The fifth annual San Diego-Azerbaijan Youth Chess Tournament is set to begin with an exhibition match on 18 May between an international grandmaster and an American elementary champion. The match will be between Vasif Durarbayli, who represented Azerbaijan in several Chess Olympiads before moving to St Louis, and Isaac Wang of San Diego, who is the 2022 US National Elementary co-champion. The match will take place at the La Jolla/Rifford Public Library on Draper Ave.
The main event features an open chess tournament limited to 40 San Diego County players from ages 6 to 18, which begins on 20 May at the Winn Room of the Coronado Public Library. The tournament is the third in a series of Young Masters events sponsored by the Republic of Azerbaijan and the grassroots outreach program Global Neighborhood Project. Durarbayli will present certificates and make closing remarks at the end of the tournament.
Durarbayli began playing chess at six years old and obtained his Grandmaster status at the age of 18. The designation is the highest in the game, with only 1,721 worldwide. The International Chess Federation awards all chess titles. The San Diego-Azerbaijan Youth Chess Tournament also aims to promote cultural exchange between Azerbaijan and the US, with the Global Neighborhood Project using the tournaments to link Switzer Highlands in San Diego with those in Azerbaijan, Botswana, Latvia, Mongolia, Morocco, Scotland, and Uzbekistan.
