Representatives of the Lebap chess school won a confident victory in the unofficial team standings at the championship of Turkmenistan among boys and girls under 8, 10 and 12 years old held in Ashgabat. 291 young fans of this ancient game from all velayats of the country and the capital took part in the competitions organized by the Chess Federation together with the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of Turkmenistan.
In three age categories, chess players from the eastern region of the country won a total of 12 out of 18 medals. At the same time, 8 out of 9 possible medals fell to the share of Lebap girls.
In the tournament of the youngest girls in the category up to 8 years, the entire podium was occupied by the representatives of Lebap. Dunya Ruslanova became the champion. The next places are Sevara Atajanova (7 points) and Altyn Geldimyradova (6.5 points).
In the competition for boys under 8, Maksat Avlyakulyyev from Lebap velayat excelled with 8.5 points. To achieve this result, it was enough for him to draw in the last round. Umar Japarov, another representative of Lebap, was half a point behind the winner. Closed the top three winners with 7 points Mekan Aganyyazov from Mary.
In the largest category of boys under 10, which gathered 83 applicants for awards, the championship with a 100% result - 9 points out of 9 possible - was issued by a schoolboy from Mary, Alyhan Batyrov. Didar Baltayev and Bayhan Jumayev (both from Lebap) were 2 points behind him, taking 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Among girls in the category up to 10 years, Pervana Serdarova from Ashgabat became the champion. The winner scored 8.5 points. Aya Ovlyakulyyeva from Lebap was half a point behind her. Another representative of the Lebap velayat, Lachyn Achyldyyeva, finished in third place with 7 points.
The chess players from the eastern region of the country also performed brilliantly in the oldest age category. In the competition among girls under 12, pupils of the Lebap chess school occupied the entire podium. The winner for the round before the end of the competition was Nebahat Myradova. She scored 8.5 points out of 9. The second place was taken by Nurana Jumanyyazova (7 points), and the third by Merjen Ylhamova (6.5 points).
The fight for the chess crown among boys in the category under 12 turned out to be extremely stubborn. Here the winner was determined in the last round. With a score of 7.5 points, it was Rauf Yusupov from Mary velayat, who previously became the country's champion in the under 8 category. Ali Ahmedov from Ashgabat and Muhammetnur Baygeldiyev from Dashoguz velayat were half a point behind him. It was in this sequence that they were placed on the podium by the additional Buchholz coefficient, which is used in case of equality of points.
Summing up the results of the championship, one can note a significant progress in the results of the young pupils of the Lebap chess school. This success, according to the head coach of the Lebap velayat, Honoured Coach of Turkmenistan Guljahan Ovlyakulyyeva, is due to the hard work of her colleagues Zumrat Achylova, Maya Gochgarova and Oguljan Reyimova, who «began to use new methodologies in training young chess players». And the very fact that the director of the sports school in Turkmenabat, Sona Jumakulyyeva, once played chess herself, also helps a lot, G.Ovlyakulyyeva believes.
All young champions received the right to represent Turkmenistan at the official world and Asian championships. The next World Championship among schoolchildren should take place in April 2023 in Greece.
