Nearly 500 young chess players are participating in the Turkmenistan Youth Chess Championship for boys and girls in the age categories under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18. The competitions are taking place from January 25 to February 1 at the Specialized Chess and Checkers School in Ashgabat.
Participants are competing for medals in three disciplines: classical chess, rapid chess, and blitz chess. The tournaments are held using the Swiss system.
Today, the classical chess stage of the competition concluded. Based on its results, the first winners and prize-winners have been determined in several age categories.
Classical Chess Results
Boys Under 8: 76 players participated in the category. Unexpectedly for many, Kerim Babaev snatched victory thanks to thorough opening preparation, while second and third places went to players who were initially considered favorites.
🥇 Kerim Babaev (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 8 points out of 9;
🥈 Begmurat Agamammedov (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Hangeldi Muradov (Lebap province) — 7 points out of 9.
Girls Under 8: 36 players participated in the category. Last year’s champion in the under-7 category once again defeated her peers. Traditionally in this group, the battle for the title unfolded among representatives of Lebap province.
🥇 Meryem Rustemova (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥈 Lachin Isaeva (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥉 Chinar Pirkulieva (Lebap province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
Boys Under 10: 82 players participated in the category. Dominance of the Charyev brothers: the younger one, Charykhekim, wins the category one year above his age for the third year in a row.
🥇 Charykhekim Charyev (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 8 points out of 9;
🥈 Khalilmukhammed Charyev (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Azat Sapardurdyev (Mary province) — 7 points out of 9.
Girls Under 10: 34 players participated in the category. New star Byagul Djumaeva continues to dominate her peers; she previously also won the under-9 category. Anna Charyeva, who took bronze at the World Championship for girls under 8, this time settled for second place.
🥇 Byagul Djumaeva (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Anna Charyeva (Mary province) — 7 points out of 9;
🥉 Enejan Charygeldieva (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 7 points out of 9.
Boys Under 12: 67 players participated in the category. Nazar Narimanov and Omarbek Ismailov both scored 7.5 points, but based on their head-to-head result, Nazar became the national champion in classical time control for the first time in his career.
🥇 Nazar Narimanov (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Omarbek Ismailov (Dashoguz province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Azat Redjepov (Lebap province) — 7 points out of 9.
Girls Under 12: 27 players participated in the category. It was initially expected that the fight for gold would be between Aya Bayramova and Dilber Khupbyeva. In the end, Aya Bayramova came out on top, defeating her main rival.
🥇 Aya Bayramova (Lebap province) — 8.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Dilber Khupbyeva (Dashoguz province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥉 Zalina Iminova (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 6 points out of 9.
Boys Under 14: 48 players participated in the category. In the “group of death” — the most competitive category — Ali Akhmedov won with willpower, without losing a single game. Second place went to Emir Amanmuhammedov, while Alikhan Batyrov, who led for most of the tournament, had to settle for bronze due to a loss in the eighth round.
🥇 Ali Akhmedov (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Emir Amanmuhammedov (Mary province) — 7 points out of 9;
🥉 Alikhan Batyrov (Mary province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
Girls Under 14: 29 players participated in the category. Nurana Soyunova won convincingly and proved that her 200-point rating advantage was no fluke.
🥇 Nurana Soyunova (Kusht Alemi Academy – Ashgabat) — 8.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Nurhan Babanazarova (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Nebahat Muradova (Lebap province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
Boys Under 16: 35 players participated in the category. Ashirmukhammet Ataev, who previously won the under-17 category, confirmed his superiority, largely thanks to a win against Gurbanmyrat Rustemov, who this year earned the right to compete in the Premier League.
🥇 Ashirmukhammet Ataev (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 8 points out of 9;
🥈 Akhmet Artykov (Mary province) — 7.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Gurbanmyrat Rustemov (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9.
Girls Under 16: 17 players participated in the category. The fight for gold unfolded between the current women’s champion Jahan Rejepova and last year’s category champion Myahri Agamyradova. Their direct game ended in a draw, and ultimately, due to a slip at the beginning of the tournament, Myahri fell half a point short of Jahan.
🥇 Jahan Rejepova (Lebap province) — 8.5 points out of 9;
🥈 Myahri Agamyradova (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥉 Arzygul Mukhamova (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 6 points out of 9.
Boys Under 18: 27 players participated in the category. One of the most competitive groups of the tournament — especially with many strong players born in 2008 representing Lebap province. The fate of the gold medal was decided by the truncated Buchholz tiebreak coefficient.
🥇 Shageldi Kurbandurdyev (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥈 Sanjar Gaibullaev (Lebap province) — 8 points out of 9;
🥉 Serdar Bayramov (Lebap province) — 7.5 points out of 9.
Girls Under 18: 13 players participated in the category. The only perfect score of the entire tournament was achieved by Jennet Yalkanova, who outperformed her nearest rival by 2.5 points and demonstrated complete dominance in her group.
🥇 Jennet Yalkanova (Mary province) — 9 points out of 9;
🥈 Myahridjemal Gurbangeldieva (Specialized Chess and Checkers School, Ashgabat) — 6.5 points out of 9;
🥉 Myahri Aimakova (Lebap province) — 6.5 points out of 9.
The championship traditionally features a high level of competition and wide geographic representation, bringing together young chess players from all regions of the country, as well as specialized chess schools and academies.
The championships for children and youth in even age categories (under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) are an important part of the national system for training and selecting athletes to participate in international competitions in accordance with the FIDE and ACF calendars.
In addition to sporting objectives, the championship aims to popularize chess, develop logical and strategic thinking in the younger generation, and build the intellectual potential of the country’s youth.
The competitions continue. Ahead are the rapid and blitz tournaments, which will determine the strongest young chess players in the country in the fast and lightning disciplines. /// Turkmenistan Chess Federation, 30 January 2026