Nearly 500 schoolchildren are participating in the Turkmenistan Chess Championship among boys and girls in the age categories of U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, and U17. The competition is taking place during the winter holidays, from January 5th to 11th, at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School.
These young talents will compete for medals in three chess disciplines: the most prestigious classical chess, rapid chess, and blitz chess. The tournament consists of nine rounds, played according to the Swiss system.
This year, a record number of participants has been recorded – 492 schoolchildren across all 12 age categories (both boys and girls). Thus, 36 sets of medals, or 108 medals in total, will be awarded over the course of this week.
The geography of the participants is very broad:
• Ashgabat — 191 participants
• Lebap region — 109
• Kusht Alemi Academy (Ashgabat, Mary, and Arkadag) — 82
• Mary region — 61
• Dashoguz region — 38
• Ahal region — 9
• Balkan region — 2
After four rounds, some groups have already established clear leaders. The most uncompromising battle is unfolding in the boys’ U11 category, where 89 players are participating. The tournament has already produced a number of surprises – new names, especially from the Lebap and Dashoguz Velayats, are defeating established favorites. The winners of the classic stage will be determined on Friday, January 9.
Schoolchildren’s championships in odd age categories in Turkmenistan began being held in 2023, in addition to the traditional championships in even age categories (under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 years old). The goal is to determine the winners for participation in international tournaments in accordance with the calendars of the International and Asian Chess Federations (FIDE and ACF).
However, their other important goal is to popularize chess among children across the country and motivate them to regularly practice this deeply creative and strategic sport, thereby helping to form the foundation for the country’s intellectual youth.
According to Vepa Myalikgulyev, Chairman of the Turkmenistan Chess Federation, “in an era when gadgets and social media ‘capture’ the attention and minds of children, chess develops concentration, patience, character, and social skills.” Chess also develops young people who are able to think creatively, strategically, and algorithmically, anticipating the consequences of current actions, tracking, and even managing logical relationships between stages and events. Scientists believe that specialists with this “engineering” mindset will be increasingly in demand in the labor market in the era of artificial intelligence.
The number of youth tournaments in the country has grown in recent years from 12 to 79 per year. The total number of tournaments per year exceeds 100. The number of chess players regularly participating in professional national competitions has increased from 60 to 1,500 over the past four years.
Companies such as Düwmejik, Ynamdar.com, TelefonTM, Dap.tm, and Orient have stepped up to motivate young participants at this year’s championship, offering prizes and other support to the organizers.
