Nearly 500 young chess players are participating in the Turkmenistan Chess Championship among boys and girls in the age categories of U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18. The competition was held from January 25 to February 1 at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School.
Competitors compete for medals in three disciplines: classical chess, rapid chess, and blitz chess. The tournaments are held using the Swiss system. The classical stage of the competition concluded today, determining the first winners and runners-up in several age categories.
Classical Chess Results
Boys U8: 76 players participated in this category. Kerim Babayev snatched victory thanks to his intense opening preparation, while second and third places were taken by players initially considered the favorites.
Kerim Babayev (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — 8 points out of 9; while Begmurad Agamammedov (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9; and Khangeldi Muradov (Lebap province) — scores 7 points out of 9.
Girls Under 8: 36 players participated in this category. Last year’s U7 champion again defeated her peers. Traditionally, the battle for the championship in this group unfolded among representatives of the Lebap province. Meryem Rustemova (Lebap province) — scores 8 points out of 9; Lachin Isayeva (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9; and Chinar Pirkuliyeva (Lebap province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
Boys U10: 82 players participated in this category. The Charyev brothers dominated: the younger of them, Charykhekim, won the category for his senior for the third year in a row.
Charykhekim Charyev (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — 8 points out of 9; His brother Khalilmuhammet Charyev (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — 7.5 points out of 9; and Azat Sapardurdyev (Mary province) — 7 points out of 9.
Girls U10: 34 players participated in this category. New star Byagul Dzhumaeva (Lebap province) — scores 7.5 points out of 9, continues to impress her peers, having previously won the U9 category. Anna Charyeva(Mary province) — 7 points out of 9, who took bronze at the World U8 Girls’ Championship, finished second this time. In addition, Enedzhan Charygeldieva (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — 7 points out of 9.
Boys U12: 67 players competed in this category. Nazar Narimanov and Omarbek Ismailov each scored 7.5 points, but following their head-to-head match, Nazar became the national champion in classical time control for the first time in his career. While Azat Redzhepov (Lebap province) — 7 points out of 9.
Girls U12: 27 players competed in this category. Initially, the battle for gold was expected to be between Aiya Bayramova and Dilber Khupbyeva. Ultimately, Aiya Bayramova prevailed, defeating her archrival — with the 8.5 points out of 9; while Dilber Khupbyeva (Dashoguz province) — scored 8 points out of 9; Zalina Iminova (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — 6 points out of 9.
Boys under 14: 48 players participated in this category. In the “group of death” — the most competitive category — Ali Akhmedov won a comeback victory without losing a single game with scoring 7.5 out of 9. Second place went to Emir Amanmuhammedov who is (Mary province) — and scored 7 out of 9, who showed his strength in the final rounds, while Alikhan Batyrov (Mary province) — with the 6.5 points out of 9, who led for most of the tournament, settled for bronze due to a loss in the eighth round.
Girls U14: 29 players participated in this category. Nurana Soyunova (Kusht Alemi Academy, Ashgabat) — with 8.5 points out of 9 won convincingly, proving that the 200-point difference in ratings is not a coincidence. While Nurkhan Babanazarova (Lebap province) — scores 7.5 points out of 9, and Nebahat Muradova (Lebap province) — scores 6.5 points out of 9.
Boys U16: 35 players participated in this category. Ashirmukhammet Atayev, who previously won the U17 category, confirmed his dominance with 8 points out of 9, winning largely thanks to a win over Gurbanmyrat Rustemov (Mary province) — 7.5 points out of 9, who earned the right to compete in the Higher League this year. While Gurbanmyrat Rustemov (Lebap province) — scored 7.5 points out of 9.
Girls U16: 17 players competed in this category. The battle for gold unfolded between the reigning women’s champion, Jahan Rejepova (Lebap province) — 8.5 points out of 9, and last year’s category champion, Myahri Agamyradova (Lebap province) — with 8 points out of 9. Their head-to-head match ended in a draw, and ultimately, due to a misstep early in the tournament, Myahri lost half a point to Jahan. And Arzygul Mukhamova (Ashgabat Special Chess and Checkers School) — earn 6 points out of 9.
Boys Under 18: 27 players participated in this category. This was one of the most competitive groups in the tournament, with a particularly large number of strong players born in 2008 representing the Lebap province. The gold medal was decided by the truncated Buchholz coefficient. Shageldi Kurbandurdyev (Lebap province) — scored 8 points out of 9, while Sanjar Gaibullaev (Lebap province) — scored 8 points out of 9, and Serdar Bayramov (Lebap province) — with 7.5 points out of 9.
Girls Under 18: 13 players participated in this category. The only clear winner of the entire tournament was Jennet Yalkanova (Mary province) — 9 points out of 9, who beat her closest rival by 2.5 points and demonstrated complete dominance in her group. Myahrijemal Gurbangeldieva (Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School) — earned 6.5 points out of 9, and Myahri Aimakova (Lebap province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
A high level of competition and a wide range of participants, bringing together young chess players from all province of the country, as well as specialized chess schools and academies, traditionally distinguish the championship.
Children’s and youth championships in even age categories (under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) are an important part of the national system for training and selecting athletes for participation in international competitions in accordance with the FIDE and ACF calendars.
In addition to its sporting objectives, the championship aims to popularize chess, develop logical and strategic thinking in the younger generation, and nurture the intellectual potential of the country’s youth.
The competition continues. Upcoming tournaments include rapid and blitz chess tournaments, which will determine the country’s strongest young chess players in the fast and lightning-fast disciplines.
