Strategic Visit by TSF President Fethi Apaydın to the Organization of Turkic States: Joint Chess Projects on the Agenda

At a meeting with officials from the Organization of Turkic States, Turkish Chess Federation President Fethi Apaydın and Turkish Wrestling Federation President Taha Akgül once again highlighted the role of sports diplomacy across the Turkic world. In the meeting with Deputy Secretary General Mirvokhid Azimov and Project Director Adilet Yessimkhanov, a wide range of topics were discussed in depth, including joint sports policies, institutional cooperation, and future projects, with a particular focus on chess and wrestling.

From the chess perspective, the most notable aspect of the meeting was the goal of creating a more regular and sustainable framework for competition and training among Turkic states. In this context, key topics are understood to have included age-group tournaments, training programs for coaches and arbiters, grassroots organizations, and the staging of joint events at the international level. For chess, not only the expansion of the tournament calendar but also the strengthening of a player development model extending from grassroots to elite level through shared expertise is seen as an important gain for the Turkic world.

Projects to be developed under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States carry the potential to bring together the universal language of chess and cultural affinity. In particular, bringing young athletes together at events to be held in different countries could help increase both playing strength and mutual interaction. Such exchanges could encourage knowledge-sharing in technical areas such as opening preparation, middlegame plans, and endgame technique, while also creating new opportunities among federations in terms of organizational experience and institutional capacity.

Given the Turkish Chess Federation's organizational experience at both national and international level in recent years, it is clear that this visit was more than a courtesy meeting. The talks represent an important step toward growing sport across the Turkic world through a shared vision, bringing chess to wider audiences, and building a stronger development ecosystem for the next generation of athletes. The Turkish Chess Federation also reiterated its message of thanks to the Organization of Turkic States for its contribution and support to sport in the Turkic world, while expressing its expectation that cooperation will deepen through concrete projects in the period ahead.