Turkmen Chess Player Allayar Shirliev Wins International Festival in the UAE
Turkmen chess player Allayar Shirliev achieved a stunning victory in the Open A category at the 32nd Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, held from August 15 to 24. The 22-year-old candidate master from Ashgabat demonstrated phenomenal play under classical time control, scoring 8 points out of a possible 9 and finishing the tournament in clear first place.
Starting as the seventh seed with a FIDE rating of 2184, Shirliev confidently outscored the main favorites. In the final standings, he outscored more accomplished opponents, including International Masters Bashir Aitee and Richilieu III Salcedo from Syria and the Philippines. This result allowed the Turkmen player to increase his international rating by 40.6 points.
The Emirates tournament, organized by the Abu Dhabi Chess Club, traditionally attracts the world's strongest players. The parallel Masters tournament, held during these same days, featured the world's elite chess players—international grandmasters Daniil Dubov, David Paravyan, Pa Iniyan, and other stars. Against this prestigious backdrop, Shirliev's successful performance marked another important milestone for national sport.
The victory in Abu Dhabi continued the Turkmen chess school's triumphant streak, which began in August 2026. Earlier, at the Asian Junior Championship in Mumbai, Lala Shokhradova won gold in rapid and silver in blitz, and shortly before that, the national team won a record 16 medals at the Central and North Asian Championship in Kyrgyzstan.
