Turkmenistan's Mahri Agamuradova achieved the FIDE Women's Master qualification at the Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial – Aktobe Open 2026 international tournament held in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, the Turkmenistan Chess Federation reported.

The 16-year-old athlete scored 6 points in the Open category, finishing 15th overall and becoming the best player in the tournament. She gained 83,2 ranking points by the end of the competition, achieving the coveted title. Agamuradova is a 10th-grade student at the Specialized School of Foreign Languages in Turkmenabat; her coach is Guljahan Ovlyakuliyeva.

The tournament was held according to the Swiss system in nine rounds and brought together 210 chess players from 21 countries, including 23 grandmasters.

Other team members also showed positive rating dynamics following the competition: Jahan Rejepova added 26,8 points, Ogulsuray Bayrambayeva – 8,2, Leyla Shohradova – 5,2.

In the Masters category, Amanmuhammet Hommadov added 10,6 points and came very close to achieving the International Master standard.

American Grandmaster Andrew Hong won the Masters category, while Kazakhstani FIDE Master Alan Petukhov took first place in the Open category.

The performance in Aktobe was within the framework of the national team's training camp in Kazakhstan. The team's next major competition will be the 46th World Chess Olympiad, which will be held in Samarkand in September.