Schoolboy from Turkmenistan wins silver in Abu Dhabi

Kerim Babayev, a seven-year-old student of Ashgabat school, became a silver medalist of the 31st International Chess Festival in Abu Dhabi. The second-grader of secondary school №86 won the first international victory in his career, performing in the age category up to 8 years old. Arzuw.news reports with reference to Turkmenistan: Golden Age.

The large-scale competition was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the UAE capital with the participation of over 3,000 chess players from 83 countries. The young Turkmen athlete took part in the Juniors Under 16 tournament, where he scored 5.5 points out of 9 possible.

In the overall competition among 16-year-old juniors, Kerim took 81st place among 293 participants from 32 states. However, in his age group up to 8 years old, he managed to climb to the second step of the podium.

The talented chess player is being trained by coach Ainur Isayeva. The Chess Federation of Turkmenistan notes that Kerim's achievement demonstrates the dynamic development of chess sport in the country.

Over the past four years, Turkmen chess players have significantly strengthened their presence in the international arena, regularly participating in prestigious tournaments and winning prizes.