The late Azeri grandmaster Vugar Gashimov was not just a tremendously strong player who died at a terribly early age, he was to all accounts very well-liked and admired as well. It is therefore fitting that just a few months after his death he is already being honored with a super-tournament in his memory. It is being held in Shamkir, in his native Azerbaijan, and will run from April 20-30. It is a six-player double-round robin, with the following players:
It's a great field of young stars, rightly including the world champion and Gashimov's two main contemporaries. It would be nice to see some sentimental story lines playing out: will anyone play the Modern Benoni? It has long had a slightly dodgy reputation at the highest levels, but Gashimov played it often and with great success. And can his countrymen rise to the occasion and win in his memory? I hope on this occasion that it happens, but we will see starting in just under a week.
Update: I should add that there's also a strong, concurrent B-event; a ten-player single round robin with Azeris Rauf Mamedov, Eltaj Safarli, Gadir Guseinov, Vasif Durarbayli, Nijat Abasov and foreigners Etienne Bacrot, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Wang Hao, Pavel Eljanov and Alexander Motylev.