International Grandmaster from Turkmenistan Meylis Annaberdiev won the IX Mersin Municipality International Chess Tournament, which concluded in Türkiye.

The tournament was held using the Swiss system and consisted of nine rounds. 360 chess players from 19 countries competed for prizes in four categories.

Annaberdiev (FIDE rating 2407) won the highest category "A," which featured approximately 50 chess players from 12 countries. Among the participants were seven International Grandmasters, three International Masters, and 10 FIDE Masters.

The Turkmen chess player won five matches and drew four, earning seven points. International Master Arash Tahbaz of Iran (rating 2468) also scored the same number of points. First place was determined by additional coefficients in Annaberdiev's favor. Third place, with 6,5 points, went to International Grandmaster Aryan Gholami of Iran (rating 2468).

Annaberdiev turns 40 on November 24. In 2017, at the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, he won a bronze medal in rapid speed skating as part of the Turkmenistan national team.

Last year, at the 45th World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Turkmenistan men's team won the minor gold medal in group B, with Annaberdiev leading the team, scoring seven points out of a possible 11 on board two.

For winning the tournament, the Turkmen grandmaster received a cash prize of 150 thousand Turkish lira (approximately 3,5 thousand).