Mahammad Muradli and Ulviyya Fataliyeva are the newly crowned Azerbaijani chess champions. In the final matches, Muradli defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to win the competition for the third time, while Fataliyeva prevailed over Ayan Allahverdiyeva to claim her maiden national title.
The 2026 Azerbaijan Championships took place in the country’s capital, Baku, from February 6-22. Both the open and women’s competitions were knockout tournaments (two-game matches with tiebreakers if needed) played under classical time controls. The total prize fund was 62,000 AZN (~$36,500 USD) for the open section and 30,000 AZN (~$17,500 USD) for the women’s event.
The open tournament, which attracted 30 participants, began with a preliminary round. The winners advanced to join the seeded players in the Round of 16. Muradli smoothly progressed to the quarterfinals, where he defeated Eltaj Safarli in the rapid tiebreaker. At this stage, the 2025 Azerbaijani champion Rauf Mamedov was eliminated, losing to IM Read Samadov. The rating favorite and last year’s finalist, Mamedyarov, needed no tiebreaks to reach the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Muradli convincingly outplayed Samadov in the second classical game after drawing the first, securing his place in the final. The other semifinal match was much tenser and saw Mamedyarov battle past the young Aydin Suleymanli, winning the third rapid game to advance.
The first game of the final between Mamedyarov and Muradli ended in a draw after a sharp tactical battle. In the second game, Muradli took full advantage of Mamedyarov’s mistake right out of the opening, winning the match and the title. In the match for third place, Suleymanli defeated Samadov twice to claim the bronze medal.
In the women’s event, top seed IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva confirmed her pre-tournament favorite status, cruising past her opponents and advancing to the final. Somewhat surprisingly, her opponent in the title match was the seventh seed, WIM Ayan Allahverdiyeva, who eliminated defending champion Gunay Mammadzada in the quarterfinals and became the revelation of the tournament.
Despite a substantial rating difference, the final match was very close. After the opponents exchanged victories in the classical games, Fataliyeva took control in the tiebreak, capturing her first national title.
Gulnar Mammadova defeated Turkan Mammadyarova 1.5-0.5 in the match for third place to complete the podium.
Photos: Azerbaijan Chess Federation