New Chess Champions Crowned in Turkmenistan’s Blitz and Rapid Tournaments
The Turkmen Chess Championship Among Boys and Girls in Ashgabat
The Turkmen Chess Championship concluded in Ashgabat, determining winners in the rapid and blitz tournaments in February 9-10, for boys and girls under 14, 16 and 18 years old. The tournament, for the first time, was held in classical chess with full time control, rapid chess, and blitz chess formats.
Among boys under 16 and 18 in both tournaments, gold medals were won by the main favorites of the tournament, Ilhan Charyev of Lebap, and Amanmuhammet Hommadov of Ashgabat, respectively. Gurbanmyrat Rustemov of Lebap won the rapid tournament for boys under 14, while Tahyr Iminov of Ashgabat took the blitz tournament, making it his second win after winning the blitz championship among boys under 12.
For girls under 14, Aylar Semenderova won the rapid tournament, and Mahri Agamuradova won the blitz tournament. In the girls under 18 category, Leyla Shohradova won the classic and rapid tournaments, while Lala Shohradova won the blitz tournament. Gulmira Seyilhanova of Lebap emerged as the winner in the rapid tournament in the under-16 girls category.
Coming in third place was Mahrijemal Gurbangeldieva, while Mahri Aimakova and Oguljeren Saparova scored 7 points, leading to a tie-break. The fate of the gold medal had to be decided in an Armageddon game, where Oguljeren won her counterpart with black pieces and took the victory.
The Chess Federation of Turkmenistan provides statistics in the overall standings of the championship among boys and girls according to the classic, rapid, and blitz categories.
The Chess relay will now be hosted by the city of Dashoguz, where the first league of the Turkmenistan Women’s Championship will begin on February 12, and the men’s first league will start on February 19.
