Turkmen Grandmaster Saparmurat Atabayev claimed 3rd place at the Karshi Open-2026 international chess tournament.
The tournament took place in Karshi, Uzbekistan, from 19 to 24 May and was dedicated to the memory of Ismat Shukurov. The competition was held under the Swiss system in 9 rounds with classical time control. A total of 56 chess players from 10 countries participated in the event.
Vitaliy Bernadskiy (Ukraine, FIDE rating 2507) took first place on tiebreaks, Saidakbar Saydaliev (Uzbekistan, FIDE rating 2454) finished second, and Saparmurat Atabayev (Turkmenistan, FIDE rating 2471) claimed third place, with all three scoring 7 out of 9 points. In the final round, Saparmurat playing with the black pieces defeated the tournament leader at that moment, Grandmaster Evgeny Alekseev from Israel.
Saparmurat’s cousin, Yusup Atabayev, also participated in the Karshi Open-2026, finishing eighth with 6 points.
Saparmurat Atabayev is 27 years old. He is one of the strongest chess players in Turkmenistan. Born in Ashgabat, he has been considered one of the country’s most promising players since his youth. His major achievements include winning the “White Bishop” tournament in Turkey in 2024, victory at the UzChess Cup Futures international tournament in Tashkent, scoring Grandmaster norms at Asian international competitions, and regular appearances for the national team of Turkmenistan.
Saparmurat’s first coach was the Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Aydogdy Atayev, who has remained his mentor for many years.
The results of the Karshi Open-2026 tournament are available on the specialized server: https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1392674.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&fed=TKM&flag=30&SNode=S0
/// Chess Federation of Turkmenistan