The championships of Turkmenistan in rapid and blitz chess among men and women have ended in the specialized Chess and Checkers School of Ashgabat. It should be noted that official championships in these types of chess (rapid and blitz) are held in Turkmenistan for the first time.
In the blitz tournament, where each player is allocated 3 minutes for the entire game with an addition of 2 seconds per move, among men, the struggle for leadership unfolded between international master Yusup (FIDE blitz rating: 2454) and grandmaster Maksat (rating: 2457) Atabayev. As a result, Yusup excelled with 20 points out of 21 possible, and Maksat was half a point behind him. It is worth noting that Yusup demonstrated an excellent performance rating, that is, the strength of the game at the tournament at the rating level of 2641. FIDE master Azat Nurmammedov (2282) finished third with 17.5 points.
In the women's blitz tournament, an unconditional victory with a score of 19.5 points was won by the reigning champion of Turkmenistan in classical chess, Jemal Ovezdurdyyeva (blitz rating: 1961), who secured the victory two rounds to go. The second line with 16 points was taken by 16-year-old Lala Shohradova (1756) from Lebap velayat. Ashgabat Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva (1865) came third with 15 points.
In the men's rapid tournament, the fight was mainly between Yusup Bayramgeldiyev (FIDE rapid rating: 2068) and Shahruh Turayev (2217). Yusup from the very beginning to the end of the championship was able to keep the lead, despite the defeat from Shahruh Turayev in a personal meeting. 12.5 points (out of 15 possible) was quite enough for Yusup to secure the sole first place. Shahruh Turayev lost only half a point to the winner, and 16-year-old Amanmuhammet Hommadov took the third place with 11.5 points.
In the women's rapid tournament, Lala Shohradova (FIDE rapid rating: 1756) and Jemal Ovezdurdiyeva (1961) also competed for the championship. This time Lala finished first. Gaining 13.5 points out of 15 possible, L. Shohradova demonstrated a high performance (the strength of the game in the tournament) at the rating level of 2549. On the second step of the podium with 13 points out of 15 - Jemal Ovezdurdiyeva (2007). The third place went to Merjen Yalkanova from Mary velayat with 11 points.
More than 50 men and 22 women took part in the tournaments. The winners of the national championships received the right to represent Turkmenistan at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship, which will be held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) from December 25 to 30, 2022.
