Turkmen grandmaster Saparmurat Atabayev took third place in the Karshi Open 2026 international chess tournament, dedicated to the memory of Ismat Shukurov.

The tournament took place in Karshi, Uzbekistan, from May 19 to 24. A total of 56 chess players from 10 countries participated.

The tournament was played using the Swiss system, with nine rounds and classical time control.

Vitaly Bernadsky (Ukraine, FIDE rating 2507) scored first place with 7 points out of 9, according to additional indicators, Saidakbar Saidaliyev (Uzbekistan, FIDE rating 2454) - second place, Saparmyrat Atabayev (Turkmenistan, FIDE rating 2471) - third place.

As a reward, the Turkmen grandmaster received a prize of 30 000 000 Uzbek soms.

27-year-old Saparmurat Atabayev is one of the strongest modern chess players in Turkmenistan. Born in Ashgabat, he was considered one of the country's most promising players from a young age. Saparmurat's first coach was Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Aydogdy Atabayev, who has remained his mentor for many years.

Yusup Atabayev, Saparmurat's cousin, also took part in the tournament and took 8th place, scoring 6 points.

The results of the Karshi Open-2026 tournament can be seen on a specialized server https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1392674.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&fed=TKM&flag=30&SNode=S0.