The spacious hall of the Chess and Checkers School in Ashgabat was the venue for the Turkmenistan U20 Championships in the national game «takylatdy» among boys and girls dedicated to the theme of 2024 «The Fount of the Wisdom of Magtymguly Fraghi». The intellectual competitions, which are very popular in our country, brought together the teams of the best young sports strategists from Ahal, Dashoguz and Lebap velayats and Ashgabat.

The modern version of the ancient game «takylatdy» ‘sat’ the participants down at a table, where the main attribute – pebbles – are moved along a field called «öýjük», which consists of numerous notches. In old times, like in our times «takylatdy» was played on the ground in many villages, which, it seems to me, is much more interesting and spectacular. Therefore, I should explain the rules of the game.

Sitting opposite each other, 2 rivals dig 9 holes for themselves, in each of which they put 9 pebbles – «hazyna» (treasures). A pit, the so-called «treasury», is dug among the holes, where pebbles are placed during the game. The player who collected the most «jewels» wins the game. As mentioned above, in the modern version, the playing field with the holes can be placed on the table. This also has its advantages, since you can play «takylatdy» in a comfortable position at any age.

According to the modern rules, each player has a limited amount of time – 20 ‘clean’ minutes during one match. This does not allow the game to drag out but facilitates making quick and accurate decisions, because the player receives bonuses for each mistake of his rival in the form of extra stones for his «treasury».