The tournament of the first league of the Turkmenistan Chess Championship in the open category, which is also a qualifying stage for participation in the prestigious major league of the national championship, has ended in Mary. In the open first league, which was previously held as a men's tournament, women can now also participate. The tournament was held from January 26 to February 1 and brought together 70 participants, 16 of whom were women.

The championship title was unexpectedly won by a student of the International University of Oil and Gas Lala Shohradova (FIDE rating - 2011), who scored 9 points out of 11 possible. Lala is the triumphator of the 45th World Chess Olympiad, which was held in September 2024 in Budapest (Hungary), where the women's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category C.

FIDE Master among women Lala Shohradova is a native of the Danev etrap of the Lebap velayat and has been studying with Gulhan Kurbandurdiyeva since childhood, and since September 2024 she has been training with the honored coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdiyev.

The head coach of the women's team of Turkmenistan, Shahrukh Turayev (FIDE rating - 2105), was half a point behind the first place. The top three winners were closed by FIDE Master Mergen Kakabayev (FIDE rating - 2262).

It is worth noting that for the first time in the history of the open (or men's) first league, a woman won. Other participants of the tournament, including 18-year-old Leyla Shohradova (Lala's sister), 19-year-old Bagul Ezizova and 15-year-old Jahan Rejepova and Mahri Agamyradova, who were in the group of leaders throughout the tournament distance, also demonstrated a high level of competitiveness, claiming to be included in the "men's" major league and only in the last two rounds "gave a misfire".

The coaching staff of the Chess Federation explains the rise in the quality of the game of female chess players by the intensive work carried out in 2024 as part of the preparation for the World Chess Olympiad, which included six-month training camps in Ashgabat and away training camps in Turkey with the legendary grandmaster Vasily Ivanchuk. The experience of participating in the Olympics should not be discounted either.

In addition to Lala Shohradova, the owners of five other tickets to the Major League were: Shahrukh Turaev (2nd place), Mergen Kakabayev (3rd place), Ilhan Charyyev (4th place, rating - 2064), Shageldi Gurbandurdyev (5th place, 2100) and Nedir Siliyev (6th place, 2056).17-year-old Ilkhan and 23-year-old Nedir will participate in the main start of the country for the first time. Lale was previously given such an opportunity in 2023 as the country's champion among women. And Shageldi Gurbandurdyev, who played in the Major League in 2024, then finished sixth.

It is worth mentioning the young players, who are now 11-13 years old and who are slowly catching up with their adult counterparts. These are Ali Akhmedov (11th place), Akhmet Artykov (16th place), Alikhan Batyrov (17th place), Tahir Iminov (18th place) and Rauf Yusupov (20th place), who entered the top 20 of the tournaments.

The organization of the first league of the Turkmenistan Championship among men was supported by the “ORIENT” media platform, the ALSAT online platform, “Export Hyzmat” company, the “Küşt Älemi” chess academy and the Business Support Center "Telekeçileri Goldamak Merkezi".

The main start of the year with the participation of 12 the strongest chess players of the country will be held from 9 to 20 February. In addition to the above-mentioned six chess players who made their way through the first league, the Major League will also be attended by the holders of the first four places of the 2024 Major League Allayar Shirliev (2172), Amanmuhammet Hommadov (2265), Vepaly Halyniyazov (2115), Azim Sariyev (2056); Ahmet Gubatayev (2192), who made his way through the 2024 Federation Cup, and the owner of a "wild card" (special invitation) from the Chess Federation, international master Karen Grigoryan (2268), who has repeatedly played as part of the national team.

More information about the first league tournament can be found at the link.

ORIENT