Oriented on making people closer

The rapid stage of the Ashgabat 2025 International Chess Tournament ended in Ashgabat on June 17. It brought together 129 participants from 11 countries. The competition was held in three age categories (under 8, 10 and 12 years old) among boys and girls. Over two days, 9 rounds were played according to the Swiss system with a time control of 15 minutes + 10 seconds per move.

Following the results of the rapid tournament, the national team of Turkmenistan confidently took first place in the unofficial team standings, winning 10 medals in 6 categories: 3 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze.

The team of Uzbekistan is in second place: 2 gold and 2 silver.

The team of Kazakhstan is currently performing below its capabilities: 1 gold and 1 silver.

Iran and Tajikistan have one bronze each so far. Teams from the Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan and others also hope to improve their medal results in the blitz format.

👑 Victories that caused admiration

Our chess players won the largest number of awards in the category of girls under 12 years old, where the entire podium was occupied by Turkmen participants. The winner in this category was Dilber Khupbyeva from Dashoguz with 8 points out of 9 possible. Aiya Bayramova from Turkmenabat finished second with a gap of half a point, and Nurana Soyunova, representing the Ashgabat club "Kuşt Älemi", closed the top three.

In the age group of girls under 10 years old, Lyale Vepayeva ("Kuşt Älemi", Turkmenistan) confidently took first place. She was followed by Zarina Nematzhonova (Uzbekistan) and Gunesh Bayramova (Sports School No. 13 of the city of Turkmenabat).

In the age category of boys under 8, first place was taken by Charykhekim Charyev (Kuşt Älemi, Turkmenistan), beating Uzbek chess player Saifuddin Erkinboev by half a point. Third place went to young chess player from Tajikistan Murodali Saifiyev with 6 points.

In the girls under 8 category, Zarina Larina from Uzbekistan confidently won gold with 8 points out of 9. Our compatriot from the Danev district of the Lebap velayat Byagul Dzhumaeva was one point behind her. Kazakhstani Amira Alemanova is in third place with 6 points. Anna Charyeva from Mary, seeded first in this category, performed below her strength and finished in 4th place with 6 points, losing to Alemanova on additional indicators.

Among boys under 10, the first place with 8.5 points was shared by Maksat Avlyakulyev (Sports School No. 13, Turkmenabat) and Abdurakhmon Radjabov (Uzbekistan), who tied with each other, but the Uzbek chess player was first on additional indicators. Iranian Saniyar Ashgar Khatir rounded out the top three with 6 points.

In the category of boys under 12, the winner was the current champion of Western Asia in rapid Nurasyl Primbetov from Kazakhstan, who scored 8 points. The silver medal was won by the champion of Turkmenistan Alikhan Batyrov (Mary, Turkmenistan), who was half a point behind, and the bronze was won by Osman Khamrakuliev (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan).

🌍 Geography and organization

Chess players from Vietnam, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are participating in the tournament. The organizers are the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan and the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of Turkmenistan with the support of the Government of the country.

The competition is being held in the Specialized Chess and Checkers School of Ashgabat, built on the initiative of the National Leader and Hero Arkadag and designed for 500 playing places.

🏆 What's next?

On Wednesday, June 18, the participants will face the second stage of the tournament - the blitz competition, where 6 more sets of medals will be played. The games will be played in an ultra-fast format: 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move.

💬 Opinions

"This tournament has become a real holiday for young chess players. Excellent organization, intense matches and an unforgettable atmosphere of friendship and fair play - this is exactly what an international tournament should be," the head of the delegation of the Russian Federation Alexander Shkurikhin said.

"The conditions organized for the chess tournament in Ashgabat meet the highest international requirements, including the infrastructure, the playing hall, the level of sports organization, refereeing, online publication of the draw and online broadcast of the games themselves. The children were very lucky to get to this Ashgabat holiday. You deserve to host tournaments of a higher rank, including official Asian and world championships, both among juniors, and at a high professional level," shared her opinion the licensed international arbiter of category "C" from Iran Sharif Nataj Khadije, who is also involved in refereeing this tournament.

ORIENT

Photo: ШФТ