The Turkmenistan women’s chess team won its fourth victory at the 46th World Chess Olympiad, which is currently underway in Samarkand. In the fifth round, our national team defeated the 28th-ranked Argentine team with a score of 2.5:1.5. The Argentine team had an international grandmaster on the first board, and international masters on the remaining three boards.
Before the match, the Argentinean women’s chess players had won the first three rounds of the tournament. Only in the fourth round did they lose 1:3 to the main contenders of the tournament, the Uzbek team. Therefore, in the match against our national team, which has an average rating of 2057 and is ranked 55th in the tournament, experts gave the advantage to the higher-ranked Argentine team. However, the ongoing battles on the boards dispelled even the most daring predictions.
The victory for our national team was brought by FIDE Women’s Master Jahan Rejepova (rating 2027) and Mahri Agamyradova (1939), who played on the third and fourth boards. Jahan Rejepova defeated International Woman Master Anapaola Borda Rodas (2204), and Mahri Agamyradova defeated International Woman Master Anna Laura Scarsi (2212).
On the second board, FIDE Female Master Candidate Leyla Shohradova (2101) lost to Female International Master Maria Jose Campos (2230), while on the first board, FIDE Master Lala Shohradova (2147) drew with International Grandmaster Candela Be Francisco Ghekamburu (2268), making a worthy contribution to the team’s overall success.
After this victory, the team coached by Mergen Kakabayev moved up another 10 places in the standings, taking 26th place among 190 women’s teams with 8 points. It is worth noting that the difference between our team and the four leaders is only 2 points.
The men’s team also performed well. The men’s team of Turkmenistan, ranked 65th in the fifth round with an average rating of 2383, also drew 2:2 with the Slovakian team, which was ranked significantly higher. The Slovak team is ranked 38th in the tournament and includes three grandmasters and one international master.
The only victory of the Turkmen team was achieved by international grandmaster Meylis Annaberdiyev (2384), who played on the second board. He defeated grandmaster Peter Mihalig (2543).
Grandmaster Saparmyrat Atayev (2503) and FIDE Master Amanmuhammet Hommadov (2389), who played on the first and third boards, drew with Grandmaster Jergus Pechak (2538) and International Master Samir Sahidi (2478), respectively. Shahrukh Turayev (2222), who played on the fourth board, fell short of Grandmaster Yuray Drusk (2459).
After five rounds, the students of Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdiyev managed to maintain their 36th place among the 206 teams participating in the open tournament with 7 points.
The 46th World Chess Olympiad, consisting of 11 rounds and held in the Swiss system, will conclude on September 27.
