Fabiano Caruana: “Azerbaijani team has experienced players”

The leading player of the US national chess team, Fabiano Caruana, has shared his views with the press service of the 42nd World Chess Olympiad due to be held in Baku. “The Baku Chess Olympiad is one of the key competitions in the chess world. All leading players of the planet will join the World Chess Olympiad. The US team also has great hopes for the competition. It would be premature to talk of any results before the competition gets under way, because most teams will field their best players. This suggests that competition will be very tough. In any case, we are going to experience interesting days of chess. As chess players, we will do our best to achieve a good result in every game,” he said.

Speaking about the Azerbaijani capital, Caruana said a few pleasant words about Baku. “I have repeatedly taken part in competitions held in Azerbaijan. Last year, I competed in the World Cup held in Baku. This year I finished second in the Vugar Gashimov memorial in Shamkir. The competitions held in Azerbaijan are always noted for a good level of organization. Participants have always enjoyed excellent conditions. I have no doubt that the Baku Chess Olympiad will also be organized at a good level,” Caruana added.

With regard to the rivals of the US team in the Olympiad, Caruana said he treated all teams with respect. “There will be no weak teams in the Chess Olympiad. To be more exact, the stronger teams are drawn to play against each other in every round. There will be many ambitious teams. I would like to mention Russia, Ukraine and China. The hosts Azerbaijan also have experienced players. They will certainly do their utmost to please their fans on home soil. The teams that play in a stable manner from the start of the competition will be among the winners. The US team is made up of good chess players. We would also like to achieve a good result in the Baku Chess Olympiad. To do that, we have to avoid mistakes as much as we can. The schedule of the competition requires all teams to stay focused all the time. Even a single failure may seriously impact a team’s overall performance,” Caruana concluded.