The qualifying rounds of the second league of the 2026 Turkmenistan Chess Championship have concluded in Ashgabat, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat, and Mary. The competition was held in parallel and attracted a record number of participants in the history of the tournament – 401 chess players.
The Turkmenistan Chess Federation established a second league in 2023 to make official competitions accessible not only in the capital but also in all regions, giving young athletes from the regions the opportunity to prove themselves and advance to higher levels of the national championship – the first league, and eventually the major league. Over the four years of the competition, the overall player base has grown by approximately 23 percent: from 327 participants in 2023 to 376 in 2024, 382 in 2025, and 401 in 2026. Most of the players are children and teenagers, many of whom are just starting their tournament careers.
The scale of the completed stages turned out to be impressive. The Ashgabat stage was the largest, bringing together 143 chess players (since 2023, the figure has increased from 90 players). In the Lebap velayat, 116 people played, in Mary - 102 (an increase from 60 participants over four years), and in Dashoguz - 40.
Each stage consisted of an Open and a tournament of the Women. 275 chess players took part in open tournaments, and 126 in the tournaments of the women. A total of 130 girls and girls played in the tournaments, which is almost a third of all participants.
The tournaments of the Women are showing accelerated growth: since 2023, the number of participants has increased by almost 30 percent – from 98 to 126. According to the competition regulations, chess players from the Ahal and Balkan velayats, as well as the city of Arkadag, competed in the Ashgabat stage, where, for example, Ahal velayat representative Oguljeren Saparova took second place in the tournament of the women. Starting next year, the Chess federation plans to hold a separate stage in the Balkan velayat, which will be the first time in the history of the country.
All competitions were held according to the Swiss system in 9 rounds according to FIDE rules with a classic time control of 90 minutes per game with an increment of 30 seconds per move. All games were calculated for the international FIDE rating, and the role of chief judge of the competition was performed by FIDE arbiter Mergen Kakabayev.
Following an uncompromising battle at the Ashgabat stage, the entire podium in the open category was occupied by students of specialised chess and checkers school of the capital: 16-year-old Suleyman Bayrambayev won with 8 points out of 9, 16-year-old Alihan Gubatayev came in second (7.5 points), and 15-year-old Serdar Yhlasov took third place (7 points), ahead of Ahmet Janbekov, Abdyrahim Ovganov, and Omar Atayev, who also scored 7 points each, based on additional indicators. In the women's category, 13-year-old Amina Kadyrova won (8 points), followed by 17-year-old Oguljeren Saparova from the Ahal velayat (7.5 points) and 10-year-old Selbi Arslanova (7 points).
At the Dashoguz stage, the winner in the open category was 12-year-old Salyh Annageldiyev with 7 points. The same number of points was scored by 12-year-old Dilber Hupbyyeva, who chose to play in the open tournament and took a high second place, while her peer Omarbek Ismailov (6.5 points) rounded out the top three. In the women's category, Dashoguz was won by 12-year-old Sahra Saparmyradova (7.5 points), second place went to 13-year-old Dursunjemal Kullyyeva (7.5 points), and third place went to 39-year-old Dunyagozel Rejepmyradova (6.5 points).
In the Lebap velayat, 13-year-old Didar Baltayev (7.5 points) won the open tournament, 12-year-old Muhammet Bahramkulyev (7 points) won silver, and 12-year-old Nazar Narimanov (7 points) won bronze. In the tournament of thw women in Lebap, the best was 15-year-old Nurana Jumaniyazova (8.5 points), second place went to 30-year-old Maysa Isayeva (7.5 points), and third place went to 14-year-old Nebahat Muradova (6.5 points).
In the Mary velayat, 15-year-old Ahmet Artykov won in the open category (8 points), 14-year-old Emir Amanmuhammedov took second place (7.5 points), and 13-year-old Mukam Ahmedov took third place (7 points). The main triumph of tournament of the women in Mary was 16-year-old Aynur Batyrova, who won all 9 games out of 9 and became the only participant in the entire 2026 Second League to achieve a 100% result. Second place went to 12-year-old Ayjeren Agajanova (6.5 points), and third place went to 16-year-old Mahriban Gurbannazarova (6.5 points).
The Second League serves as a direct qualifying tournament for the First League of the national championship. According to the regulations, 20 chess players from each of the four stages qualify for the first league: the 10 best from the open category and the 10 best from the women's category. The top 10 chess players from the Ahal and Balkan velayats and the city of Arkadag, who competed in the Ashgabat stage, will also receive separate tickets to the first league. Thanks to this structure, every young chess player, even from the most remote region, has a clear and understandable path from regional selection to participation in the main national championship among the strongest.
