Abdulla Gadimbayli

Abdulla Gadimbayli (; born 2 January 2002) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster and two-time world champion at youth and junior levels. He is the World Junior Chess Champion (2022) and an Azerbaijan Chess Champion (2018).

Early Life and Chess Background Gadimbayli began playing chess when he was four and quickly emerged as one of Azerbaijan’s leading youth players. By the age of eight, he had already achieved international recognition, winning both European and World Youth Championship titles in his age category. Throughout his junior career, he consistently represented Azerbaijan in European and World Youth Championships, as well as international open tournaments. He repeatedly represented Azerbaijan at the European Youth Chess Championships and World Youth Chess Championships in different age groups, where he won three gold medals: in 2009, at the European Youth Chess Championship in the U08 age group, and in 2010, at the European and World Youth Chess Championships in the U08 age group. In 2016, he played for Azerbaijan in World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad.

His early successes laid the foundation for a steady progression through FIDE titles and elite-level international competition.

Abdulla Gadimbayli played for Azerbaijan-3 team in the Chess Olympiad. In 2016, at third board in the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku (+4, =3, -2). In 2017, he was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title.

In 2022, he won the World Junior Chess Championship on tiebreaks, with a score of 8/11 (+5, =6, -0), directly gaining the Grandmaster (GM) title as a result.

Youth Achievements Gadimbayli achieved numerous titles and podium finishes in youth competitions:

World Youth Chess Champion (Under-8) – 2010 European Youth Chess Champion (Under-8) – 2009 European Youth Chess Champion (Under-8) – 2010 (2nd time) Azerbaijan Youth Chess Champion (Under-8) – 2009 Azerbaijan Youth Chess Champion (Under-8) – 2010 (2nd time) Azerbaijan Youth Chess Champion (Under-10) – 2011 (3rd time) Azerbaijan Youth Chess Champion (Under-12) – 2014 (4th time) European Youth Chess Championship (Under-10) – 2nd place, 2011

In 2010, he was named Azerbaijan’s “Sportsman of the Year”, reflecting his exceptional international results at a very young age.

Chess Career

National Championships In 2018, at the age of 16, Gadimbayli won the Azerbaijan Chess Championship (Men’s), becoming one of the youngest national champions in the country’s history.

World Junior Championship In 2022, Gadimbayli won the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship, finishing first with a score of 8/11 and remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. By virtue of this victory, he was automatically awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM).

International and Open Tournaments Gadimbayli has won or placed highly in numerous international tournaments from childhood through adulthood. Selected results include:

Baku Youth Chess Championship (Under-5) – 2007 Azerbaijan Youth Chess Championship – 3rd place, 2008; 2009; 2010 Maccabi International Tournament – Winner, 2009 and 2010 Varna Open (Bulgaria) – 2010; 2011 World Youth Chess Championship (Under-8) – Greece, 2010 Basel Open (Switzerland) – 1st place, 2011 Rasht Open (Iran) – 2nd place, 2011 and 2012 European Club Cup (Georgia) – 2nd place, 2012 World Schools Chess Championship (Romania) – 4th place, 2012 World Schools Chess Championship (Greece) – shared 1st–2nd place, 2013 Dubai Open (Under-14) – 3rd place, 2013 Young Stars of the World Tournament (Kirishi, Russia) – 2014 Bronstein Memorial (Minsk, Belarus) – 2014 Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival – 2014 Baku Open – multiple appearances and prize finishes (2010–2014)

Chess World Cup Gadimbayli represented Azerbaijan at the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023, where he defeated Shamsiddin Vokhidov in the first round and eliminated #1(top) Spanish grandmaster David Antón Guijarro in the second round before being knocked out in later stages.

Titles and Rankings

FIDE Master (FM) – 2010 International Master (IM) – 2017 Grandmaster (GM) – 2022

His peak FIDE classical rating is 2524 (November 2022). He has consistently remained around the 2500 rating level in classical chess.

Education In addition to his chess career, Gadimbayli has completed both his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Business Management.

Personal life Gadimbayli is known for balancing professional chess with academic education. Further details about his private life are not widely publicized.