Traditionally, new stars appear at the Moscow Open festival. This time young Aydan Hojjatova from Azerbaijan is making an excellent showing in the Women’s Cup of Russia stage. She outplayed the representative of France Nino Maisuradze in Round 7 and is sharing places 1-4th with two rounds remaining.
- Aydan, how can you evaluate the last seven games?
- So far the Tournament is going alright. I have 6 points out of 7 possible. I lost to Aleksandra Goryachkina in Round 2 but won the rest of the games, and today I outplayed Nino Maisuradze. I hope, my series of victories will continue.
- Did the defeat disappoint you?
- Honestly, I accepted the defeat calmly. In the game with Aleksandra I had a decent position, even equal, but I made an aggressive move at some point of the game, as a result white took the advantage, which she went on to realize. But as I played well, I didn’t fret much. Quite the contrary, I psyched myself up for the following games.
- I remember you from when you played in the Vladimir Dvorkovich Cup. Do you often play in Moscow?
- Oh yeah, I played there. You know the strongest kids U16 play at the Vladimir Dvorkovich Cup. Last edition I didn’t play with much success: I had five draws and lost the other two games. I could have performed better, as, frankly speaking, I had good positions in the games against the Russian and the Chinese player. I also should have had a win in the final round… But for some reason I came out with a poor result in that tournament.
As for this Tournament, I'd wanted to play in the Moscow Open for a long time, but I didn’t have such a chance before, that’s why it's my first time here. The Tournament is held to the highest standard, everything well organized.
- Do you like to play here?
- The weather is fantastic here, the brisk air is exactly what the players need.
- Do you have some spare time left to enjoy Moscow?
- Honestly, no. People often try to persuade me to go somewhere after the game, but I say it’s better not to relax, you have to mentally prepare for the next game, prepare your game, study variations and so on. So there is no free time: we prepare ourselves in the mornings, play in the afternoons and rest in the evenings.
- Yes, the schedule is tough! Is your mother rooting for you here?
- Yes, but sometimes I travel with my dad. My parents always support me.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
- I live in Baku. I’m 15, soon I will celebrate my 16th birthday. My coach is GM Dzhakhangir Agaragimov. I’ve been playing since I was 2 and a half. The interest to chess appeared when I watched a TV program about it.
- Was it an educational program?
- No, it was a video about some competition. I liked it and my grandfather took me to the chess school. At that time they didn’t want to admit me as I was too young (laughing). They admit five-year old kids. So when I came again at the age of five, I was playing quite well.
I remember when I was five, I went to Moscow to the children’s tournament. The same Alexander Kostiev was the organizer. I even have had a photo taken with him. It was an open tournament, organized for U15 boys and girls, we were playing all together. If I’m not mistaken, I scored 2 or 3 points.
My first success came in 2007 when I became U8 European Champion. The same year I shared 2-3 places at the world championship. In 2009 I became a silver medalist at the U10 European Championship, and again shared 2-3rd places at the World Championship. In 2014 I took third at the U16 Women’s European Championship in Batumi.
In 2016 Baku will host the Chess Olympiad. I hope to become a member of the Azerbaijan National Team, it’s my dream.
- Aydan, thank you for the interview. Good luck and let your dreams come true!
- Thank you.
Interview by Eteri Kublashvili