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The young chess elite has determined its champions at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School, where the national championship among boys and girls under 20 was held from January 5 to 10. This tournament is considered the second strongest in terms of participants, as it includes almost all the players of the 2024 men's and women's major leagues.

In the completed tournament in classical chess among boys, Vepaly Khalynyazov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, left everyone behind and won, scoring 9 points out of 11 possible. Serdar Bayramov, a high school student from the Lebap velayat, and Amanmukhammet Khommadov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, scored 8.5 points each and took 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. Considered the main favorite of the tournament, Khommadov sensationally suffered two defeats in a row at the start, but managed to recover in time and catch up with the leaders.

Vepaly and Amanmuhammet are the winners of the 45th World Chess Olympiad, which was held in Budapest (Hungary), where the men's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category B, finishing in 24th place among 188 teams. And Serdar won a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolchildren under 17 years old, which was held in Bangkok (Thailand) at the end of 2024.

In the tournament among girls, for the second year in a row, a student of the International University of Oil and Gas Lala Shokhradova has gained the upper hand over her rivals, scoring 9 points out of a possible 11. Another of the Shokhradov sisters, Leyla (Lebap, 18 years old), was half a point behind the leader and took second place, and Gulmira Seyilkhanova (Lebap, 17 years old) closed out the top three with 8 points. Sisters Lala and Leyla Shokhradov are also the winners of the above-mentioned Olympics, where the women's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category C, ultimately taking 32nd place among 169 teams in the overall standings. Gulmira's highest achievement is a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolgirls under 15 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 2023.

The winners of the championship received the right to represent our country at the World Junior Championship, which will be held in Montenegro from February 23 to March 8, as well as at the Asian Junior Championship, which will be held in Colombo (Sri Lanka).

On January 11 and 12, national championships in the same age category in rapid and blitz will also be held. In total, more than 100 chess players take part in the tournaments, despite the introduction of a minimum rating level restriction by the organizers – 1400.

The winners of the championship will receive valuable prizes provided by sponsors, among which are the insurance company "Resmi Kepil", the chess academy "Küşt Älemi", the stationery store "Globus", the B2B marketplace "ALSAT.com.tm" and the media platform ORIENT.

Tournament data is available at the link

ORIENT

Photo: TCHF