On December 13, the first-ever Turkic-Speaking Countries Chess Championship, organized under the auspices of the Union of Turkic-Speaking Countries concluded in Türkiye. The competition took place at the Müzeyen Erkül Science Center in Gaziantep and brought together the region’s leading chess players.
The championship was held in the U16 age category, marking an important step in the development of youth chess.
The championship featured national teams from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as three teams from Türkiye—Turkish 1, Turkish 2, and Turkish-Gaziantep. The tournament became a significant platform for strengthening sporting and cultural ties between Turkic-speaking countries.
Following the championship, the Azerbaijani team took first place, Uzbekistan took second place (based on additional criteria), and Turkiye took third place. The Turkmenistan team finished in fifth place. Turkmen chess players Gurbanmyrat Rustemov and Myahri Agamyradova made significant contributions to the team’s performance. Following the tournament, Gurbanmyrat Rustemov increased his international rating by 73.6 points.
As part of the championship, a meeting of the heads of chess federations of Turkic-speaking countries was held to discuss institutional development and the prospects for creating a Turkic Chess Association. Discussions addressed issues of expanding cooperation, organizing joint tournaments, and implementing chess development programs in the region.
The following distinguished guests participated in the General Assembly:
• Dr. Mirvohid Azimov, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States;
• Mr. Mustafa Barış Öztürk, Head of the Department for Relations with International Organizations, Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkiye.
The first Turkic-Speaking Countries Chess Championship was a significant step toward consolidating the chess community and contributed to the further development of interstate cooperation within the Turkic world.
