Turkmen Chess Player Lala Shohradova Becomes Asian Rapid Chess Champion in India
The Asian Junior Chess Championship for players under 20 is being held in Mumbai, India, from August 16 to 26, bringing together 157 athletes from 10 countries. Turkmen chess player Lala Shohradova won the gold medal in the rapid chess tournament, finishing ahead of 60 of the continent’s strongest competitors.
The rapid tournament consisted of seven rounds. Turkmenistan’s Lala Shohradova, a student at the International University of Oil and Gas named after Yagshygeldi Kakayev, scored 6 points out of a possible 7. India’s Pratiti Bordoloi also scored 6 points, but thanks to better tiebreak criteria, the top award and championship title went to the Turkmen athlete. Another Indian chess player, Prishita Gupta, won the bronze medal with 5 points.
The road to gold was marked by intense competition. After losing to fellow national team player WFM Jahan Rejepova in the third round, Lala showed great resilience and won all her remaining games. Accurate calculation and composure helped her turn the key encounters in the sixth and seventh rounds in her favor.
This is already Shohradova’s second medal at the current championship. On the opening day of the competition, August 17, she won a silver medal in the blitz tournament. The entire Turkmen women’s team also made a confident start. After the first four rounds of the rapid tournament, Jahan Rejepova was among the top six leaders without a single defeat, alongside Myahri Agamuradova and Leyla Shohradova.
The competition is being held under the auspices of FIDE, the Asian Chess Federation and the All India Chess Federation. Historically, the tournament has helped introduce such world chess legends as Viswanathan Anand and Koneru Humpy. On August 20, the main stage of the championship — a nine-round classical chess tournament — began in Mumbai. The winners will have the opportunity to receive direct FIDE international titles and earn points toward the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title.
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