Tajikistan’s Suhrob Hamdamov has won the 1st Asian Open Chess Championship for Visually Impaired Players, which concluded today in Bishkek.  The news was confirmed by the Chess Federation of Tajikistan.

The tournament brought together 79 players from seven countries — Vietnam, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia (competing under the FIDE flag).

The championship featured four categories — Open, Women’s, Boys’, and Girls’ — with separate competitions for athletes with visual, hearing, and physical impairments.

In the Open category, Suhrob Hamdamov claimed the title with 7 points, edging out his closest rivals Sirojiddin Zayniddinov of Uzbekistan and Kuanishbek Jumadullayev of Kazakhstan, who both finished with 6½ points.

Hamdamov, a veteran of Tajik chess, is an international master and a multiple-time national champion of Tajikistan.

The event was organized by the Chess Union of Kyrgyzstan in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation.  The tournament followed the Swiss system over nine rounds, using the classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.