Amanmukhammet Khommadov and Lala Shokhradova became the winners of the recently concluded Turkmenistan Junior Chess Championship U-20 in Ashgabat.
According to the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, for the first time, the championship was held for junior players under 20 years old, with about 100 participants. The tournament featured three popular formats in chess - "Standart" (with full time control), Rapid (fast chess) and Blitz (lightning chess).
The participants competed for the first set of medals in the Rapid format. Amanmukhammet Khommadov, reigning Asian Blitz Champion among schoolchildren, dominated the competition and scored a perfect 9 out of 9 points. He finished 1.5 points ahead of his closest competitor, Akhmet Gubataev, a 17-year-old player from Ashgabat. Ilkhan Charyev, a 15-year-old schoolboy from Lebap, rounded out the top three with 6.5 points.
Amanmukhammet Khommadov is an 11th-grade student at Secondary School №117 in Ashgabat and trains under the guidance of the distinguished coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdyyev at the Specialized Chess and Checkers School in the capital.
Lala Shokhradova, an 11th grade student from Danev etrap, was the best in Rapid, scoring 8 points out of 9 possible. She is a ward of coach Gulkhan Kurbandurdiyeva. Lala was closely followed by Meriem Agajanova from Ashgabat and Gulmira Seyilkhanova from Turkmenabat, both one point behind. Based on additional tiebreak criteria, Meriem secured the second place. 
In the tournament with classical time control for boys, the battle for the championship unfolded among three chess players: Amanmukhammet Khommadov, Akhmet Gubataev and Vepaly Khalyniyazov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Construction. Amanmukhammet drew against his main competitors and won all other games, finishing with 8 points out of 9 and repeating his success from the Rapid tournament. Akhmet and Vepaly, who were half a point behind the winner, took the second and third positions, respectively. However, Akhmet surpassed Vepaly in the tiebreak criteria to claim the silver medal.
In the tournament for classical chess among girls, three participants were vying for victory: Woman FIDE Master Lala Shokhradova, the champion of 2023 among junior girls Meriem Agajanova, and Woman Candidate Master Leila Shokhradova. After 9 rounds, Lala Shokhradova, current national women's champion, scored 7.5 points, which allowed her to become the champion among junior girls. Meriem, winning her last game, took the second place with 7 points. However, Leila, who needed a draw in the last round to secure the bronze medal, made a mistake and lost to Jahangir Rejepova, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Turkmenabat, who became the bronze medalist.
On the final day of the championship, Lala achieved a hat-trick by winning the blitz tournament among girls with 8 out of 9 possible points. Leila Shokhradova and Myahrijemal Gurbangeldiyeva, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Ashgabat, took the second and third places, respectively, just one point behind.
In the blitz tournament among boys, Amanmukhammet Khommadov was in contention for the third gold medal. However, after nine rounds, he and Akhmet Gubataev both had 8.5 points. Akhmet's additional tiebreak criteria were better, and he emerged as the champion in blitz. Ilkhan Charyev took the third place with 7 points.
The winners of the championship got the right to participate in the World and Asian Championships among boys and girls under 20.
Representatives of Ashgabat and Lebap competed for the top two places in the team competition,. Ashgabat's team won 3 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals, while Lebap's team won 3 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals.
On January 29, the national championship among cadets - children aged 6 to 12 - will start at the Capital Chess and Checkers School. They will compete for the opportunity to represent their country at world and continental championships, as well as Cups to be held in Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan this year.
