The new Grand Prix tournament was established by the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan.
According to the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, it was organized with the aim of providing chess players from all over the country with game practice, diversifying their options for getting into the top league and popularizing chess in our country.
A series of six Grand Prix tournaments will be held in a classic format and will cover all five velayats of Turkmenistan and the capital.
The Ashgabat stage, which started at the specialized chess and draughts school, brought together 127 players - 83 in the open category and 44 in the women's category.
According to the results of the entire series of Grand Prix tournaments will be determined by 16 best players in each category who will be released in the final stage of the playoffs, where they will face relegation games. The final stage will be held in the capital. As a result, the winners in both categories will receive direct tickets to the top league of Turkmenistan in 2026, where the national team will be formed to participate in international competitions.
A noteworthy feature of the Grand Prix tournament is that it was for the first time in the chess history of Turkmenistan, online broadcasting of parties in real time began. Each move, which chess players make behind the board, immediately with the help of special sensors built into chess figures and board, is transferred to the digital format and is transferred to the online platform using the special DGT LiveCHESS application.
Chess amateurs, professionals and simply spectators from all over the world can watch every move, analyze the game of rivals, empathize and enjoy exciting parties. Moreover, in online broadcasts you can observe the hours of the clock, that is, each player remaining a minute and seconds after each course, which gives an additional intrigue to chess fans.
Lichess, through which the broadcast is conducted, is considered the most popular and accessible platform among chess fans for watching games of various tournaments from around the world live.
As part of the broadcast from the current tournament, 7 boards in the open category and 3 boards in the women's category are presented, which will allow viewers to follow the intense matches and support their favorites. The joint plans of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan and the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Draughts School include increasing the number of boards for simultaneous broadcasting.
The Dutch DGT company, a manufacturer of specialized chess equipment for online broadcasting, and the leading Turkmen IT company “Imdat Elektronika” are contributing to the implementation of these technical tasks.
The CFT believes that this technical innovation is another step towards turning chess into a spectator sport for a wide range of fans.
