The 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup opened in the magnificent Mugham Center here.

The players, official and guests were greeted by Elman Rustamov, head of Azerbaijan Central Bank and President of Azerbaijan Chess Federation, Intigam Babayev, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan, and Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of FIDE.

The program also included beautiful promotional videos, a chess-themed ballet dance, and a song by Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant.

In the drawing of lots conducted by tournament's Chief Arbiter Faig Hasanov, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov drew a white piece, which means that the top-seeded player Veselin Topalov will have white pieces in the first game of the first round. The rest of the pairings will be aligned according to the pairings tree.

The regular games and tie-breaks will take place daily from 15:00 local time at the luxurious Fairmont Hotel in Flame Towers, Baku.

Azerbaijan is represented at the tournament by chess players Teymur Rajabov, Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Rauf Mammadov, Gadir Huseynov, Altaj Safarli and Vasif Durarbeyli.