Offsideplus.az brings to your attention this interview with reference to the press service of the federation:

- Congratulations on the victory in the Silk Road Cup with the participation of Azerbaijani and Georgian chess players.
- During the pandemic, chess competitions, like all sports, were postponed. Online chess competitions are organized in a small number of countries. It is gratifying that first the "Azerbaijan Cup" and then the "Silk Road Cup" dedicated to the Republic Day were organized in our country. 55 chess players took part in the Silk Road Cup, 36 of them were grandmasters. Prize money of 20,000 euros was set aside. I am grateful to the organizers - the Azerbaijan Chess Federation, FIDE Vice-President Mahir Mammadov and, of course, SOCAR - for thinking about us chess players.
When it came to the race, I had some preparation. I thought I would no longer need to be prepared for a pandemic. We watched a very interesting development in the Silk Road Cup.

- Rauf, who lost to Aydin Suleymanli in the second round, became the champion in the last round with his help.
- Aydin Suleymanli seemed to return the help in Aeroflot-2019. Of course, it was a joke. Suleymanli was a very good chess player. We already feel that he is approaching us. The situation changed after losing to Aydin in the second round. My chances have decreased a bit. But in the third round,

I defeated a grandmaster like Shahriyar. It was after winning Shah that I thought I could win the tournament.
In the last round, Aydin Suleymanli drew with the representative of Georgia Bahadur Cobavay. However, the situation was not so good at the beginning of the game. He created conditions for me to win by a clear draw. After that, the result depended on me. I secured the first place by defeating the representative of Georgia Nika Volkov.

- So the victory over your national teammate Shahriyar Mammadyarov was decisive?
- Shahriyar is one of the world's leading chess players. It's hard to beat him in classic chess. The situation in Blitz was different. I think you have to be lucky to succeed in the blitz. Luck was on my side in the game with Shah. My luck brought a little too much. Of course, after that tour, I became more confident in my strength.

- How does Rauf Mammadov spend his time in quarantine?
- I had a lot of free time in quarantine. We sleep for 8 hours, after which we have 16 hours of free time. During these hours I read books and watch movies. There are many interesting books about the world of chess. I am interested in the debuts of great chess players. It's as if I've started going back to school in chess (laughs).

- Does online chess forget the previous regular tournaments?
- It was convenient to play chess on the Internet. Unlike other types, it seems more convenient to hold an online chess tournament. If you do not buy a plane ticket, you can take part in any race online at home. However, the classic chess tournament is different. I believe that the quarantine will end soon. We miss the competitions.
By the way, many chess players improve their financial situation by participating in tournaments. You earn normal money by performing well in the tournament. The "Azerbaijan Cup" and "Silk Road Cup" tournaments organized by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation also helped us. I hope there will be another tournament next month.

- Athletes complain of weight gain in quarantine. How did Rauf Mammadov gain weight again?
- I'll be honest. There was no opportunity to do sports. But I'm not fat. On the contrary, I lost 5 kilograms.