In Astana, from May 14 to 17, team chess tournaments were held at the Kazakh National University of Sports: the first championship of the Turkic states among men and women (Turkic Teams Chess Championships 2026) and the youth chess Olympiad under 16 (Turkic Youth U16 Chess Olympiad 2026). This was reported by IIC.
Teams from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (as the host country fielded two teams in each tournament), Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan participated in a round-robin format. Each team consisted of four main players, one reserve player, and a captain. The time control was 45+30. The total prize fund amounted to 27 million tenge (about 54 thousand USD).
In the men’s tournament, 13 grandmasters and 18 international masters participated. The Turkmenistan national team included grandmasters Saparmyrat Atabayev (rating 2471) and Meylis Annaberdiev (rating 2425). According to the results, Kazakhstan teams took first and second places among men. Azerbaijan took third place. Saparmyrat Atabayev placed 3rd on board one.
In the women’s tournament, Azerbaijan’s national team won (10 points). Kazakhstan took second place (9 points), and Uzbekistan came third. Turkmenistan’s women’s team finished fifth with 6 points. Lala Shokhradova took 3rd place on board one, and Jahan Rejepova took 2nd place on board three.
In the U16 youth tournament, the top three included Azerbaijan’s team and two teams from Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan’s representative Dilber Khupbyeva took 3rd place on board four.
The organizers were FIDE, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, the Kazakh National University of Sports, and the Akimat of Astana.