Nijat Abasov
Nijat Abasov | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nijat Azad oglu Abasov May 14, 1995 Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Occupation | Chess player |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Known for | Chess Grandmaster title, Azerbaijani Chess Championship winner |
Nijat Azad oglu Abasov (; born 14 May 1995) is a grandmaster in chess from Azerbaijan. He reached his highest FIDE rating of 2679 in September 2023 and was positioned at No. 53 worldwide as of October 2023.
Early years
Abasov attained the title of International Master in 2009. He secured his final Grandmaster norm by winning the Azerbaijan Solidarity Day tournament held in December 2010. Subsequently, FIDE conferred upon him the Grandmaster title in February 2011.
Professional career
In November 2015, Abasov emerged victorious at the Cultural Village tournament in Wijk aan Zee, which granted him entry into the 2016 Tata Steel Challengers event, where he scored 6½ points out of 13 rounds. He played for Azerbaijan 2 during the 42nd Chess Olympiad hosted in Baku. Later that year, in December 2016, he claimed first place at the Zurich Christmas Open via tiebreak criteria. The following year, Abasov won both the Azerbaijani Chess Championship and the Baku Open.
During the 2019 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament, Abasov accumulated 6.5 points (+2=9-0), finishing in 15th place among a field of 154 competitors. By November of that year, he had broken into the FIDE Top 100 players for the first time, securing the No. 93 spot.
At the Chess World Cup 2023, Abasov entered as the 69th seed and caused several upsets by defeating higher-ranked opponents such as Anish Giri (seeded fifth) and Peter Svidler (37th seed). He advanced to the semifinals but was defeated by world number one Magnus Carlsen. In the third-place match, he lost to Fabiano Caruana, finishing fourth overall. Following Carlsen's withdrawal from the Candidates Tournament 2024, Abasov qualified as one of the top three finishers excluding Carlsen. His second throughout the Candidates was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Ultimately, Abasov placed last among eight participants with a final score of 3.5/14.