Turkmen chess players won ten medals at the 20th Asian Championship among schoolchildren, which concluded in Bunyrevo, Tula Oblast. The competition, held under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and the Chess Federation of Russia, brought together more than 300 participants from 12 countries. The Turkmen team of 11 athletes won 2 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze medals, matching the historic record set in 2019 for the total number of medals.
In terms of performance efficiency, this tournament set an all-time record: an average of 0.91 medals per young participant (compared to 0.83 in 2019 and 0.32–0.35 in previous years). Turkmenistan finished fourth in the overall medal standings; in terms of the total number of medals, it trailed only Russia (65 medals) and Kazakhstan (20 medals), while surpassing India (6 medals). And this despite the fact that the Turkmen squad was half the size of the Kazakh one (11 people versus 22).
Standout star of the tournament was seven-year-old Bahar Jumayeva, a 2nd-grade student at School № 2 in the Danev etrap of Lebap velayat (international rating: 1552). She managed to win medals in all three disciplines of the championship.
In classical chess, Bahar scored 6.5 points out of 9 in the Girls Under-7 category and won the bronze medal among 14 participants, finishing behind only the Russian players Sofia Skripnik and Kseniya Denisova. This success returned the national team to the podium in the «classic» event following the 2024 hiatus.
Other Turkmen female chess players also came close to winning medals in the classical event: Bagul Jumayeva (girls under 9) finished fourth on tie-break criteria, while Jennet Yalkanova rounded out the top five in the under-17 category of the girls.
The rapid chess tournament proved the most fruitful for our team the athletes won a total of five medals:
• Gold: Bahar Jumayeva (girls under 7, 8 points out of 9) – after an opening-round loss, she went on a brilliant run of eight consecutive victories.
• Gold: Hangeldi Myradov (boys under 7, 7 points out of 9) – led from the early rounds, went 8 games undefeated, and held onto first place.
• Silver: Aya Bayramova (girls under 13, 7 points) – repeated the silver medal success she achieved two years ago in Bangkok.
• Silver: Bagul Jumayeva (girls under 9, 6.5 points) – clinched the award thanks to a crucial victory in the final round.
• Bronze: Lale Vepayeva (girls under 11, 6 points) – showed great character by scoring 4.5 points in her final 5 games.
The final day of the blitz competition brought the Turkmen team four more medals in the younger age categories:
• Silver: Bahar Jumayeva (girls under 7, 7.5 points)
• Silver: Bagul Jumayeva (girls under 9, 7.5 points)
• Silver: Charyhekim Charyyev (boys under 9, 7.5 points)
• Bronze: Hangeldi Myradov (boys under 7, 6.5 points)
The Asian Championship among schoolchildren has been held since 2005. The Turkmenistan national team made its debut there in 2016 in Tehran. Throughout its history, the team has traveled with its full roster only five times in 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2026 and returned with awards on every occasion.
Vepa Malikgulyyev, Chairman of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, commented on the results of the performance:
The improvement in the quality of medals won by young Turkmen chess players is a natural result of the momentum currently seen in youth chess in our country. Year by year, the young players are increasingly traveling to international tournaments including official championships while Turkmenistan itself has been hosting international competitions of the children for the second consecutive year, such as the Kids Expo Chess Cup held two months ago. Matches against strong opponents from other countries are the best training ground for a chess player of any level, especially at a young age.
