A 17-years-old FIDE master from the Lebap velayat Lala Shohradova became the chess champion of Turkmenistan, the “Golden Age” electronic newspaper reports.

This success was achieved by a 10th grade student of the 31st secondary school of Danew etrap by winning the women’s major league tournament held during two weeks in Ashgabat.

14 chess players contested Champion title in a round-robin system. Lola Shohratova scored 10.5 points and was half a point ahead of Meryem Agajanova, a student of the 10th grade of the Ashgabat 55th secondary school, who became the second champion of Turkmenistan among girls under 20. Decisive in the distribution of the first place, as it turned out later, was in the third round of their face-to-face duel, which Lala won.

Lala Shohradova started playing chess at the age of 5. And already at the age of 9 she become a World’s champion among schoolgirls of her age at the world championship in Thailand. At the age of 12, she made her debut as a member of the national team of Turkmenistan at the World Chess Olympiad – 2018 in Batumi (Georgia). At the age of 14, she won a national title among the girls under 16. Last November, Lala become the Champion of Turkmenistan in rapid( quick game). And now, for the first time, she become a champion in classical chess among women. All this successes of the new champion of Turkmenistan are shareв ин her coach Gulhan Kurbandurdyeva.

As the national champion among women, Lala Shohradova received the right to play in the final part of the more prestigious open championship of Turkmenistan, which is traditionally known as the “men's” major league. The main chess tournament of the year will begin on February 27 in Ashgabat. 14 of the country's best chess players, including several grandmasters and international masters, will play in it.