Amanmukhammet Hommadov, an 18-year-old candidate master from Ashgabat, emerged as the winner of the Turkmenistan Chess Federation Cup. The student from the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports achieved this success by winning a tournament held in a Swiss system format with 11 rounds and classical time control.
The competition gathered 285 chess players from Ashgabat, Ahal, Dashoguz, Lebap and Mary velayats at the Specialized Chess and Checkers School in the capital. Fifty of them competed in category "A" with a FIDE rating of 1700 points and above, while 235 participated in category "B" with lower ratings.
In 11 games, Amanmukhammet scored 9.5 points, which allowed him to increase his Elo rating to 2290 points, bringing him very close to the FIDE Master title (2300 Elo).
Amanmukhammet Hommadov trains under the honored coach of Turkmenistan Serdar Annaberdiyev at the Specialized Chess and Checkers School. In September 2024, he was part of the national team that won small gold medals in category "B" at the 45th World Chess Olympiad in Hungary.
Half a point behind the winner was another player of Turkmenistan's youth team—candidate master Akhmet Gubatayev, who increased his Elo rating by 92 points and surpassed the 2200 mark. Experienced FIDE Master Mergen Kakabayev completed the top three with a score of 8.5 points.
Among girls, the best result was shown by 14-year-old Jahan Rejepova from Lebap velayat, who scored 6.5 points. The same number of points was also scored by Myahri Agamyradova and candidate master Meryem Agajanova, Turkmenistan's girls' champion of 2024, who took second and third places respectively but lost to the winner on tiebreaks.
The girls competed in one group with men, which undoubtedly provided valuable experience for participating in strong tournaments. Like Hommadov, Rejepova and Agajanova returned from the recent World Olympiad with a team small gold medal for victory in the women's category "C."
Tickets to Turkmenistan's top league for 2025 were also contested in the main tournament of the Federation Cup. Akhmet Gubatayev and Myahri Agamyradova earned the right to play among the strongest because Hommadov and Rejepova already had tickets to participate in the next top league.
Yunus Joraev, a schoolboy from Lebap velayat, triumphed among players with a rating below 1700 in category "B". He scored 9.5 points out of 11 possible and half a point ahead of Didar Baltaev, national champion in Rapid among boys U12, and Burkhan Yegenkuliev (both from Lebap velayat), who took second and third places respectively.
Among girls in category "B," Nurana Jumaniyazova and Aya Bayramova (both from Lebap velayat) showed the best result by scoring 8.5 points each. Schoolgirl Aisha Ashirova from Ashgabat completed the top three with 8 points.
After the conclusion of the Federation Cup with classical time control, a rapid tournament started. On October 10, a blitz tournament will also take place, where legendary chess player from England and contender for the world crown against Garry Kasparov in 1993, international grandmaster Nigel Short is expected to arrive.