Born in 1985, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is currently ranked number fourteen in the world with an Elo rating of 2747.

In 2003 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. He repeated his victory in 2005 (thereby becoming the only two-time champion), achieving an incredible 2953 performance rating after eight rounds. This gained him an invitation to the Essent Tournament 2006 in Hoogeveen, and by winning this one and also the 2007 edition, Shakhriyar achieved world fame.

In 2010, he tied for first place with Vladimir Kramnik and Gata Kamsky in the President's Cup in Baku, followed by joint first place in the Mikhail Tal Memorial.

In May 2011, Mamedyarov was tournament organisers' nominee, qualifying him for the Candidates tournament for the World Chess Championship 2012 but he lost to finalist Boris Gelfand in the quarterfinal.