This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. Algebraic chess notation is used to record and describe the moves in a game of Chess.

Teimour Radjabov
Full name	Teymur Rəcəbov
Country	Azerbaijan
Born	March 12, 1987 (1987-03-12) (age 21) Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
Title	Grandmaster
FIDE rating	2751 (No. Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan This article is about the former Soviet republic for other similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. 8 on the April 2008 FIDE ratings list)
Peak rating	2751 (April 2008)

Teimour Radjabov, also spelled Teymur Rajabov (Azerbaijani: Teymur Rəcəbov; born March 12, 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR), is a leading Azerbaijani chess player. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan This article is about the former Soviet republic for other similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. On the April 2008 FIDE list, Radjabov has an Elo rating of 2751, ranking eighth in the world and second in his native Azerbaijan. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. 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. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. ^[1] Radjabov's playing style has been described as attacking and tactically influenced. ^[2][3]

Radjabov and Kasparov

Radjabov's name is often mentioned in conjunction with that of former world champion Garry Kasparov. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Both are from Baku, Azerbaijan and both men have Jewish fathers. Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ ^[4] 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. Fast chess, also known as blitz chess, lightning chess, bullet chess and rapid chess, is a type of Chess game in which each side is ^[6])

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 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 The game was later voted the most beautiful game of the tournament, generating an angry outburst from Kasparov. ^[7]

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. Nigel David Short MBE (born June 1, 1965 in Leigh, Lancashire) is often regarded as the strongest British Chess 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]

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. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess 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.

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. Viswanathan Anand (ʋiɕˈʋəˌnɑˌt̪ʰən ɑnˌənd̪ விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த் (born December 11, 1969) is an Indian Ruslan Ponomariov (Руслан Пономарьов Русла́н Пономарёв (born October 11, 1983) is a Ukrainian Chess player He is probably the first player ever to beat three former and reigning FIDE World Chess Champions with the black pieces in one year.

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 Super GM Tournament held in Morelia, Mexico and Linares, Spain. Veselin Topalov (vɛsɛ'lin to'pɑlof Веселин Топалов (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Chess grandmaster ^[11]

Radjabov represented his native Azerbaijan at the 37th Chess Olympiad in May and June 2006, playing board one for the Azeri team. The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the General assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, took place ^[12]

In an interview 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. ^[13]

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

On 3rd December 2006, during the Creativity Festival [1] in Florence(Tuscany, Italy), Radjabov played against Deep Junior, the chess engine that won the Turin World Computer Chess Championship. Sergey Karjakin (Сергій Карякін Сергей Карякин born January 12, 1990 in Simferopol) is a Ukrainian Chess The match was won by Deep Junior. ^[14]

In January 2007, Radjabov finished in joint first place at the Category 19 Corus Chess Tournament along with Veselin Topalov and Levon Aronian. The Corus chess tournament takes place every year usually in January in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Levon Aronian (Լևոն Արոնյան born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian Chess player ^[15]

Radjabov was also to play the Morelia/Linares Tournament 2007, but due to a robbery of some of his belongings in Mexico, he withdrew from the tournament. His position was taken by Vassily Ivanchuk. Vassily Ivanchuk, also transliterated as Vasyl (Василь Михайлович Іванчук, Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk) (born March 18 1969 ^[16]

To a question on how he felt about playing against the Armenian team, Teimour Radjabov, answered ". A wide array of Sports are played in Armenia, the most popular among them being Wrestling, Weightlifting, Judo, football, Chess . 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. "^[17] In November 14, 2007, in his speech for the FIDE congress in Turkey, the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov condemned Radjabov's words as "not permissible". Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов (born April 5, 1962) is a Buddhist Kalmyk multi-millionaire ^[18].

Recent news

On May 11, 2007 he was appointed as the UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador for Azerbaijan. Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 This is a list of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, who work on behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund. 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. Recently on the 24th of december, Radjabov Teimour defeated the Lebanese Chess Champion Ali el-Hajj Sleiman with the black pieces in a wild tactical affair out of the French Defense. ^[19]

References

External links

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