The Karshi Open 2026 International Chess Tournament, dedicated to the memory of Ismat Shukurov, was held in the Uzbek city of Karshi from May 19 to 24. The intellectual competition brought together 56 strong players from 10 countries, who competed for victory in a nine-round Swiss system with classical time control.
After nine tense rounds, three players scored the same number of points—7 points out of a possible 9. The podium was determined by additional tournament criteria. First place went to Vitaly Bernadsky (Ukraine, FIDE rating 2507), second place went to Saidakbar Saidaliyev (Uzbekistan, FIDE rating 2454), and a respectable third place went to Saparmurat Atabayev of Turkmenistan (FIDE rating 2471). Saparmurat’s cousin, Yusup Atabayev, also represented our country with distinction, scoring 6 points and finishing in eighth place.
In the deciding game of the final round, Saparmurat Atabayev, playing black, demonstrated great skill and defeated the then-leading, renowned Israeli grandmaster, Evgeny Alekseyev, securing the prize-winning spot for the Turkmen athlete.
Today, 27-year-old Saparmurat Atabayev, a native of Ashgabat, is rightfully considered one of the country’s strongest grandmasters, demonstrating outstanding results from a young age. His athletic credentials include gold at the White Elephant tournament in Turkey (2024), victory at the UzChess Cup Futures international tournament in Tashkent, successful achievements in grandmaster norms at Asian championships, and consistent play for the Turkmenistan national team. For many years, the chess player’s first mentor, Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Aydogdy Atabayev, has remained his constant mentor.
Full results of all rounds and detailed statistics from the Karshi Open 2026 tournament can be found on the specialized Chess-Results server.
