The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Chess Championship for players aged 8 to 18 concluded on 7 February at the Nakhchivan Children’s and Youth Chess School, following five days of competition.
AzerNEWS reports that the tournament was initiated by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation and organised by the Ministry of Education of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Around 100 young male and female chess players from across the autonomous republic took part, competing in six age categories.
Matches were held under the Swiss and round-robin systems, in line with FIDE regulations. Each player was allocated 45 minutes for the entire game, with an increment of 15 seconds per move starting from the first move.
In cases where players finished on equal points, final standings were determined using standard tie-break criteria, including the Buchholz coefficient, number of wins, and results of head-to-head encounters.
According to the final standings, the top three finishers in each age category earned qualification for the national chess championship, scheduled to take place in March and featuring players aged 8–18 from across Azerbaijan.
Organisers said the tournament played an important role in identifying emerging talent and promoting chess development among young players in the region.
