The 2007 Ashgabat International School Championship

The First AIS Chess Championship 2007

Reported by WGM Mahri Geldiyeva in Ashgabat

The AIS (Ashgabat International School), which is part of Quality Schools International is situated in the capital city of Ashgabat, near the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains. More than eighty students from different parts of the world study here. There are students from India, USA, U.A.E., Malaysia, Turkey, Pakistan, Philippines, Trinidad, Germany, Yemen as well as Turkmenistan.

The school’s motto is “Success for All”, because we believe that all of our students can succeed, that their successes encourage them to continue in a pattern of success, and that it is the school’s responsibility to provide the conditions for success. It is purposed that each student should demonstrate success in specified general outcomes or behavior. These outcomes fall into three categories: Success Orientations, Competencies, and Knowledge. Quality Schools International considers Success Orientations to be primary indicators of future students’ success. To become productive participants in modern society, our young people need competencies and knowledge.

Chess teacher WGM Mahri Geldiyeva giving lessons in the AIS

The AIS uses many avenues for the students to display their achievements. Chess lessons as one of these avenues have been started to help students demonstrate their success. Students have been taught chess for more than a year, and I am the chess teacher. The students of the school have already acquired certain skills as could be seen from the results of the chess competition held at school recently. The first step was class competition to select a winner from each class. The winners from each class played in the school championship, a Round Robin. The winners are:

Nazar Annayev, Turkmenistan, first place; Abishek Singh, India, second; Anshul Singh, India, third.

All the winners have been awarded. We wish them success in their study and future endeavor. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Bateman, the school principal, all the staff members and all the members of the Students’ Council for their great support and assistance in organizing that great event.

Ashgabat International School – picture of all the students

School recess in the Spring

Turkmenistan

The country lies in Central Asia and its name means "land of the Turkmen". Until 1991 Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union and know as the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic.

Turkmenistan is in the middle of the Central Asia area, bordered to the southwest by Iran, to the southeast by Afghanistan, by Uzbekistan to the northeast, Kazakhstan to the northwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Most of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert, covered with black sand, but the country is generally rich in natural resources. Almost ninety percent of the population is Muslim, and the President is named Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow (try learning that!).

The Presidential Palace in Ashgabat