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Chess

Turkmenistan Pushes to Develop Chess Talent

Turkmenistan is hosting a national chess tournament this month amid signs that efforts to develop young chess players are gaining momentum. The Turkmenistan Chess Federation Cup runs from October 22 to November 1 in Ashgabat, featuring the disciplines of classical, rapid, and blitz chess. Young prospects and grandmasters are among those expected to participate. Top performers will qualify for the 2027 Turkmenistan Premier League, while the strongest rapid and blitz players will earn the opportunity to represent Turkmenistan in international competitions, according to state media. A powerhouse of Central Asian chess is Uzbekistan, whose open team, including Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, won gold at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand in September. Kazakhstan´s women won silver at the Chess Olympiad, and the country’s juniors excelled at the just-completed World U7-U17 Championships in Roquetas de Mar, Spain. FIDE, the global governing body of chess, noted Kazakhstan’s “outstanding medal haul across the age categories” at the event in Spain. Turkmenistan, meanwhile, is working to develop chess at the grassroots level. State media reported this month that the qualifying rounds of the second league of the 2026 Turkmenistan Chess Championship had concluded in Ashgabat, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat, and Mary. “The competition was held in parallel and attracted a record number of participants in the history of the tournament – 401 chess players,” said Turkmenistan: Golden Age, a state news site. It said the second league was established in 2023 to make it easier for people in more regions of the country to participate and advance to higher levels of competition. The league’s player base of the competition has grown by 23 percent since it started several years ago, the news site reported, adding that most of the players are young children and teenagers. Turkmenistan has produced a small number of grandmasters since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2025, it signed a memorandum to establish the Turkic Chess Association. Other signatories are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. The goals of the association include strengthening ties among national chess federations, organizing major tournaments, and developing programs for children and youth, according to FIDE. It said signatory countries represent a region with about 170 million people and more than 100 grandmasters.

Futsal

Kazakhstan Joins Race to Host UEFA Futsal Euro 2030

Kazakhstan is among a record seven countries to have expressed interest in hosting UEFA Futsal Euro 2030. If UEFA selects Kazakhstan, it would mark the first time the senior European futsal championship has been held in Central Asia. The host will be selected in September 2027. Futsal is a five-a-side form of indoor football played on a hard court with a smaller, less bouncy ball. According to UEFA, the other prospective hosts are Croatia, Finland, France, Georgia, Poland, and Spain. Final bid dossiers must be submitted by June 8, 2027. UEFA also allows the tournament to be co-hosted by multiple countries. Kazakhstan joined UEFA in 2002, switching from the Asian Football Confederation. Among the current prospective hosts, only Spain and Croatia have previously staged the senior UEFA Futsal Euro. Kazakhstan has experience organizing international futsal competitions. Almaty hosted the final stage of UEFA's premier club futsal competition in 2011, 2017, and 2019. In 2027, Astana is scheduled to host the UEFA European Under-19 Futsal Championship. Kazakhstan's national futsal team won bronze at Euro 2016 in Serbia and reached the semifinals again in 2018. Central Asia has already hosted futsal's biggest global tournament: the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup took place in Uzbekistan.

ITF World Tennis Tour

Almaty to Host Central Asia’s First World Tennis General Assembly

From October 10 to 13, Almaty will host events for the annual General Assembly of World Tennis, formerly the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The meeting of national tennis federation leaders will be held in Central Asia for the first time. More than 262 delegates from 137 countries are expected to attend. Founded in 1913, World Tennis is tennis’s global governing body. It sets the rules of the game and oversees the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and junior competitions. In June 2026, the federation changed its name from ITF to World Tennis. Its leadership also announced plans to increase the number of people playing tennis worldwide from 106 million to 140 million by 2035. The federation's Board of Directors will meet in Almaty on October 10–11, followed by the General Assembly and voting on October 13. The announced topics include support for national federations, the development of children's tennis, training for coaches and officials, and the organization of international competitions. The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation is headed by Bulat Utemuratov, who also serves as vice president of World Tennis. In recent years, Kazakhstan has regularly hosted international tournaments, including the ATP 250 Almaty Open. The next tournament will take place later that month, from October 17 to 25. The meeting will take place shortly after Elena Rybakina's victory at the U.S. Open, her third Grand Slam title. Rybakina has now risen to the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings for the first time.

FIDE Chess Olympiad

Uzbekistan Wins FIDE Chess Olympiad Gold on Home Soil in Samarkand

Uzbekistan has won the Open section of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, claiming its second title after its breakthrough victory in Chennai in 2022. The hosts entered the final round with 18 match points, one ahead of defending champions India. Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine 2.5-1.5 to finish with 20 points, while India drew 2-2 with Hungary. India’s draw meant Uzbekistan had secured gold even before its match against Ukraine had finished. India and Germany both finished on 18 points, with India taking silver on tiebreak and Germany bronze. Mukhiddin Madaminov delivered the decisive win on board four against Ukraine, while the other three games ended in draws. [caption id="attachment_57312" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Uzbekistan’s players during the final round of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Image: FIDE[/caption] Uzbekistan won its first seven matches before Germany handed the hosts their only defeat of the tournament, 2.5-1.5, in Round 8. The team responded by beating the United States, the top seed in the Open section, in Round 9, before defeating Armenia 3.5-0.5 in the penultimate round. The winning squad consisted of Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, and Mukhiddin Madaminov, with former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov serving as captain. Four of the five players had also been part of Uzbekistan’s gold medal team in Chennai in 2022. “The most important thing is how much attention is being paid to chess in our country,” Kasimdzhanov said at the Olympiad’s final press conference. He credited support from the president and prime minister with giving the team the conditions it needed to prepare and compete. Kasimdzhanov also pointed to the relationship among the players as an important factor in the team’s performance. “Such unity does not exist in every team. We are together, we are friends, and that helps us.” Preparations, he added, extended to details beyond the chessboard. “We did everything we could. We left nothing to chance,” he said. “Considering how important this tournament was, we carefully thought through even the smallest details.” The Samarkand victory extends Uzbekistan’s run of medals at three consecutive Olympiads: gold in Chennai in 2022, bronze in Budapest in 2024, and gold again in Samarkand. Abdusattorov also won the individual gold medal on board one in Samarkand, posting a performance rating of 2869. Kazakhstan won silver in the women’s competition after drawing 2-2 with Poland in the final round. China took gold, while India claimed bronze on tiebreak. The competition ran from September 16 to 27, following the opening ceremony on September 15. Before the tournament, FIDE said a record 400 teams had registered across the two main competitions, with 208 in the Open section and 192 in the Women’s section, surpassing the previous record set in Budapest in 2024. The home victory also came days after Uzbekistan increased financial rewards for its leading chess players. Under Presidential Resolution No. PP-346, adopted on September 21, gold at the senior World Chess Olympiad or Chess Paralympiad carries a one-time award of $200,000 for each player. The corresponding...

Asian Games

Uzbekistan Wins First Gold as Record Team Competes at Asian Games

Uzbekistan has claimed its first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where it is fielding its largest-ever delegation, according to the country’s National Olympic Committee. Abdulvakhob Rashidov won the men’s under-67kg karate title on September 21, defeating Japan’s Yugo Kozaki in the final. His victory opened Uzbekistan’s gold medal account at the competition in Japan. Further medals followed on September 22. Darya Latysheva took silver in wushu with a score of 19.413 points, securing her third career Asian Games medal. Firdavs Atamuradov also won silver in mixed martial arts, losing to Tajikistan’s Mirzobek Umarov in the under-60kg final. The early results come as Uzbekistan expands its participation in the continental competition. The NOC announced a team of 396 athletes across 42 sports, describing it as the country’s largest Asian Games squad. Its press release puts the delegation at 224 men and 172 women. The larger team follows Uzbekistan’s fifth-place finish at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, held in 2023. Uzbekistan won 71 medals, including 22 golds, after sending more than 370 athletes to compete across 38 sports. This year’s delegation therefore extends the country’s participation into four additional sports. The Aichi-Nagoya Games opened on September 19 and continue through October 4. Uzbekistan’s results over the remaining competition will determine whether its expanded delegation can improve on the Hangzhou medal haul. A separate Uzbek delegation of 153 athletes is due to compete at the Asian Para Games, according to the NOC’s press release. That competition will take place in Japan from October 18 to 24, with events across 18 Para sports.

Elena Rybakina

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina Wins US Open Ahead of World No. 1 Debut

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has won the US Open women’s singles title, defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in New York to claim the third Grand Slam championship of her career. Rybakina entered the final having already secured the world No. 1 ranking following her quarterfinal victory over Zheng Qinwen. She will officially take the top position when the new WTA rankings are published on Monday, becoming the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach No. 1 in singles. The US Open title adds to her Wimbledon championship in 2022 and Australian Open victory earlier this year. She has now won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Sabalenka entered the final as world No. 1 and two-time defending US Open champion. The match was also a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, which Rybakina won. Rybakina has become one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent international athletes. Her run in New York included victories over Naomi Osaka, Zheng and Coco Gauff before the final. Speaking during the tournament, Rybakina said she was “very proud representing Kazakhstan” and noted growing interest in tennis among children in the country. Her success has marked a series of firsts for Kazakhstan. She became the first player representing the country to win a Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon and is now the first to reach the top of the world rankings.