26 Facts About Gunay Mammadzada

Gunay Vugar qizi Mammadzada is an Azerbaijani chess player who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster through the International Chess Federation.

Gunay Mammadzada has been an under-10 girls' World Youth Champion, and both an under-8 and an under-14 girls' European Youth Champion.

Gunay Mammadzada has represented Azerbaijan at the Chess Olympiad, the World Team Chess Championship, and the European Team Chess Championship, winning both team and individual bronze medals at the latter in 2019.

Gunay Mammadzada has a peak FIDE rating of 2483 and has been ranked as high as No 18 in the world among women.

Gunay Mammadzada earned all of her norms for the International Master title by 2016 and was awarded the title in 2018 when she reached the required rating threshold of 2400.

Gunay Mammadzada was born on 19 June 2000 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

Gunay Mammadzada began playing chess at five years old, becoming interested in the game from watching her grandparents play recreationally.

Gunay Mammadzada joined the Olympic Reserve Youth Chess School No 1 that same year.

Gunay Mammadzada began to have national and international success at around the age of seven.

Gunay Mammadzada finished behind Abdumalik and Qiyu Zhou at the latter event, having lost against both of them.

Gunay Mammadzada earned her first FIDE rating in January 2009, starting out at 1764 at age eight after participating in the under-10 girls' division at the 2008 European Youth Championship.

Gunay Mammadzada first entered the Azerbaijani women's national championship in 2010 at nine years old, finishing in last place as the lowest-rated competitor.

Gunay Mammadzada was awarded the Woman FIDE Master title in 2010.

Gunay Mammadzada had another triumph in 2012, finishing in clear first at the under-13 girls' World School Individual Chess Championship, ahead of two higher-rated Russian players: Anna Vasenina and Irina Drogovoz.

In 2014, Gunay Mammadzada earned both the Woman International Master and Woman Grandmaster titles.

At 14 years old, Gunay Mammadzada became Azerbaijan's youngest WGM in history, surpassing Turkan Mamedyarova's previous record of attaining the title at age 18.

Gunay Mammadzada earned her last two IM norms in 2015 and 2016, but did not reach the rating threshold of 2400 needed for the title until 2018.

Gunay Mammadzada finished in seventh place in 2015, but underperformed in 2017 and lost 64 rating points.

Gunay Mammadzada quickly regained most of the rating points she lost at the World Junior Championship in early 2018 between her performance at the Moscow Open and finishing runner-up to Khanim Balajayeva at the women's national championship on the tiebreak criteria.

Gunay Mammadzada had an opportunity to earn a GM norm had she won or drawn against Anna Muzychuk in the ninth round, but lost that game.

On July 4,2022, Gunay Mammadzada won the women's tournament at the 7th International Chess Festival dedicated to the memory of the country's late president Lech Kaczynski in Poland.

Gunay Mammadzada began representing Azerbaijan at the under-16 Chess Olympiad in 2016 in Slovakia.

At the 2018 Batumi Olympiad, Gunay Mammadzada played on the top board, but only managed an even score and lost rating points.

Gunay Mammadzada played on the top board in both 2017 and 2019.

Gunay Mammadzada had idolized Judit Polgar more at a younger age.

Outside of chess, Gunay Mammadzada's hobbies include horseback riding, running, reading, and studying languages.