Alexandra Samaganova crowned Kyrgyzstan Champion
Alexandra Samaganova has been crowned Kyrgyzstan National Ladies Champion for a record 4th time. She achieved this when she scored an impressive 8.5 points out of 9 rounds.
The event ran from 13th to 21st April 2019. It was hosted by the Chess Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Arabaev Kyrgyz State University was the venue for this prestigious event.
The total prize fund of the Championships (Men & Ladies) was SOM 50 000 (USD 715).
The players qualified according to the results of the First League Tournament.
The other players allowed to participate were the following:
1. Representatives from all regions of Kyrgyzstan (there are 7 in total).
2. Champions of Kyrgyzstan in the age categories 10 to 20 years.
Seventeen players in total took part in the event which is probably one of the most important chess tournaments in Kyrgyzstan.
Alexandra Samaganova now wins the right to participate in two important events. These include the Asian Zonal 3.4 Chess Championship and the and Asian Continental Championship.
Asian Zonal 3.4 Championship will take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 21st to 29th May 2019.
The Asian Continental Championship will take place in Xing Tai, China from 6th to 16th June 2019.
Alexandra Samaganova is the highest raked lady player in Kyrgyzstan at 2050. She has represented her country in 6 Olympiads. These include the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016 & 2018 editions.
Tagir Taalaibekov was the winner of the Men’s section of the Kyrgyzstan National Championship.
Begimai Zairbek Kyzy v Alexandra Samaganova
Interesting facts about Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has the lengthiest epic in the world. “Manas” a Kyrgyz epic poem with just over 500,000 lines.
The most famous national drink is fermented horse milk “kumyz”.
“Kyrgyz” is thought to be derived from the Turkic word for “forty”. This is in reference to the 40 clans of the great Manas. The country’s flag, a nod to this, features a 40-ray sun.
The mountainous Tian Shan region covers almost 80 per cent of Kyrgyzstan. It’s highest point is Jengish Chokusu, at 7,439 meters.
Kyrgyzstan is known as ‘The Switzerland of Central Asia’.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the 45 landlocked countries in the world.
Issyk-Kul is the world’s second largest high-altitude lake (behind Lake Titicaca in South America). It is 113 miles long, 37 miles wide and reaches a depth of 668 metres (2,192 feet).
Kyrgyzstan’s railway network extends to just 417 kilometres, making it one of the shortest in the world.
Gold accounts for 43 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s exports. The Kumtor Gold Mine in the Tian Shan mountains, sits on one of the largest gold deposits in the world.