Turkmen chess player Saparmurat Atabayev won the 2nd International Chess Tournament AL-BERUNIY (Futures), which was held from February 3 to 11 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The 25-year-old international master, with a FIDE rating of 2516, scored 7 points out of 9 possible.

In second place, with the same number of points, was Indian grandmaster Pa Iniyan (FIDE rating 2523). However, in the decisive tie-break, Atabayev was able to beat his opponent from India. The bronze medal of the tournament was won by Belarusian grandmaster Mikhail Nikitenko (FIDE rating 2512).

The tournament was held in a round robin format with classical time control and brought together the strongest chess players, including grandmasters and FIDE masters from Uzbekistan, India, Russia, Sweden, Belarus and other countries.

The victory in this tournament allowed Saparmurat Atabayev to fulfill the necessary last (third) norm for conferring the title of international grandmaster. The official decision will be made at a meeting of the Council of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

It is important to note that Atabayev's first coach and his mentor to this day is the honored coach of Turkmenistan Aydogdy Atabayev.