The national chess competitions among boys and girls under 20 have ended in Ashgabat. Participants competed in classical, rapid and blitz chess.

Before the announcement of the tournament results, an ORIENT representative talked with Chairman of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan Vepa Myalikgulyev about plans for 2025 in the context of chess development.

In 2025, the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan has set an ambitious goal - to improve the level of training of young chess players. Particular attention will be paid to the development of positional thinking, opening preparation and strategic planning.

"We want our chess players not only to be able to play well, but also to have a deep understanding of the game, to be able to analyze their games and find new ways to improve," Vepa Myalikgulyev, Chairman of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan said. "We consulted with senior coaches and methodologists of the Turkmenistan national team and came to the general opinion that in the coming year we should give priority attention to the development of positional and strategic thinking in young Turkmen chess players, as well as opening preparation."

The initial phase of the game is important in the sense that the ideas that are laid down in the position in the opening should be further implemented in the middlegame (this is the stage of the game following the opening, in which the main events in the chess struggle develop) through a well-thought-out strategy and the correct choice of plan, gaining a positional advantage. And this, as a rule, develops into a material advantage.

But first, a chess player is diagnosed, his strengths and weaknesses are assessed. After this, work continues on the athlete's strengths in terms of their further development, and his weaknesses, his gaps should be minimized through exercises, careful analysis of the games played, reading special books devoted to the art of chess, and, of course, through regular game practice, the chairman of the CFT noted.

The main control is carried out by an experienced coach assigned to the chess player, but the athlete himself must also be actively involved in the implementation of his individual plan. There is also a support system from the chess federation, where a new position of methodologist was recently introduced, which is occupied by a competent employee - Shakhrukh Turaev. Such methodologists are not only in Ashgabat, but also in the velayats. And the coaches of the Turkmenistan national team are always ready to provide assistance to both the individual mentor and the chess player himself. According to Vepa Myalikgulyev, these measures will allow creating a strong chess school in Turkmenistan and raising new talented chess players.

"Thus, we are purposefully making the transition from spontaneous development of chess players to planned work with them. Two and a half years ago, when the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan embarked on "new tracks", we really lacked tournament practice. And we have already closed this gap. This year, we plan to pay great attention to methodological work with chess players and coaches," Vepa Myalikgulyev explained.

"Within the framework of this year's development of positional thinking, we have outlined several areas, one of them is improving the professional training of coaches, more active interaction of chess players with their personal coaches and national team coaches, including the development of individual development plans," the chairman of the CFT said.

In these individual plans for each chess player, important aspects of developing positional thinking, openings, and endgames were identified. For some, this may be developing tactical thinking, for others, calculating variations, etc. International experts will also be involved in this work, which includes training camps for chess players and coaches in Turkmenistan and abroad.

"This year, we have already held one online seminar in cooperation with the International Chess Federation. And such legendary coaches as Grandmaster, Honored FIDE Coach Artur Yusupov conducted training for our specialists, which will undoubtedly help them in their future work, the head of the CFT noted.

Now about the results of the past tournament. Among young men, the victory in rapid was won by a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Construction Vepaly Khalynyazov, who won gold in the "classical" tournament the day before.

In blitz, the unconditional victory was won by FIDE Master candidate Shageldy Kurbandurdyev, former world champion among boys under 8 (2016). Shageldy also won a bronze medal in the rapid tournament. Among the other participants, the student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports Amanmukhammet Khommadov distinguished himself by winning medals in all three formats (1 silver and 2 bronze).

Among the girls, the hegemony of the Shokhradov sisters continued - Lala (19 years old) and Leyla (18 years old). Lala, who had previously become the champion in "classical", confidently won the rapid tournament on January 11. And Leyla won the blitz tournament on January 12. Other, younger natives of Lebap also distinguished themselves: Jahan Rejepova and Myahri Agamuradova (15 years old), who won silver and bronze in rapid and blitz.

At the closing ceremony, the winners and prize winners were presented with medals and gifts from the tournament sponsors, including 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", representative of which called on the children to become real ambassadors of chess, inspiring their peers to take up this exciting sport. After all, chess is not only a game, but also a great way to develop intelligence and character.

Thus, according to the regulations of the current tournament, in the rapid format, players were given 15 minutes per game with an increment of 10 seconds for each move, which allowed the participants to demonstrate not only a deep understanding of the game, but also the ability to quickly make decisions in dynamic conditions. The blitz tournament was even more intense: players were given only 3 minutes per game with an increment of 2 seconds per move, which required lightning-fast reactions and precise calculation of variations.

The Chess Federation of Turkmenistan noted that more than 100 juniors participated in the tournaments. More detailed data is available at the link

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