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The Turkmenistan championship among schoolchildren in the age categories up to 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 years has ended. The tournament, held in Ashgabat from January 4 to 9, brought together more than 400 participants and was full of bright victories and drama.

In the categories among girls under 9 and 13 years old, the current champions - schoolgirls from the Lebap region Dunya Ruslanova and Nebakhat Muradova won confident victories, scoring 9 points out of 9 possible.

Of the current champions also proved their superiority, Maksat Avlyakuliev (Lebap) - 8 points out of 9 among boys under 9 years old; Alikhan Batyrov (Mary) - 8.5 points among boys under 11 years old; Gurbanmyrat Rustemov (Lebap) - 8.5 points among boys under 15 years old.

In the youngest age category under 7 years old, included in the championship for the first time, the emergence of new stars was witnessed. Among boys, first place was taken by Ashgabat schoolboy Charyhekim Charyev, who showed a 100% result. And among girls, the first place was unconditionally taken by a schoolgirl from the Mary region, Anna Charyeva, who scored 8 points out of 9 possible.

Among girls under 11 years old, last year's vice champion from Lebap, Aya Bayramova, demonstrated obvious progress and took first place with 8 points out of 9 possible, essentially leaving no chance for her rivals.

In the senior category up to 17 years old, the current champions and favorites Sanjar Gaibullaev and Leila Shohradova (both Lebap) were unable to retain the title and were content with only second place in the standings. And the champions were Serdar Bayramov and Gulmira Seilkhanova (also both from Lebap).

An equally intense struggle was expected in the category under 13 years old among boys, where, in addition to the current champion from the Mary region, Rauf Yusupov, several more talented boys were vying for the championship. Last year's silver medalist from Ashgabat, Ali Akhmedov, turned out to be the strongest today, scoring 8.5 points out of 9 possible and winning his first championship in his career with a serious start.

The next five participants had 6.5 points each, and the fate of the other two prizes had to be determined by additional indicators, which turned out to be higher for the second-place finisher Tahir Iminov (Ashgabat), and the top three were closed by ex-champion Rauf Yusupov.

The most interesting and exciting category was the under 15 category among girls, where until the last round it was impossible to predict the winner of the gold medal. Initially, the favorites of the tournament were the representatives of Lebap - the current champion Myahri Agamuradova and Jahan Rejepova, who also became the national champion at her age in previous years.

But as the tournament progressed, a schoolgirl from Ashgabat, Arzygul Mukhamova, intervened in their struggle. As a result, all three participants scored 8 points out of 9 possible and were 3 points ahead of their closest pursuers. According to additional indicators, Arzygul was first, Jahan took second place, and Myakhri was in third place.

In the overall medal standings, representatives of the Lebap region traditionally performed successfully, winning 20 medals, of which 7 were gold. In second place are young chess players from Ashgabat (10 medals, 3 gold), and in third place is the Mary school (6 medals, 2 gold).

More than 400 participants from all over the country took part in all 12 categories of the tournament. The winners received the right to participate in the World Championships and the Asian Championships, which will be held in Thailand this year. Tournament data is available at the link

According to the tournament participants and their parents, the opportunity to represent their country at international championships greatly motivates the children. During 2023, young chess players of Turkmenistan had 9 trips to various international competitions, where they won 11 medals.

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Photo: CFT