23-year-old international master from Turkmenistan Saparmurat Atabaev became the winner of the international chess tournament "Çeşme Open" that ended in Izmir (Turkey).

48 chess players from 9 countries took part in the traditional competition. Of these - 5 international grandmasters, 3 international masters and 15 FIDE masters.

Turkmenistan was represented by international grandmasters Meilis Annaberdiev and Khanzhar Odeev, as well as International Master Saparmurat Atabaev.

The competition was held in 9 rounds with the classic time regulations.

Saparmurat Atabaev took first place with 8 points out of 9 possible. 6.5 points were scored by Meilis Annaberdyev, who closed the top three. Khanjar Odeev finished fifth with 6 points.

Saparmurat Atabayev first made himself known in 2012 when, at the age of 13, he took first place on the third board at the U16 Youth Olympiad in Istanbul. He is the current champion of Turkmenistan. He won this title by winning the major league tournament in 2019. Prior to this, Saparmurat had repeatedly won the youth championships of the country. He is a participant in the last two World Chess Olympiads, which were held in 2016 and 2018 respectively in Baku and Batumi. Last year, S. Atabaev graduated from the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports as a chess coach.

For Saparmurat Atabaev and Meilis Annaberdiev, the current tournament in Izmir was a good preparation for the upcoming 44th World Chess Olympiad, which will be held from July 28 to August 10 in the Indian city of Chennai. This is a team tournament for teams that are members of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

The first World Chess Olympiad was held in 1927 in London. Since 1950, competitions have been held in the format of a two-year cycle. The last such tournament was held in 2018 in Georgia.