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The first league tournament of the Women's Chess Championship of Turkmenistan, which served as a qualifying stage for participation in the prestigious higher league of the national championship, has concluded in Ashgabat.

From January 19th to 25th, a real "battle" of minds unfolded at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School, bringing together 48 participants from across the country.

The winner of the classic tournament was Gulmira Seyilkhanova, an 11th-grade student from secondary school No. 41 in Turkmenabat, who lived up to her top seed (FIDE rating – 1921). Thanks to the care of experienced coach Guljahan Ovliyakuliyeva, the current national champion under 17 demonstrated outstanding skills, scoring 8 out of 11 possible points, which allowed her to achieve the highest achievement so far in her sports career at the adult level.

In second place was Bagul Ezizova (rating – 1807, 8th seed), the winner of last year's women's first league, who also scored 8 points but lost on tie-break criteria. The protégé of Serdar Annaberdiyev showed competitive play throughout the tournament.

The bronze medalist of the tournament was Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva (rating – 1879, 2nd seed), a third-year student at the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports. The experienced student of Serdarguly Bayramsahedov finished with 7.5 points out of 11 possible, demonstrating her class in critical moments of the tournament.

According to the results of the competition, the top six prize-winners of the first league — Gulmira Seyilhanova, Bagul Ezizova, Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva, as well as Ayshe Gubatayeva (4th place), Jennet Durdyyeva (5th place) and Aya Bayramova (6th place) — qualified for the higher league.

The Chess Federation of Turkmenistan specifically noted the entry into the higher league of 10-year-old Aya Bayramova, who won a bronze medal at the World Rapid Championship among 10-year-old girls last year. This success shows that the young "star" of Turkmen chess is beginning to create competition for her adult counterparts as well.

The main start of the year with the participation of the 12 strongest chess players of the country will be held from February 9th to 20th and promises to be very exciting.

In organizing the first league of the Turkmenistan Championship, valuable support was provided by the media platform "ORIENT", the co-working center "Telwas", the "HIL-TM" Center, the "Küşt Älemi" chess academy and other sponsors and partners. These efforts contribute to the development of chess in the country and the creation of new opportunities for talented female athletes.

The tournament data is available at the link

ORIENT

Photo: TCHF