16-year-old Meryem Agajanova became the winner of the championship of Turkmenistan among juniors (under 20), which was held in the capital with the participation of 30 girls from 5 velayats and the city of Ashgabat. The 9-grader of the capital's school № 55 achieved this success by scoring 8 points out of 9 possible in the tournament held according to the Swiss system.
According to the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, following the results of the championship, Meryem not only won the right to participate in the world and continental championships in this age category, but also raised her FIDE rating by 58 points, bringing it to the level of 1898. It is noteworthy that a month ago this talented the pupil of the honored coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdiyev excelled in the 1st league of the championship of Turkmenistan among girls. These two victories allowed her to fulfill the norm of a candidate for master of sports.
Meryem left behind the 2015 world champion among schoolgirls under 9 Lala Shohradova from Lebap velayat, who scored 7.5 points, and the 2020 champion of Turkmenistan under the age of 18, a student from Ashgabat Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva, who with a score of 6.5 points took 3rd place.
According to the results of this tournament, Mahri Agamyradova from Lebap velayat, the winner of the 4th place, also received the right to participate in the highest league of the championship of Turkmenistan among women. This became possible after all three winners had previously booked their places to participate in the most prestigious national tournament of the year. Remind that this year 14 best chess players of the country will play in the major league.
The championship of Turkmenistan among youths (under 20), which will also play a ticket to the world and Asian championships in this age category, will be held next week. It starts on January 23rd.
The chess marathon in Turkmenistan will continue further with the women's major league (starting on January 30) and national championships in six children's and youth age categories (from 8 to 18 years old) in mid-February 2023.
