Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Only a month is separating us from the grand event of this year for Azerbaijan -- 42nd World Chess Olympiad to be held in the capital on September 1-14.

Azerbaijan women’s first and second teams who are preparing to compete at the event are continuing their training session in Gabala.

The teams are training in Gabala under the guidance of Fikret Sideifzade, Konstantin Landa, Anar Allahverdiyev, Sarkhan Guliyev and Farid Abbasov.

The first and second women’s teams include Zeynab Mammadyarova, Gulnar Mammadova, Narmin Kazimova, Gunay Mammadzade, Aydan Khojatova, Narmin Khalafova, Khayala Abdulla, Turkan Mammadyarova, Nargiz Umudova and Ulviya Fataliyeva.

Coaches Fikret Sideifzade and Sarkhan Guliyev have shared their impressions of the training session with the press service of the Baku Chess Olympiad.

“Practice sessions last six to seven hours each day,” says Sideifzade. “I am quite pleased with the way our women’s teams are preparing. The main focus is on openings and endgames. I do hope that Azerbaijani teams will do well in the Olympiad.”

The coach said that about 180 countries will be represented, which means that teams from all over the world will come to Azerbaijan. “As a host country, we will try to do well,” he emphasized.

Guliyev, for his part, believes that there will be a strong competition among women’s teams in the Olympiad.

“The national chess players are training with great enthusiasm. They fully understand what is at stake. During the practice sessions, we mainly focus on openings and the games of our opponents. There will be strong competition among women’s teams in the Olympiad. This is why the games of our opponents should be carefully analyzed,” he said.

The coach noted that there will be two more training sessions in the time left for the Olympiad. “First, we will play a friendly match with the Georgian team. The last practice session will start on August 19. I am hopeful that our women’s teams will be fully prepared for the Olympiad,” Guliyev emphasized.

The second training session will be completed on August 5.

With 2,000 chess masters from 180 counties, FIDE’s biennial chess tournament, will gather teams from all over the world to compete for the best title.

The Olympiad, scheduled for September 1-14, will take place in the Crystal Hall, once hosting Eurovision Song Contest in 2012.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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