Ten medals – 3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze – were won by chess players of Turkmenistan in rapid discipline at the ongoing international tournament Ashgabat 2025. The competition brought together 129 participants from 11 countries who competed for the title of the strongest in three age categories (up to 8, 10 and 12 years) among boys and girls. The winners were determined based on the results of 9 rounds according to the Swiss system with a time control of 15 minutes with an addition of 10 seconds for each move.
Our chess players won the largest number of awards in the category of girls under 12 years old, where the entire podium was occupied by Turkmen participants. The winner in this category was Dilber Hupbyeva from Dashoguz with 8 points out of 9 possible. Aya Bayramova from Turkmenabat finished second with a gap of half a point, and Nurana Soyunova, representing the Ashgabat club Kuşt Älemi, closed the top three.
In the age group of girls under 10, Lale Vepayeva (Kuşt Älemi, Turkmenistan) confidently won. In 9 games, she scored 8 points (7 wins and 2 draws) and was one point ahead of Zarina Nematjonova (Uzbekistan), who came in second. Dunya Ruslanova (Sports School No. 13 of Turkmenabat) won bronze with a score of 6.5 points.
In the age category of boys under 8, Charyhekim Charyyev (Kuşt Älemi, Turkmenistan) took first place with 8 points, beating Uzbek chess player Sayfuddin Erkinboev by half a point. The third place went to the young chess player from Tajikistan Murodali Saifiev with 6 points.
In the girls under 8 age category, Zarina Larina from Uzbekistan confidently won gold, scoring 8 points out of 9. Our compatriot from Danev district of Lebap region Bagul Jumayeva was one point behind her. Kazakhstani Amira Alemanova took third place with 6 points.
Among boys under 10, first place with a score of 8.5 points was shared by Maksat Avlyakulyyev (Sports School No. 13, Turkmenabat) and Abdurahmon Rajabov (Uzbekistan), who tied. However, according to additional indicators, the Uzbek chess player was the winner. The third place was taken by Iranian Saniar Asghar Khatir with 6 points.
In the category of boys under 12, the winner was the current champion of Western Asia in rapid chess Nurassyl Primbetov from Kazakhstan, who scored 8 points. The silver medal was won by the champion of Turkmenistan Alyhan Batyrov (Mary, Turkmenistan), who was half a point behind, and the bronze was won by Osman Hamrakulyyev (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan), who scored 6 points.
According to the results of the first type of the program, the first place in the unofficial team standings with 3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals was taken by the team of Turkmenistan. In second place with 2 gold and 2 silver awards is the team of Uzbekistan. In third place with 1 gold and 1 silver are the chess players of Kazakhstan, who are currently performing below their capabilities. Iran and Tajikistan have one bronze each.
On the final day of the tournament, the participants will face the second stage – blitz competitions, where 6 more sets of medals will be played. The games will be played in an ultra-fast format: 3 minutes with an increment of 2 seconds for each move.
