Legendary chess player Nigel Short, famous for his match for the world championship against Garry Kasparov in 1993, spent a week in Ashgabat, where he took part in several significant events from October 9 to 12.
The highlight of his visit was the Turkmenistan Chess Federation Cup blitz tournament, which was held on October 10.Short, who has a FIDE blitz rating of 2571, won with 7,5 points out of a possible 9.
According to the press service of the SFT, the tournament was also attended by international grandmaster from Ashgabat Maksat Atabayev and candidate master of sports Amanmuhammet Hommadov, who also scored 7,5 points, but took second and third places, respectively, based on additional indicators.
Atabayev tied with Short, and Hommadov even won against the famous grandmaster, but lost points in other games.
The closing ceremony of the tournament was attended by the British Ambassador to Turkmenistan Stephen Conlon, who personally presented the gold medal to his compatriot. In total, more than 300 chess players took part in the
Cup of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan, and 45 prize winners in various categories received cups, medals, certificates and cash prizes.
The foreign guests, including Nigel Short and the British Ambassador, were dressed in Turkmen national costumes and visited the chess museum at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School. Of particular interest was the large chessboard with pieces, on which the guests played a game with the “English Opening”.
During his visit, Short also held a simultaneous chess session with 10 young chess players, which lasted more than two hours and ended with his victory in all games. The young athletes gained valuable experience and a lot of positive emotions.
In addition, at the request of coaches and leading chess players of the country, Short held a separate meeting to discuss issues of developing the skills of chess players and coaching activities.
He noted the high level of chess infrastructure in Ashgabat and the talent of young Turkmen chess players, expressing confidence in Turkmenistan's readiness to host international tournaments of the highest level.