On December 13, the first-ever Turkic-Speaking Countries Chess Championship, organized under the auspices of the Union of Turkic-Speaking Countries, concluded in Gaziantep, Turkey. The competition brought together the region's leading young chess players in the under-16 age category.
The championship featured national teams from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as three teams from Turkey. The tournament became an important platform for strengthening sporting and cultural ties between the fraternal Turkic-speaking countries.
The Turkmenistan team performed well in the championship, finishing in fifth place. Gurbanmyrat Rustemov and Myahri Agamyradova made significant contributions to the team's performance. Following the tournament, Gurbanmyrat demonstrated impressive growth, increasing his international rating by 73.6 points.
In the overall team standings, the Azerbaijani team took first place, Uzbekistan took second place (based on additional criteria), and Turkey took third place.
The championship included a key event for further institutional development: a meeting of the heads of chess federations of Turkic-speaking countries.
A representative of Turkmenistan actively participated in discussions on the prospects for creating a Turkic Chess Association, expanding cooperation and organizing joint tournaments, and implementing programs to develop youth chess in the region.
The General Assembly was attended by distinguished guests, including the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States.
The first championship and meeting of federations marked a significant step toward consolidating the chess community and contributed to the further development of interstate cooperation within the Turkic world, which is fully consistent with Turkmenistan's commitment to strengthening international humanitarian and sports ties.
