Turkmenistan Wins 24 Medals at the International Kids Expo Chess Cup 2026
On August 20, the international junior rapid and blitz tournament Kids Expo Chess Cup 2026 concluded in Ashgabat.
The competition was held at the Exhibition Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of the “Kids Expo: Everything for Children” exhibition. It went down in history as the first tournament in these age categories held under the auspices of the Turkic Chess Association.
Over two days, 94 young chess players from eight countries — Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan — competed for 12 sets of medals in six age categories: under 8, under 10 and under 12.
Following the competition, the Turkmenistan national team confidently topped the medal standings, winning 24 of the 36 medals available: 7 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze. Iran finished second with four gold medals, while Kazakhstan took third place with one gold and three bronze medals. The remaining medals were shared by Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
The main star of the tournament was Iran’s Kiasha Mahbubi in the under-10 category, who achieved a phenomenal result of 16 wins in 16 games. Alongside him, Sadra Roshantab of Iran and Turkmen chess player WCM Dilber Hupbyyeva in the girls’ under-12 category also secured a “golden double” by winning both the rapid and blitz competitions.
The most intense competition took place in the younger categories, where the medal winners among the under-8 players were determined by Buchholz tiebreak scores. In total, 13 participants won two medals across the two disciplines.
Vepa Myalikgulyyev, Chairman of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, praised the high standard of organisation and emphasised that Ashgabat had once again confirmed its status as a major centre of school chess.
The chess programme at the Kids Expo venue continues with the ChessFest festival, featuring masterclasses and simultaneous exhibition games open to everyone interested.
ORIENT
