Nijat Abasov

Nijat Abasov, an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster born on May 14, 1995, achieved his career-best rating of 2679 in October 2023, securing the 58th position globally. He is scheduled to compete in the prestigious Candidates Tournament of 2024.
Abasov's journey in chess began with notable milestones. He attained the title of International Master in 2009 and completed his final norm for the Grandmaster title during the Azerbaijani Solidarity Day event in late December 2010. This achievement led to the official recognition of his Grandmaster title by FIDE in February 2011.

Career Highlights

• In November 2015, he won the Cultural Village tournament in Wijk aan Zee, earning a spot in the 2016 Tata Steel Challengers tournament.
• He represented Azerbaijan 2 in the 42nd Chess Olympiad held in Baku and secured the Zurich Christmas Open title on tiebreak in late December 2016.
• The year 2017 witnessed his triumph in both the Azerbaijani Chess Championship and the Baku Open tournament.

Abasov's exceptional performance in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in October 2019 garnered attention. He earned 6.5 points, finishing 15th among 154 participants, and soared to the 93rd position in the world rankings, marking his debut in the FIDE Top 100.

Qualifying to the Chess Candidates 2024

In the Chess World Cup 2023, Abasov defeated several higher-seeded opponents. As the 69th seed, he defeated the 5th seed Anish Giri in the third round and continued by defeating Peter Svidler, Salem Saleh, and Vidit Gujrathi in subsequent rounds, as well as IM Rodwell Makoto and GM Laurent Fressinet. Although facing challenges against Carlsen and Caruana in the semifinals and third-place playoff respectively, his outstanding performance secured him a place in the Candidates Tournament 2024, following Carlsen's withdrawal.