Legendary International Grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk is leading the training process of the Turkmenistan national team at the camp in Antalya, Turkey, as part of preparation for the upcoming 45th World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary this September.
The Chess Federation of Turkmenistan informed the correspondent of «GA» that leading chess players are participating in the training camp. Among them are International Grandmaster Meylis Annaberdiyev, International Master Saparmyrat Atabayev, current women's national champion and FIDE Candidate Master Meryem Agajanova, 2023 women's champion and FIDE Master Lala Shohradova, her sister Leyla Shohradova, and others.
The camp program is designed to work on the relatively weaker aspects of Turkmen chess players' games. Under the guidance of an experienced mentor, they have the opportunity to strengthen all aspects of their chess skills.
The coaching staff of the Turkmenistan national team is also improving their qualifications at the camp.
Vasyl Ivanchuk won four World Chess Olympiads, twice as member of the USSR team (1988, 1990) and twice with the Ukrainian national team (2004, 2010). He was a finalist in the 2001-2002 FIDE World Championship, World Rapid Champion (2016) and World Blitz Champion (2007), and ranked second in the world three times (July 1991, July 1992, and October 2007).
International Master Okan Ozsakallioglu, coach from Turkey, is also participating in training the Turkmen chess players, particularly the women's team. The event is organized by the professional chess academy "Satranc365" in Turkey, led by International Master Melih Yurtseven.
As part of the preparation, the Turkmenistan men's team played a friendly match against the camp organizers. Our team was represented by Saparmyrat Atabayev, Candidate Master Amanmuhammet Hommadov, women's team coach and Candidate Master Shahruh Turayev, and men's team coach and FIDE Master Mergen Kakabayev. The organizers' team included Vasyl Ivanchuk, Okan Ozsakallioglu, Melih Yurtseven, and to further strengthen the opponents' lineup - Meylis Annaberdiyev. Our team won the rapid-format match, which consisted of two games, with a score of 5.5:2.5.
The Chess Olympiad in the Hungarian capital will take place from September 11 to 22, 2024. Previously, Budapest hosted the tournament in 1926 in an unofficial status.
