Turkmen Chess Players Win Silver at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand
The women’s national chess team of Turkmenistan achieved an outstanding result at the 46th World Chess Olympiad held in Samarkand. On the final day of the competition, September 27, the Turkmen players confidently defeated the team of Belarus 3.5–0.5 and won silver medals in the “B” rating category. In the overall standings, the team rose to 33rd place among 190 national teams from around the world.
For the women’s national team, this was their second consecutive Olympic medal. Two years ago, at the Olympiad in Budapest, the Turkmen chess players won gold in the “C” category. After moving up to a stronger group, the team once again reached the podium, finishing behind Croatia only on tiebreak criteria. The decisive rounds came at the end of the tournament, when the Turkmen players defeated Kyrgyzstan 4–0 and then overcame Belarus.
The main revelation of the tournament was Myahri Agamuradova, who scored 7.5 points out of 10 on the fourth board. She fulfilled the requirements for the FIDE Woman Candidate Master title (WFM) and earned her first Woman International Master norm (WIM). Leyla Shokhratova, with 7 points from 11 games, as well as Jahan Rejepova, Lala Shokhratova and Ogulsuray Bayrambaeva, also made a significant contribution to the team’s overall success.
Mergen Kakabaev, Secretary General of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan and head coach of the women’s national team, noted:
“Each member of the team demonstrated the intensive progress achieved over the past several months. The girls performed significantly above their starting seeding. Thanks to systematic preparation, the team approached the Olympiad in optimal form.”
The men’s national team of Turkmenistan also performed successfully, finishing 64th among 206 teams. The main individual achievement came from Amanmuhammet Khommadov, who fulfilled his final International Master (IM) norm. Vepaly Khalynyazov also demonstrated a high level of play, winning all four of his games, while grandmaster Meylis Annaberdiyev likewise delivered a strong performance.
The success of Turkmen chess players was the result of systematic preparation carried out since January 2026, including training sessions in Ashgabat and international training camps.
ORIENT
