The young chess elite has determined its champions at the Ashgabat Specialized Chess and Checkers School, where the national championship among boys and girls under 20 was held from January 5 to 10. This tournament is considered the second strongest in terms of participants, as it includes almost all the players of the 2024 men's and women's major leagues.

In the completed tournament in classical chess among boys, Vepaly Khalynyazov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, left everyone behind and won, scoring 9 points out of 11 possible. Serdar Bayramov, a high school student from the Lebap velayat, and Amanmukhammet Khommadov, a student of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Education and Sports, scored 8.5 points each and took 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. Considered the main favorite of the tournament, Khommadov sensationally suffered two defeats in a row at the start, but managed to recover in time and catch up with the leaders.

Vepaly and Amanmuhammet are the winners of the 45th World Chess Olympiad, which was held in Budapest (Hungary), where the men's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category B, finishing in 24th place among 188 teams. And Serdar won a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolchildren under 17 years old, which was held in Bangkok (Thailand) at the end of 2024.

In the tournament among girls, for the second year in a row, a student of the International University of Oil and Gas Lala Shokhradova has gained the upper hand over her rivals, scoring 9 points out of a possible 11. Another of the Shokhradov sisters, Leyla (Lebap, 18 years old), was half a point behind the leader and took second place, and Gulmira Seyilkhanova (Lebap, 17 years old) closed out the top three with 8 points. Sisters Lala and Leyla Shokhradov are also the winners of the above-mentioned Olympics, where the women's team of Turkmenistan won a small gold in category C, ultimately taking 32nd place among 169 teams in the overall standings. Gulmira's highest achievement is a silver medal at the Asian Championship among schoolgirls under 15 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 2023.

The winners of the championship received the right to represent our country at the World Junior Championship, which will be held in Montenegro from February 23 to March 8, as well as at the Asian Junior Championship, which will be held in Colombo (Sri Lanka).

On January 11 and 12, national championships in the same age category in rapid and blitz will also be held. In total, more than 100 chess players take part in the tournaments, despite the introduction of a minimum rating level restriction by the organizers – 1400.

The winners of the championship will receive valuable prizes provided by sponsors, among which are the insurance company "Resmi Kepil", the chess academy "Küşt Älemi", the stationery store "Globus", the B2B marketplace "ALSAT.com.tm" and the media platform ORIENT.

Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the final match for the Spanish Football Super Cup, which took place in Saudi Arabia.

The match took place on Sunday and ended with a 5:2 victory for the Catalan team. Rafinha scored twice for the winners (39th and 48th minutes), Lamine Yamal (22), Robert Lewandowski (36, penalty) and Alejandro Balde (45+10) scored one goal each. The Madrid team's goals were scored by Kylian Mbappe (5) and Rodrygo (60).

Barcelona played with a man down from the 57th minute after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off.

Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup for the 15th time, breaking its record. Real Madrid has 13 wins, including in the last edition.

On January 10, an online meeting took place between representatives of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan (FFT) and the German Football Union (DFB), the FFT website reports.

During the videoconference, the parties discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation in the field of youth football and coaching education. Particular attention was paid to the prospects for introducing the best practices of German football in Turkmenistan.

It is worth noting that the development of children’s and youth football and the improvement of the coaching education system have been among the priority areas of the FFT’s work since the election of the new chairman of the Federation.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue discussing issues of cooperation.

Tajik referee of the FIFA international category Sukhrob Sattarov has been appointed to serve the matches of the 2025 Asian Cup qualifying tournament in futsal among women's teams, where the national team of Turkmenistan will perform, the website of the Tajik Football Federation reports.

Sattorov will work on the Group C matches, where, in addition to the Turkmen women's national team, teams from Uzbekistan, Australia, the Philippines and Kuwait will perform. All group stage matches will be held in Tashkent from January 11 to January 19.

Turkmenistan women's national team match schedule:

• January 11, 2025 Turkmenistan - Australia (15:00)
• January 15, 2025 Philippines - Turkmenistan (3 p.m.)
• January 17, 2025 Turkmenistan - Kuwait (3 p.m.)
• January 19, 2025 Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan (6 p.m.)

The Talip Sport basketball team of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports has won a landslide victory in the national championship without losing a single match. The tournament was held in Ashgabat from December 17 to December 22.

Six teams took part in the competitions, which were hosted by the site of the Turkmen State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports.

The silver medals were won by the Milli Goshun team representing the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan. The bronze medalists were the basketball players of the team "Gurlushykchy" of the Ministry of Construction and Architecture of Turkmenistan.

Czech Martin Macik in a Toyota won the second stage of the Dakar rally marathon, which is taking place in Saudi Arabia, in the truck category.

He covered the 967 km special stage, which took place over two days, in 12 hours 10 minutes 51 seconds. Next came his compatriot Aleš Loprais (Iveco; 9 minutes 43 seconds behind) and Lithuanian Vaidotas Zala (Iveco; +18.52).

In the SUV category, the best in the stage was Saudi Arabian Yazeed Al-Rajhi (10:56.54) in a Toyota, second place went to South African Henk Lategan (+4.16) in a Toyota, and third place went to Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (+6.29) in a Dacia.

Among the ATVs in the SSV class, the American Brok Heger (Polaris, 11:57.43) won the stage, followed by Frenchman Xavier de Soultre (Polaris, +7.26) and Portuguese Alexandre Pinto (BRP, +38.08). In the Challenger class, the winner was Dutchman Paul Spierings (Taurus, +11:57.48), Argentinean Nicolas Cavigliasso (Taurus, +0.02) finished second, and American Corbin Leaverton (Taurus, +3.01) came in third.

In the motorcycle classification, the stage was won by Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM, 11:12.13), American Skyler House (Honda, +7.37) came in second, and Spaniard Tosha Scareina (Honda, +7.41) came in third.

The overall standings for trucks are led by Macik (17:24.29), SUVs by Lategan (15:40.30), SSV by de Soultre (16:57.52), Challenger by Cavigliasso (16:45.02), and motorcycles by Sanders (16:10.31).

Rovshen Meredov took up the post of technical director of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, the organization's press service reported.

Meredov began his playing career in 1999 in the “Nebitchi” team. In subsequent years, he played for the clubs “Dagdan”, “Galkan”, “Ahal” and “Yedigen”.

After finishing his playing career, Rovshen Meredov switched to coaching. With a PRO license, he headed Ashgabat's “Yedigen” and “Ahal” from Anau from 2013 to 2020.

Under his leadership, the teams repeatedly became prize winners of the national championship. In 2017, “Ahal” won the Turkmenistan Cup.

A significant achievement in Meredov's career was “Yedigen's” victory in the AFC President's Cup in 2014.

In the 2020 season, the specialist coached “Kyzylkum”, and in 2022, “Kaganat”.

Since 2020, Meredov has held the position of FIFA Technical Expert in the Global Football Development Department, where he works under the supervision of renowned football specialist Arsene Wenger.

The Turkmenistan Championship in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling has ended in Turkmenbashy.

In the final freestyle wrestling match in the weight category up to 79 kg, Alp Arslan Begenjov won the gold medal, defeating Ashir Kakamyradov. Abray Shatlykov won the bronze medal in this category.

Let us remind that in September 2024, Alp Arslan Begenjov already became the world champion among wrestlers under 20 years old at the youth championship in Pontevedra, Spain.

The football club Surkhan, which competes in the Uzbekistan championship, will be the opponent of the Turkmen club Ahal at the training camp, reports Championat.Asia.

The match will take place on February 2 in Turkey, where Velsakhet Ovezov's team will hold their winter training camp.

Last week, the winter transfer window opened in the Turkmenistan football championship. It will last until February 28, during which time Premier League clubs will be able to register new players, reports the Football Federation of Turkmenistan

Belarusian club Vitebsk announced the extension of the contract with the defender of the national team of Turkmenistan, Vepa Jumayev, according to the press service of the football club.

The agreement with the 24-year-old footballer will be valid until the winter of 2025. Vepa Jumayev joined Vitebsk in February 2024 from Energetik-BGU. Last season, he spent 397 minutes on the field in the Belarusian championship and provided one assist.

Vitebsk finished 5th in the Belarusian championship, scoring 47 points. The championship title was won by Dinamo Minsk (68 points).

On Friday, January 3, the 47th edition of the Dakar Rally officially began in the city of Bisha, located in Saudi Arabia. This marks the start of the world’s largest and most enduring motorsport race – the Dakar Rally 2025.

The rally consists of several stages, each offering a unique test of strength and endurance. Participants will face thousands of kilometers across challenging terrain, including deserts and mountainous regions. The drivers will compete in extreme conditions, showcasing their skill and resilience.

On the first day of the competition, a preliminary stage took place for off-road vehicles. The fastest time was set by South African driver Henk Lategan, representing the Toyota team. In second place was Swedish driver Mattias Ekström (Ford), followed by Qatari driver Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, competing for the Dacia team.

In the motorcycle category, the best time was recorded by Australian rider Daniel Sanders. The Rally “Dakar-2025” will conclude on January 17, in Shubayt.