Azerbaijani chess grand master Teymur Rajabov will compete in annual Tal Memorial in Moscow.

The tournament, founded in 2006, honors the memory of the former World Champion Mikhail Tal who died in 1992.

The 7th Mikhail Tal Memorial will take place from 7th to 19th June. Eight of the top eleven players in the world are taking part at the tournament. Instead of the usual drawing of lots there will be a blitz tournament to determine the starting numbers in the main event. The numbers will be assigned according to the places taken in the blitz standings.

The blitz tournament offers a separate prize fund of 15,000 euros.

In case of equal points for two or more participants, the tie will be broken according to the additional criteria, in order of importance: the greater number of games with black, the greater number of wins, the personal result etc.

The playing days for the main tournament are 8-10th, 12-14th and 16-18th June. The Tournament Director is Ilya Levitov. The Chief Arbiter is IA Andrzej Filipowicz from Poland.

The Tournament will be played according to the FIDE Laws of Chess as a round-robin event in 9 rounds. The rate of play is 1 hour 40 minutes for 40 moves plus 50 minutes for 20 moves plus 15 minutes for the rest of the game with a 30 second increment per move, starting from the first.

The participants are not allowed to offer a draw until after 40 moves are made. All participants are obliged to comment on their games at the press room upon completion of each round.