{{Short description|Azerbaijani chess grandmaster (born 1988)}} {{Infobox chess player | name = Rauf Mamedov | image = Rauf Mamedov 2023 (cropped).jpg | caption =Mamedov in 2023 | country = Azerbaijan | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|4|26|df=y}} | birth_place = Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union | spouse = Nataliya Buksa | death_date = | death_place = | title = Grandmaster (2004) | peakrating = 2709 (December 2017) | peakranking = No. 33 (May 2018) | FideID = 13401653 }}
'''Rauf Mamedov''' ({{langx|az|Rauf Məmmədov}}; born 26 April 1988) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster and a six-time national champion. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2023 and 2025.
==Early life== Born in Baku, Mamedov started playing chess at the age of seven.
== Career == In 2004, he won the Under-14 section of the European Youth Chess Championships. In the same year, he became a Grandmaster (GM), following his victory in the Dubai Open. Mamedov won the Azerbaijani championship in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2015, and 2025. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2023 and 2025.
In 2009, he tied for 1st-3rd with Yuriy Kuzubov and Dmitry Andreikin in the category 16 SPICE Cup tournament at Lubbock, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=45634|title=Archive. Tournament report November 2009: Spice Cup 2009 - Group A|publisher=FIDE|accessdate=13 January 2011|archive-date=17 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017062957/http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=45634|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mamedov won the Corsica Masters blitz tournament in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=ru:Рауф Мамедов стал победителем блиц-турнира во Франции|url=http://www.1news.az/sport/20111031090938500.html|accessdate=31 October 2011|language=Russian}}</ref> In 2015 Mamedov won the European Blitz Chess Championship in Minsk.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rauf Mamedov wins European Blitz Championship 2015|url=https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/9293-rauf-mamedov-wins-european-blitz-championship-2015.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223114730/https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/9293-rauf-mamedov-wins-european-blitz-championship-2015.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 December 2015|publisher=FIDE|accessdate=21 December 2015|date=18 December 2015}}</ref> In 2016, he won the men's blitz chess event of the IMSA Elite Mind Games in Huai'an, China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessdom.com/mamedov-and-lagno-win-gold-medals-in-imsa-elite-mind-games-blitz/|title=Mamedov and Lagno win gold medals in IMSA Elite Mind Games Blitz|date=2016-03-02|website=Chessdom|access-date=2018-01-08}}</ref>
In 2013, Mamedov won the U.S. Masters Chess Championship.
In February 2018, he participated in the Aeroflot Open. He finished tenth out of ninety-two,<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.chess-results.com/tnr322070.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9|title =Aeroflot Open 2018 A|author =Staff writer(s)|publisher =Chess Results|date =28 February 2018}}</ref> scoring 6/9 (+5–2=2).<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.chess-results.com/tnr322070.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=AZE&snr=4|title =Aeroflot Open 2018 A: Mamedov Rauf|author =Staff writer(s)|publisher =Chess Results|date =28 February 2018}}</ref>
In April 2018, he participated in the fifth edition of Shamkir Chess, finishing ninth with a score of 4/9 (+0–1=8).<ref>{{cite web|url =http://shamkirchess.com/content/262|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190310105201/http://shamkirchess.com/content/262|url-status =usurped|archive-date =March 10, 2019|title =Results: Cross Table|publisher =Shamkir Chess|author =Staff writer(s)|date =28 April 2018}}</ref>
===Team competitions=== He played in the gold medal-winning Azerbaijani team at the European Team Chess Championship in 2009,<ref>{{cite web|author=Edward Scimia|url=http://chess.about.com/b/2009/11/02/azerbaijan-takes-gold-in-european-team-championship.htm|title=Azerbaijan Takes Gold in European Team Championship|date=2 November 2009|accessdate=13 February 2010|archive-date=10 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110155601/http://chess.about.com/b/2009/11/02/azerbaijan-takes-gold-in-european-team-championship.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/gold-for-azerbaijan-and-russia-in-novi-sad/|title=Gold for Azerbaijan and Russia in Novi Sad|date=31 October 2009|accessdate=13 February 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206155515/http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/gold-for-azerbaijan-and-russia-in-novi-sad|archivedate=6 February 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> 2013 and 2017. He produced the best board 4 performances of the tournament in 2017, scoring 8/9 for a 2920 {{chessgloss|performance rating}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chess-results.com/tnr304480.aspx?lan=1&art=75&flag=30&wi=821|title=European Team Chess Championship 2017 Open Section: The best players per board|author=Staff writer(s)|publisher=Chess Results|date=6 November 2017}}</ref>
==Personal life== Rauf Mamedov is married to Ukrainian international master Nataliya Buksa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chess-news.ru/node/25334|title="Только с тобой". Рауф Мамедов спел Наталье Буксе на их свадьбе|date=2018-11-20|website=chess-news.ru|language=ru|access-date=2018-12-26|archive-date=2018-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040817/http://www.chess-news.ru/node/25334|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Azeri Chess Team EuroChess 2007 c.jpg|Mamedov with Azerbaijani Chess team, winners of European Team Chess Championship in 2007 File:Rauf Mamedov 2007.jpg|Mamedov at EuroChess 2007 </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{FIDE}} * {{Chessgames.com player|50112}} * {{365Chess.com player|Rauf_Mamedov}} * {{Chess.com player|rauf-mamedov|member=Muisback26}} * {{OlimpBase player|zbhfvbfd}}
{{AzerbaijanGMs}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamedov, Rauf}} Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Chess Grandmasters Category:Chess players from Baku Category:Chess Olympiad competitors Category:Azerbaijani chess players