Samarkand, 27 September 2026. On the final day of the 46th World Chess Olympiad, which coincided with Turkmenistan’s Independence Day, the country’s women’s national team defeated Belarus 3½–½ to finish second in Women’s Category B. Seeded 55th, the Turkmen team placed 33rd overall among 190 teams in the women’s competition.
Back-to-Back Olympiad Medals
The result marks the Turkmen women’s team’s second consecutive medal in the Olympiad’s rating categories. Two years ago in Budapest, the team won gold in Category C. Following that achievement and a rise in the team’s rating, Turkmenistan moved up to Category B — and returned to the podium.
The race for gold went down to the final round. Turkmenistan and Croatia both finished with 14 match points, but Croatia claimed first place on tiebreaks. Uzbekistan’s second team took bronze.
Strong Finish
The final two rounds proved decisive, with Turkmenistan scoring 7½ points out of a possible eight.
In Round 10, the Turkmen team swept Kyrgyzstan 4–0, with wins by Lala Shokhradova, Leyla Shokhradova, Jahan Rejepova and Mähri Agamuradova.
In the final round on 27 September, Turkmenistan defeated 32nd-seeded Belarus 3½–½. Lala Shokhradova, Leyla Shokhradova and Mähri Agamuradova won their games, while Jahan Rejepova secured a draw.
The team opened its campaign with a 4–0 victory over Liechtenstein, followed by a win against Argentina and a draw with Spain — all against opponents seeded between 27 and 36 places higher than Turkmenistan.
After a challenging stretch in Rounds 7–9 against England, Türkiye and Sweden, the team responded with a strong finish.
Mähri Agamuradova: Breakthrough Performance
Mähri Agamuradova delivered the team’s strongest individual performance, scoring 7½ points out of 10 on board four. Starting with a rating of 1939, she achieved a tournament performance rating of 2253 and gained more than 160 rating points.
Her result qualified her for the Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title, subject to official FIDE confirmation, and earned her first Woman International Master (WIM) norm.
Leyla Shokhradova (2101) also made a significant contribution, scoring seven points out of 11 on board two, including victories in all three of her final games.
Jahan Rejepova (2027) scored five points out of nine, while Lala Shokhradova (2147), who faced the strongest opposition on board one, scored 4½ points out of 10. Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva (1952) contributed three points from four games.
Mergen Kakabayev, General Secretary of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan and head coach of the women’s national team at the Olympiad, said:
“Every member of the women’s team has demonstrated significant progress over the past six months. Our players’ ratings ranged from 1900 to 2100, but we knew their actual playing strength was at least 2200. We therefore expected them to draw, and in some cases win, against opponents rated 2200–2300.
“The team confirmed our assessment and performed well above its seeding. Thanks to systematic training, the players arrived at the Olympiad in excellent competitive form.”
Open Team: Final IM Norm and Four Wins from Four for Khalynyazov
Turkmenistan’s open team, seeded 65th, finished 64th among 206 teams, earning 12 match points.
The team’s principal individual achievement was Amanmukhammet Khommadov (2389), who scored six points out of 11 and achieved his third and final International Master (IM) norm. He is now closer to the IM title, subject to meeting all FIDE requirements and official approval.
Vepaly Khalynyazov (2257) won all four of his games, recording a tournament performance rating of 2966.
Grandmaster Meylis Annaberdiyev (2384) secured four consecutive wins in Rounds 3–6 and finished with 5½ points out of 10.
The team’s results included a 3½–½ victory over 25th-seeded Denmark, draws against Slovakia and Austria, and a win over Canada.
Grandmaster Saparmurat Atabayev (2503) scored six points out of 11 on board one, while Shakhrukh Turayev (2222) scored four points out of eight.
The team was captained by Serdar Annaberdiyev, an Honoured Coach of Turkmenistan.
Titles and Norms
The Olympiad brought significant individual milestones for Turkmenistan’s players:
Mähri Agamuradova: Qualified for the WFM title and earned her first WIM norm.
Amanmukhammet Khommadov: Achieved his third and final IM norm.
The awarding of titles is subject to confirmation by FIDE.
Preparation
Both national teams followed a structured training programme that began in January. Preparations included daily sessions at the Ashgabat Chess School, training camps in Kokshetau, and a final two-week camp led by Grandmaster Aleksandr Rakhmanov.
The final camp was organised jointly with the Kazakhstan Chess Federation under the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) programme.
46th World Chess Olympiad: Results
The Olympiad was held in Samarkand from 15 to 27 September 2026 and set a participation record, with 206 teams in the Open section and 190 in the Women’s section.
In the Open section, host nation Uzbekistan won gold, India took silver and Germany claimed bronze.
In the Women’s section, China finished first, Kazakhstan placed second and India took third.
In Women’s Category B, Croatia won gold, Turkmenistan took silver and Uzbekistan-2 claimed bronze.
Full results are available on chess-results.com:
[Women’s section](https://chess-results.com/tnr1469896.aspx?lan=11)
[Open section](https://chess-results.com/tnr1469895.aspx?lan=11)
///Chess Federation of Turkmenistan