Türkiye triumps at FIDE Chess Olympiad for first time

ISTANBUL

The Turkish national under-16 chess team has bagged the gold medal at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan, marking Türkiye’s first-ever win.

A total of 15 players from three teams, namely the red, white and Anatolian teams, from Türkiye competed at the FIDE World Under-16 Chess Olympiad, which is defined as the most challenging age group in the competition.

Under the captaincy of Cemil Aghamaliyev, Türkiye’s Red Team, comprising Eray Kılıç, Hasan Hüseyin Çelik, Taha Özkan, Gülenay Aydın and Hatice Aslı Muştu, competed against the United Kingdom, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Cuba and Iran.

The young team revealed an impressive performance in eight rounds at the olympiad in which 176 athletes from 23 countries competed, including 50 titled players.

The Red Team, which displayed an outstanding performance during the tournament, declared its championship with a victory against Uzbekistan before the last round.

The team became the favorite of the chess authorities with its performance against the toughest teams, stated Gülkız Tulay, the president of the Turkish Chess Federation.

“We are proud of our young people who won Türkiye’s first Chess Olympiad and achieved tremendous success,” she said.

Noting that in recent years, young players from Türkiye achieved great success in the world, Tulay stated that the federation believed that they will achieve more successful results.

“Turkish chess continues to grow and strengthen with its young masters. Congratulation to all our players who competed,” she added.

Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu published a message to congratulate Türkiye’s Red Team for its success and wished continued success to the team.