Azerbaijani GM Aydin Suleymanli shared his thoughts on the teams at the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships 2026. Suleymanli believes other teams were united only by money, and says his teammates have a strong team spirit.

Aydin Suleymanli

Aydin Suleymanli

Azerbaijani GM

“Our opponents were the strongest chess players in the world… But the only thing that united them was money.

As a team, we are close to each other, we are friends, and we have a strong team spirit. I think that is exactly why we won.”

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Chess Championships 2026 took place from June 17 to 21, in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Aydin Suleymanli’s team, Odlar Yurdu, finished 11th in the Rapid section and were eliminated in the first Knockout round of the Blitz section. Odlar Yurdu defeated Magnus Carlsen’s team, WR Chess, in the Rapid, and Suleymanli defeated Carlsen in that match.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE