Turkmen chess player Lala Shohradova has written a bright new page in the history of national sport by winning a gold and a silver medal at the Asian Juniors Chess Championships for players under the age of 20. The major continental tournament, which has brought together 157 of the best young chess players from 10 countries, is being held from August 16 to 26 in Mumbai, India, at the ITC Maratha Hotel. The prestigious tournament is organized by the Maharashtra Chess Association under the auspices of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), and the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The 20-year-old student of the Yagshygeldi Kakayev International Oil and Gas University and Woman FIDE Master (WFM) began her successful campaign on the opening day of competition, August 17, when she won a silver medal in the blitz tournament after a fiercely contested competition, competing as the top seed.
The next discipline was rapid chess, where 60 of the strongest female players from India, Kazakhstan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan competed for the championship title.
After seven rounds, Lala Shohradova, rated 2181 by FIDE, produced an outstanding performance, scoring 6 points out of a possible 7. Finishing level on points with Indian chess player Pratitee Bordoloi, the Turkmen athlete secured first place thanks to superior tiebreak criteria, earning her the championship title. India’s Prishita Gupta won the bronze medal with 5 points.
The awards were presented to the medalists by Dr. Parinay Phuke, President of the Maharashtra Chess Association.
The road to the gold medal was not an easy one for the Turkmen chess player. In the third round, Lala lost to her Turkmenistan national team teammate, WFM Jahan Rejepova. However, she demonstrated great resilience, winning all of her remaining games.
The sixth- and seventh-round encounters proved particularly tense, as the Turkmen chess player found herself in difficult positions and was forced to fight hard. Thanks to her composure, determination, and precise calculation, she managed to turn both games around and secure the championship title.
The attention of the sporting community is now focused on Mumbai, where the main stage of the competition — the Asian Championship in classical chess — has begun. The tournament will be played according to the Swiss system over nine rounds and will continue until August 26. Victory in the classical chess competition gives the players direct FIDE titles — Woman International Master (WIM) and a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norm.
The Asian Juniors Chess Championships U20 is one of the most prestigious youth competitions on the continent. According to the organizers, past winners of the championship have included Viswanathan Anand, Abhijit Kunte, and Tejas Bakre, while among the women’s champions have been Koneru Humpy, Tania Sachdev, and Ivana Furtado.
