Baku is ready to hold another prestigious international tournament. The World Chess Cup starts September 10th with 128 players competing and will last until 5th October. The Cup finalists will be eligible to play in the Contenders Tournament. According to Ilyumzhinov, chess plays a special role in the culture of 2,000-year-old Azerbaijan,
"They have played Backgammon since the 5th century. It is mentioned in the poems of the great Nizami. Baku held two tournaments of the FIDE Grand Prix last year. This city is famous for its Eastern hospitality, dynamic business and highly developed infrastructure. We believe that the World Cup will also be held at the highest level. It is worth mentioning that Azerbaijan is looking forward to one of the most important tournaments – the Chess Olympic Games, next year. I have every confidence in Azerbaijan. It has an important role in the development of world chess.”
The World Cup prize money stands at $1,600,000. All championship matches will be played twice. If the results do not reveal the winner, the contestants will play a tie-break match the following day. Only the final duel between the chess players will consist of four matches.
