From 14 to 17 May 2026, the Kazakh National University of Sports in Astana hosted two major chess tournaments: the inaugural Turkic Teams Chess Championships 2026 (for men and women) and the Turkic Youth U16 Chess Olympiad 2026 (for players under 16).
Seven national teams competed in a round-robin format: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (as the hosts, fielding two teams in each tournament), Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
Each team consisted of 4 main players, 1 reserve, and a captain. The time control followed the “new classical” format of 45+30 (45 minutes for the game with a 30-second increment per move). The guaranteed prize pool amounted to 27 million tenge (approximately 54,000 USD).
Men’s Championship
The men’s tournament brought together 13 Grandmasters and 18 International Masters. The Turkmenistan national team was led by Grandmasters Saparmyrat Atabayev (rating 2471) and Meylis Annaberdiyev (rating 2425).
The battle between the national teams remained intense until the final round. In the end, the top two spots went to the teams from Kazakhstan, while the national team of Azerbaijan claimed third place.
- Saparmyrat Atabayev won the bronze medal (3rd place) on board one.
Women’s Championship
In the women’s event, the team from Azerbaijan secured 1st place with 10 points. The Kazakhstan national team followed closely in 2nd place with 9 points, and Uzbekistan took 3rd place.
The women’s team of Turkmenistan finished in a respectable 5th place with 6 points, while securing individual board medals:
- Lala Shokhradova won the bronze medal (3rd place) on board one.
- Jahan Rejepova earned the silver medal (2nd place) on board three.
Youth U16 Olympiad
The top three positions in the youth tournament were swept by the Azerbaijan national team and the two teams representing Kazakhstan.
- Turkmen chess player Dilber Khupbyeva delivered a strong performance on board four, securing the bronze medal (3rd place).
The tournaments were organized by FIDE, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (Kazchess), the Kazakh National University of Sports, and the Akimat (City Administration) of Astana. The general partner of the event was Freedom Holding Corp.