GM Vugar Gashimov

Vugar Gashimov was an Azerbaijani grandmaster. Although diagnosed with epilepsy and a brain tumor in 2000, he earned his GM title in 2002 and made it all the way to number six in the world rankings in November 2009. He achieved a peak rating of 2761 in 2012. His last tournament was Tata Steel 2012, and he passed away in January 2014 at the age of just 27.

The first annual Gashimov Memorial (Shamkir Chess) was held later that year. Participating in Group A were Gashimov's countrymen GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov as well as GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Sergey Karjakin, Fabiano Caruana, and Magnus Carlsen. Mamedyarov has played the event every year it's been held and won it in 2016 and 2017.