf Abdullayev and Mehman Abbasov shared second and third places, respectively. A special award was presented to 90-year-old Sharail Avazov as the oldest participant.
It is worth noting that the prize fund of the festival amounted to 55,000 US dollars.
More than 700 chess players from 16 countries took part in the tournament. The Azerbaijani Championship among veteran chess players was also held during the event.
