Baku, Jan 15 (IANS): Azerbaijan’s chess great Vugar Gashimov was finally laid to rest after a grand farewell ceremony that was attended by state officials, MPs, relatives and friends at the Baku Chess Center.
Following the ceremony, Gashimov was buried at the 3rd Alley of Honor here Tuesday, reports Xinhua. He died of a brain tumour at the age of 27 on Saturday.
Gashimov was one of the world’s top players for a decade and he helped lead his team to the gold medal in the European Team Chess Championship in 2009.
Gashimov was born on July 24, 1986, in Baku and started playing chess when he was six. He learnt the game from his father, an army colonel. Gashimov was known as a particularly strong blitz chess player.
With Gashimov in the team, Azerbaijan became a perennial challenger for the gold medal at international team championships, including the biennial Chess Olympiads in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.
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