The second games of the quarter-final stage in the Azerbaijan Chess Championship have taken place.

According to Offsideplus.az, the tournament's top seed, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, played out a draw against Ahmad Ahmadzada in their return match. With a cumulative score of 1.5-0.5 across the two games, Mamedyarov secured his spot in the semi-finals.

In the women's category, Ulviyya Fataliyeva eliminated Sabina Ibrahimova after winning both matches. Following her dominant 2-0 victory, Fataliyeva advanced to the semi-finals. In a surprising turn of events, last year’s champion Gunay Mammadzada exited the tournament after suffering two consecutive defeats against Ayan Allahverdiyeva.

Several other matchups remain undecided. The clashes between Read Samadov vs Rauf Mammadov, Eltaj Safarli vs Mahammad Muradli, and Nijat Abasov vs Aydin Suleymanli ended without a winner. Similarly, the duels between Narmin Abdinova vs Turkan Mamedyarova and Gulnar Mammadova vs Khanim Balajayeva also resulted in draws. The fate of these pairings will be decided in tomorrow's tie-breaks.

Currently, three chess players—Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, and Ayan Allahverdiyeva—have officially qualified for the semi-finals of the national championship.