Five young athletes will represent Turkmenistan at the first Chess Olympiad among Turkic countries, which will be held from May 13 to 18 in the Kazakh city of Turkestan.

The national team was formed following the results of the U16 qualifying tournament, which recently concluded in Ashgabat.

The top five players from the qualifying tournament made the national team:

1. Ali Ahmedov (Ashgabat, born in 2012, 7th grade student at School No. 49) — 7 points out of 9;

2. Ahmet Artykov (Mary Region, born in 2011, 9th grade student at the Mary velayat Specialized School with advanced English and humanities studies) — 7 points out of 9;

3. Rustemov Gurbanmyrat (Lebap velayat, born in 2010, School No. 41, 10th grade) — 6.5 points out of 9;

4. Khubyeva Dilber (Dashoguz velayat, born in 2014, School No. 7, 6th grade) — 6.5 points out of 9. A sensation of this tournament: she demonstrated an excellent performance among the boys, qualifying for the open category and taking fourth place.

5. Iminova Zalina (Ashgabat, born in 2014, School No. 16) — 6.5 points out of 9.

On the same dates, Almaty will also host tournaments for adult teams, including athletes from Turkmenistan. These tournaments will serve as valuable preparation for the Olympics in Samarkand.

As a reminder, the Turkic Chess Association (TCA), which also includes Turkmenistan, is currently being formed. Membership in the TCA opens up opportunities to participate in regular joint tournaments, expanding the competition calendar and providing Turkmen chess players with more high-level practice. Participation in the TCA will also contribute to player development and higher FIDE ratings.