From March 17 to 22, the Specialized Chess and Checkers School of Ashgabat hosted the qualifying tournament for the first-ever U16 Chess Olympiad among Turkic nations for both boys and girls.
The competition brought together 49 young chess players from various regions of the country. Notably, children from younger age groups (U12 and U14) successfully fought their way into the U16 team. This reflects the high level of play among the younger categories—a direct result of the intensive efforts to develop youth chess initiated by the Federation’s new leadership in 2022. The tournament followed a 9-round Swiss system with a time control of 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.
The frontrunners demonstrated a high level of preparation and engaged in a fierce battle for spots on the national team. Based on the tournament results, the top positions were distributed as follows:
Ali Ahmedov (Ashgabat, born in 2012, Grade 7 student at School No. 49) — 7 points out of 9;
Ahmet Artykov (Mary Province, born in 2011, student at the Mary specialized regional school with advanced study of English and humanities) — 7 points out of 9;
Gurbanmyrat Rustemov (Lebap Province, born in 2010, Grade 10 student at School No. 41) — 6.5 points out of 9;
Dilber Hupbyyeva (Dashoguz Province, born in 2014, Grade 6 student at School No. 7) — 6.5 points out of 9. She became the sensation of the tournament, delivering an excellent performance in the open category to secure fourth place;
Zalina Iminova (Ashgabat, born in 2014, student at School No. 16) — 6.5 points out of 9.
Following the qualifiers, the Turkmenistan national team was formed, consisting of the top four players of the tournament and the top-ranked girl, Zalina Iminova.
These five players will represent the country at the historic first U16 Chess Olympiad among Turkic nations, which will take place from May 13 to 18 in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. The event is expected to feature the strongest young players from Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. In Almaty, adult tournaments will be held on the same dates (which our national teams are also preparing to attend). These events will serve as excellent preparation for the upcoming Olympiad in Samarkand.
Currently, the Turkic Chess Association (TCA) is being established, with Turkmenistan among its founding members. As a reminder, the Memorandum on the establishment of the Association was signed on October 20, 2025, in Astana. The TCA Presidium meeting took place on December 13, 2025, in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, running parallel to the first-ever U16 Chess Championship of Turkic-speaking countries.
For Turkmenistan, membership in the TCA opens up opportunities to participate in regular joint tournaments. This expands the competitive calendar, provides chess players with more high-level practice, and will contribute to upgrading players’ qualifications and improving their FIDE ratings. For instance, following the tournament in Gaziantep, Turkmen chess player Gurbanmyrat Rustemov increased his rating by 73.6 points.
